What's missing in this article is the aspect of escapism. The mentioned names Ronny and Mandy were especially popular in East Germany for kids born in the late

What's missing in this article is the aspect of escapism. The mentioned names Ronny and Mandy were especially popular in East Germany for kids born in the late 70ies, early 80ies. I think many parents picked "exotic" names for their kids in some sense of longing for the places they could never hope to see. Maybe some simple way to be part of a larger world? I could see the same mechanism in socio-economic disadvantaged parents. Their world is limited by money, not borders, but they still want to be part of the larger world.