A Handbook of Scandinavian Names

Name Laws

135 Name Laws In contrast to the United States, some countries feel that name giving should be regulated by law. This is true for Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. To meet the needs of a multicultural society, these laws have been revised in recent years. Denmark In Denmark a child must be given a name by the time she or he is six months old, and both parents must sign the form. Very many couples live together without being married, and many children are therefore born “out of wedlock.” Whether the parents are married or not, the child does not automatically receive the surname of its father. The parents must agree on a surname, but if they have not decided by the time the child is six months old, it will automatically receive the mother’s surname. There is an interesting twist to this. As mentioned above, the Danes abandoned the custom of using a patronymic name in the nineteenth century, but the new law gives the practice new potential. If no name has been agreed upon and the mother’s name is a patronymic type name, the child will be given a matronymic name; that is, the mother’s given name with the ending søn for a boy and datter for a girl. For example, Birthe Jensen’s child would be given the surname Birthesøn or Birthesdatter, rather than Jensen. The selection of a child’s given name is also governed by law in Denmark, and the Department of Family Affairs publishes lists of approved names for boys and girls. In 2007 there were 6,754 names approved for boys and 8,974 names approved for girls. It is not permissible to give a boy a girls name or vice versa. If the parents want to use a name that is not on the list, they must apply to the local government and be granted approval in order to use the desired name. Norway The Norwegian law is quite similar. The name of a child must be registered by the time the baby is six months old, and if the parents have not done so, the child will be given the mother’s surname. If the mother has no surname, the surname of the child will be given her name “with an ending that shows the relationship of mother and 136 A Guide to Scandinavian Naming child,” that is, a matronymic name. Unlike Denmark, Norway does not have lists of approved names, but it is not permissible to give a boy a girls name or vice versa. The use of a surname as a given name is restricted, unless it has a tradition of being used as both a given name and a surname. For example, a child cannot be named Andersen , Helland, or Vik, since they are surnames. Under the old law, a person was not allowed to have more than one last name, and hyphenated last names were also not permitted. But this rule has now been revoked. Since many women keep their last names after marriage, some will welcome the chance to give their children the surnames of both parents. If a child was given the surnames of both of the parents under the old system, only the final name would officially be a surname, and the other one would be a middle name. For example , a daughter of Jorunn Undset and Harald Arnestad might be named Solveig Undset Arnestad, but Undset would be a middle name, and the child’s last name would be Arnestad; the parents would also not be able to give her the hyphenated name Undset-Arnestad. Under the new law they may do just that. But other parents look ahead to when a child with a lengthy last name might marry a person with another lengthy last name. For example, Solveig UndsetArnestad might marry Håvard Solstad-Jensen, and it would be a problem if they wanted their children to have all the names: Elsa Solstad-Jensen-Undset-Arnestad. And the problem would potentially multiply with each new generation. In order to prevent endless surnames, some couples choose to give their children only one surname . The new law also allows the use of a patronymic or matronymic name. Before the new law was passed in 2006, the Norwegian government also issued lists of names that were not allowed. Parents could not name their daughter Kiss, Norgia, Nuppe, Røy, or Valkyrie, or their son Burre, Fnorre, Gay, Gnomen, Jesus, Junior...