Want to listen to me read this post? Click on the audio below.
Did you know that Iceland has a Naming Committee that approves or rejects names that people want to give to their children?
It’s true.
The committee is called Mannanafnanefnd: “The human name committee” because what else would it be called?
Some people get pretty irate about this meddling, insisting that parents should be able to name their little darlings whatever they damn well please—and they have a point. Yet arguably so does Mannanafnanefnd, insofar as its purpose is to ensure that said names conform effortlessly and seamlessly to Icelandic language traditions and conventions.
Without falling too far down that rabbit hole, let me just say that this means Icelanders tend not to be baptized Tiger Lily, Moon Unit, Apple, Blue, Purple, Orange, North, South, or whatever else people may come up with in their most creative baby-naming moments.
The truth is, though, that throughout the centuries Icelanders have been called some crazy shit. A cursory glance at the Icelandic Sagas will unearth monikers like Hallgerður Langbrók (Hallgerður Long-pants, although at the time brók may have referred to skirts as well as pants), Gísli Súrsson (Gísli Sours-son), Kveld-Úlfur (Evening-Wolf), Ketill flatnefur (Ketill Flat-nose) and on and on. So it's not as if there is no precedence for outlandish names in this country.
Hell, even today people have crazy names. Here are a handful, with their current, modern-day translations. To be fair, some of these meant something else way back in the day, but that doesn’t have any bearing on their use currently. Allow me to present ACTUAL NAMES FOR MALES in use today:
Aðalsteinn ~ The main stone1
Aðalbjörn ~ The main bear2
Dagur ~ Day
Sveinn ~ Boy
Ófeigur ~ Not likely to die
Ormur ~ Worm
Álfur ~ Elf
Dreki ~ Dragon
Dýri ~ The expensive one3
Fífill ~ Dandelion
Galdur ~ Magic
Kaktus ~ Cactus
Ljótur ~ Ugly4
Neisti ~ Spark
Sigurlás ~ Victory lock
Skalli ~ Bald head
Tanni ~ Tooth
Þjóðbjörn ~ National bear
Bambi ~ newly approved by the Naming Committee, not entirely sure about its meaning, though my uneducated guess would be "world-famous fawn from a Disney movie".
For some reason there are not as many fun names for girls, though I did manage to gather a handful:
Birta ~ Brightness
Hneta ~ Nut
Gríma ~ Mask5
Ilmur ~ Scent
Líf ~ Life
Saga ~ Story
Eik ~ Oak
Nótt ~ Night
Skuld ~ Debt6
Þula ~ Recitation
Presumably all these names integrate seamlessly with Icelandic language conventions, no matter how bizarre they may seem.
So what do you think? Is Mannanafnanefnd a good idea, or is it totally missing the mark? Should it be done away with completely, like many people say, or not?
Could I interest you in more silly facts about the Icelandic people? My Little Book of the Icelanders is a perennially popular romp through the heart and soul of the Icelandic nation.
Back in the day: “the noble stone”
BID: “the noble bear”
BID: "a good man"
BID: "bright light"
BID: "night"
BID: one of the witches from Norse mythology
It's so nice to listen to you reading the blog, and read simultaniously.
It gives me a little bit of an idea about why I don't understand the spoken language, but I can understand some of the written.
So this is good practice for my next trips to Iceland next year.
Keep up the good work!
Keep the Mannanafnanefnd to safeguard the cultural history of Niceland and stop it sliding into becoming another "whatever rootless random name you like at the time" nation