A “first name plus last name” form is a North Atlantic habit, not a human default.
Worldwide pages in this atlas treat Spanish two surnames, Korean 돌림자, Japanese koseki and Icelandic lists as descriptions of systems — never as luck manuals.
Regions
- United States — SSA frequencies + common-law names
Fashion is public; legal change is state-by-state. Bias research (Emily/Lakisha) is also U.S.-centric.
- England & Wales — ONS baby names
The Office for National Statistics releases annual given-name counts from civil registration — ranks with years, not oracles.
- Korea — Hanja, 돌림자, KOSTAT
Statistics Korea publishes name frequencies. Generation syllables (돌림자) mark sibling sets; they are kinship design, not fortune-telling.
- Japan — Koseki and jinmeiyō kanji
The family register and the ministry’s name-kanji list decide what can be filed; readings remain a separate social layer.
- Iceland — Patronymics + committee
Given names are often drawn from an approved list; surnames typically change each generation (-son / -dóttir).
- Spanish-speaking world — Two surnames
Children commonly take a first surname from each parent; forms that allow only one surname lose information.
Laws
- Icelandic naming committee Iceland — Mannanafnanefnd reviews names for grammar and list fit — a famous high-friction system.
- German Namensrecht Germany — Civil-status rules constrain which names can be registered and how marriage changes family names.
- Japanese koseki / jinmeiyō Japan — Characters for given names must generally come from approved sets; the register is the legal source of truth.
- U.S. state name-change statutes United States — Court petitions, publication rules and fraud exceptions vary — everyday reach with uneven friction.
If a form cannot store the local system, the harm is administrative, not spiritual.