Yoyobon, there was an article on NPR recently about that subject, link is below.

Here is a link that might be useful: Icelandic names

It's been in the news recently - yes, so far as I can make out.

More in the news this morning.

Here is a link that might be useful: Icelandic Girl Wins Right to Use Name

I remember that France used to have this rule, but they have since rescinded it.

Seeing some of the names parents are giving their children these days, I can see why such a rule might be a good idea (says the grumpy old curmudgeon...harumph...harumph.)

There is a list, yes, but the names committee will generally accept new names as long as they have no foreign letters (such as C, Q, Z, W), are not likely to cause public outrage or embarrassment to the person given the name (for example, Satanía and Lúsifer were rejected), are given to a person of the "wrong" gender or do not fit into the grammar system (you have to be able to decline them according to Icelandic grammar rules).

Blær (this is the proper Icelandic spelling of the name of the girl in the article) was rejected because of the last two rules - the committee considered it to be masculine and did not accept the feminine declension her mother invented for it (even though it follows proper grammar rules). The male version goes Blær-Blæ-Blæ-Blæs, and the feminine Blær-Blæ-Blæ-Blævar.

The court decision to allow Blær to keep her name means that we now have our very first unisex name.

I like that rule!

Years ago my sister and brother-in-law invented a name for their daughter because they couldn't agree on anything. My mother was horrified, and I looked in a baby name book and found a very similar perfectly good Welsh name, Anwyn. She is a teenager now and loves her name and my sister has told me several times that she is grateful that I 'saved' her from the made-up name.

Just my opinion, of course, I am sorry if I offended anyone.

There are - or once were before widespread bureaucracies - traditional cultures where young children were given baby names. When the children reached manhood or womanhood, they chose for themselves adult names, or were named by others according to traits they displayed. I have often thought what a good idea that was. Of course my taste in names when I was a teenager was perfectly dreadful, and any name I chose at that point would have embarrassed me for the rest of my life.

I actually love the name my mother chose for me. But I do know that I am lucky, and that this is not universally true.

Rosefolly
AKA Paula
though I do like being called Rosefolly, too!

I see the gremlins have been at the text again and messed up all the Icelandic letters. How very anglocentric of them.