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A friend of the family was half-Norwegian and half-Kiwi. He was born in Norway and his parents named him Bernt, a common Norwegian name.

When they moved to New Zealand, he quickly found that his name was pronounced "burnt", and after some time decided to change his name to Brent.

Many years later he moved back to Norway, and quickly realized "brent" is Norwegian for "burnt"...

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It’s a bit hard to believe though that the parents wouldn’t have realized how the name sounds like in their respective native languages.

I was quite young when I heard this so didn't think to ask. I guess if you live long enough in a different country and don't think about returning, these things might not be at the top of your head. The initial name was after a great-grandparent.

Perhaps they didn't think it would be an issue since they had committed to living in Norway.

Norway and their odd names...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odd_(name)#See_also

Yes, we also have the name "Simen". It's also not uncommon for people to have multiple names, like "Odd Simen"

One of my fave Norwegians is Odd Nerdrum, the visual artist.

From the old greek Oddsimendius

Even is also a common Norwegian name. Since you can have multiple first names too, you can be named Odd Even or even <sic> Even Odd.

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