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HelpRe: naming law
in reply to a message by Francisinfp5w4
In my numerous years of research, I have found that Iceland, a country of less than 300,000 people, has some of the strictest naming laws you will find anywhere. They want to preserve their language and culture as there are so few Icelanders. I find their naming customs fascinating.
Most Icelandic people don't have surnames likely most other cultures. Children are usually given a first name and one middle name. Their third name is made up of their father's first name with "son" or "dóttir" attached to the end of it. For example, Jón and Ásta have two children, a boy named Einar Magnús and a girl named Anna Kristín. Their full names would be Einar Magnús Jónsson (son of Jón)and Anna Kristín Jonsdóttir (daughter of Jón). Therefore, a family living in the same house and made up of a father, mother, son and daughter can potentially have completely different "third names" (mostly patronymic in nature).
Due to the fact that a majority of women are single mothers, sometimes the children take the mother's name (matronymic). There are other variations but I won't go into them.
There are strict rules for first and middle names. A name must not cause any ridicule or embarrassment for the child. A name must adhere to the gender that is assigned at birth and follow the rules of the Icelandic language. It also must be on a national registry or, if not,it must be submitted to the Naming Committee for approval (I wouldn't mind having that job).
Icelandic names can come from many sources: Old Norse mythology, mountains and volcanos (Katla & Hella for girls), glacier (Jökull), ice & fire (Íseldur) etc...obviously, nature plays a huge part in the naming process.
I'll stop there before I write a book on the subject.
Most Icelandic people don't have surnames likely most other cultures. Children are usually given a first name and one middle name. Their third name is made up of their father's first name with "son" or "dóttir" attached to the end of it. For example, Jón and Ásta have two children, a boy named Einar Magnús and a girl named Anna Kristín. Their full names would be Einar Magnús Jónsson (son of Jón)and Anna Kristín Jonsdóttir (daughter of Jón). Therefore, a family living in the same house and made up of a father, mother, son and daughter can potentially have completely different "third names" (mostly patronymic in nature).
Due to the fact that a majority of women are single mothers, sometimes the children take the mother's name (matronymic). There are other variations but I won't go into them.
There are strict rules for first and middle names. A name must not cause any ridicule or embarrassment for the child. A name must adhere to the gender that is assigned at birth and follow the rules of the Icelandic language. It also must be on a national registry or, if not,it must be submitted to the Naming Committee for approval (I wouldn't mind having that job).
Icelandic names can come from many sources: Old Norse mythology, mountains and volcanos (Katla & Hella for girls), glacier (Jökull), ice & fire (Íseldur) etc...obviously, nature plays a huge part in the naming process.
I'll stop there before I write a book on the subject.
