Everything you wanted to ask about....

[coeurdesoleil]

♣ EEEEEEEE!! THE ESCA/MARCUS COLLEGE!AU UPDATED LATE LAST NIGHT/EARLY THIS MORNING!!!!
I've probably reread the update ten times already and I still can't quite believe it. (I keep going back to check the thread to see for myself once more that the update is actually there). The College!AU was one of the first kink meme fics I ever read and

Comments

[coeurdesoleil]

OK I'M GONNA TRUST YOU ON THIS :P I can't wait to meet you!

I don't think we ever had a state-approved list, but there were general guidelines for what people were allowed to name (or rather what they were not allowed to name) their child, for example it was not permitted to use common last names as first names, and when people informed the authorities of what they wanted to name their newborn child, they would be notified by the authorities if the name could not be approved.

I know Jesús is a common name for kids in Latin America as well as in Spain. It is very rare in Northern and Western Europe however, and I think the reason it is disallowed in many of these countries whereas it is very popular in Spanish-speaking countries has to do with different attitudes to the name in Protestantism/Lutheranism vs Catholicism. I guess Catholics see it as a homage while Protestants consider the name sacred or something?

Norway has a similar law as Germany to make sure you can tell the gender of the child by the first name. Or rather by their second name/middle name. If someone would like to give their child a "gender-neutral" name, they are required to give the child a second name/middle name that makes it possible to tell the gender of the child. They are not required to use the name, but it will be listed in all public registers. I can see why the authorities would consider it practical to be able to tell the gender of a child by the first name but at the same time it is certainly problematic with regards to intersexed or transgendered people.

It is interesting to compare American and Norwegian attitudes to individual freedom and government. I think Norwegians, at least traditionally, have been less concerned with being seen as an individual than American. Most Norwegians see government as something postive and government regulation as necessary and good, and as a sign that we are being taken care of by the state (and we like being taken care of :D)