Speaking of names is it really true than in Sweden you have to get a baby name approved by some government office? How strict is that in practice?
Basically. The Swedish IRS is responsible for keeping the register of all Swedish citizens and they have the power to refuse to register a name. The main rule is you are not allowed to give a child a name that can be seen as provocative, insulting or has a high risk of causing the child problems or humiliation in the future. The core legal principal behind is that parents are not allowed to cause their children potential harm with their choice of name and since the child cannot act their own advocate in this matter, the State has to.
Edit: The other type of name you are not allowed to give are names that are considered 'obvious' last names, as well as names that are primarily titles like "King", "Admiral" or "Captain".
And I found this list of all names that have been rejected over the past few years: https://www.motherhood.se/bebis-och-smabarn/namn-man-inte-fa... (scroll down to "Förnamn som fått avslag hos Skatteverket")