[Pecos]

You have to remember that Germany is the country that has a law which requires you to pick the name for your child from an approved list. And, oh, by the way - hyphenated last names are not legal either...... The Nazis lived (and others died) by regulation.

[Erasmus]

And, oh, by the way - hyphenated last names are not legal either

When did that become law? I know of a few Germans with hyphenated last names. Have their descendants been required to give them up?

[wolf78]

You have to remember that Germany is the country that has a law which requires you to pick the name for your child from an approved list.

Which is also untrue. It is true that there is a list of pre-approved names. But other names are accepted as well. The operative word here is name, i.e. if you want to give your child a traditional Mongolian name in honor of its Mongolian great-grandfather, that is possible, too.

What you cannot do is name your child "kitchen sink". Also if parents really hate their child and try to name it "Judas Adolf", that request will be denied.