First names

I was recently asked what kind of names do people have around here. I will give a non-exhaustive list of some names one can meet here. I hope I will not make mistakes in the "categories" !

There are "common" names, where the British (or French) origin is visible:
Bernard, Steven, Paul, Simon, John, ...

Some are clearly from Dutch/German origin (and usually go along with a dutch-sounding family name):
Ludwig, Frikkie, Vilijoen, Jappie, ...

There are the very exotic ones for us European - which may mean something, I don't know:
Makhosonke, Lehlohonolo, Mhlambululi, Zwelithini, ...

And finally some cool ones, which have an explicit meaning (to me):
Lucky, Happy, Patience, Blessed, Innocent, Goodman, ...


One thing is sure, "Mathieu" is not common here (its British form may be), and people sometimes have a hard time saying it "properly" (i.e. French style). But not more than in Spain ;-)
In return, I'm sure I'm pretty bad at saying some of these names (not to mention the French accent).

Maybe we are just as creative in Europe, but we don't realize it. I had read somewhere that in Danemark, the names can be chosen only from an official list, and if you want to give a name that is not on the list, you have to ask a special permission (which can be refused). I don't know if this is a legend or not :-)