Infants don't have "dignity." But I think if the laws were really about the children, they'd just allow children to petition to have their names changed if they were unhappy or felt they were being bullied because of it.
But by the time you're an adult, the worst is usually over, you're used to the name and the reactions, and most people probably just give up and go along. It is, by that time, the name they're known by.
And as a child, it's pretty hard to petition without your parents' assistance, and why would they give the child a name if they didn't think the name was okay, even desireable?
Awkward, very awkward. And if a child is intelligent enough to know how to petition for a name-change, they're intelligent enough to imagine what that awkwardness in their home would feel like. For years.
I sort of understand a small country wanting to keep a certain ethnic purity to their names -- I mean Iceland still uses the father's name appended with son or dottir for the last name. But having less than 2000 approved girl names seems very restrictive.
I'm surprised they just don't hand out "The Official Icelandic Baby Name Book" to all expectant mothers.
I googled the list, because I couldn't even
think of 2000 girls' names without getting really obscure. The list seems pretty reasonable, lots of choices. Many very Icelandic, but a range of 'basic European' and others.
Not as exotic as some North American name choices maybe, but we're catering to a wide range of national origins and ethnic groups.