A Handbook of Scandinavian Names

Naming Traditions in Scandinavia

69 Naming Traditions in Scandinavia The subject of this book is Scandinavian given names. However, there is a close relationship between a Scandinavian given name and the patronymic name, often used today as a last name, or surname. In order to gain a perspective on naming practices, we need to take a brief look at the larger context of naming in Scandinavia by looking at both given names and surnames. A Note on the Scandinavian Alphabets The Scandinavian languages have several letters that are not used in the English twenty-six-letter alphabet. Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish have three extra vowels at the end of the alphabet, and thus their alphabets have twenty-nine letters. The pronunciation of these vowels is the same, but the written forms differ somewhat. Danish and Norwegian use the order æ, ø, and å, while the order in Swedish is å, ä, and ö. The Danish and Norwegian order is followed below. Æ/æ and Ä/ä are pronounced as the ‘a’ in English ‘cat.’ Ø/ø and Ö/ö are pronounced by rounding your lips to say ‘oh’ and saying ‘ee’ at the same time. Å/å is pronounced ‘oh.’ Å/å is written Aa/aa in older documents. The Icelandic alphabet has a total of thirty-four letters. Vowels with accents account for six of the additional letters: á, é, í, ó, ú, ý. Á/á is the only one that we will comment on here, as it corresponds to Å/å in the other languages. Icelandic also has the letter Æ/æ. Á/á is pronounced like ‘ow.’ Æ/æ is pronounced like ‘I.’ In Icelandic and Old Norse there are also two extra consonants: Ð/ð and Þ/þ. These letters are no longer used in modern Danish, Norwegian, or Swedish, and the sounds have mostly developed into ‘d’ or ‘t.’ Where Icelandic spells a word with Ð/ð, modern Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish have replaced it with D/d; for example , Icelandic Ingiríður is Ingrid in the other languages. Where Icelandic spells a name with Þ/þ, modern Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish have replaced it with T/t; for example, the Icelandic name Þór is Tor in the other languages. Note that sometimes Tor is spelled Thor, but the name is always pronounced ‘Tor’ in Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish. Ð/ð is pronounced in Icelandic like the ‘th’ in ‘that.’ 70 A Guide to Scandinavian Naming Þ/þ is pronounced in Icelandic like the ‘th’ in ‘think.’ You will find many Old Norse words and elements in the dictionary entries. They are in most cases spelled the same way as in Icelandic. Note that Old Norse o ˛ (o with ogonek) is represented by ö in modern Icelandic. The table below gives a summary of the extra letters, as well as the adapted spelling conventions in the English-speaking environment. See also the pronunciation guide at the front of the book. Language Æ/æ or Ä/ä Ø/ø or Ö/ö Å/å or Á/á Ð/ð and Þ/þ Danish Norwegian Swedish Icelandic Æ/æ Æ/æ Ä/ä Æ/æ Ø/ø Ø/ø Ö/ö Ö/ö Å/å (aa before 1948) Å/å (aa before 1917) Å/å Á/á Ð/ð and Þ/þ Adapted spelling A/a or Ae/ae Sabo (Sæbø) Saether (Sæther) O/o or Oe/oe Rolvaag (Rølvåg) Odegaard (Ødegård) Oefstedal (Øfstedal) A/a, Aa/aa or O/o Rolvaag (Rølvåg) Osa (Åsa) D/d and Th/th Sigrid (Sigríður) Thor (Þór) Given Names, Patronymics, Matronymics, and Surnames It is typical of naming patterns in all cultures that a new baby receives a given name or names. In the Scandinavian countries, from the Viking Age and up to the nineteenth century, it was most common to give the child only one given name. In addition to the given name, the parentage of the children was marked by an additional type of name called a patronymic, or occasionally a matronymic. A patronymic is the name of the father in the possessive form with the addition of the appropriate suffix meaning ‘son’ or ‘daughter’; for example, Olavsson or Olavsdotter would be the son or daughter of Olav. The spellings of the suffix vary according to language. Danish: sen or søn and datter; Norwegian: sen, son, or søn, and dotter or datter; Swedish: son and dotter; Icelandic: son and dóttir. A matronymic name is a corresponding form based on the given name of the mother, such as Gunnhildson (the son of Gunnhild) or Aslaugsdotter (or the daughter of Aslaug). The resulting patronymic often has a double s, especially in Swedish: Andersson, Nilsson, and so forth. Many of these forms have been simplified in the United States by leaving out one s: Anderson, Nilson , and so on. It is not known why the Norsemen used a patronymic rather than a matronymic name, but it is possible that the custom was related to the...