Posted on 07/01/2014 8:30:42 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Authorities reluctant to renew passport of Harriet, 10, as name is not on approved list of 3,565
You can be Aagot, Arney or Ásfríður; Baldey, Bebba or Brá. Dögg, Dimmblá, Etna and Eybjört are fine; likewise Frigg, Glódís, Hörn and Ingunn. Jórlaug works OK, as do Obba, Sigurfljóð, Úranía and should you choose Vagna.
But you cannot, as a girl in Iceland, be called Harriet.
"The whole situation," said Tristan Cardew, with very British understatement, "is really rather silly."
With his Icelandic wife Kristin, Cardew is appealing against a decision by the National Registry in Reykjavik not to renew their 10-year-old daughter Harriet's passport on the grounds that it does not recognise her first name.
Since the registry does not recognise the name of Harriet's 12-year-old brother Duncan either, the two children have until this year travelled on passports identifying them as Stúlka and Drengur Cardew: Girl and Boy Cardew.
"But this time, the authorities have decided to apply the letter of the law," Cardew, a British-born cook who moved to Iceland 14 years ago, told the Guardian. "And that says no official document will be issued to people who do not bear an approved Icelandic name."
The Cardews could get round Harriet's problem by giving her an Icelandic middle name. Photograph: Tristan Cardew The impasse meant the family, from Kópavogur, risked missing their holiday in France next week until they applied to the British embassy for an emergency UK passport, which should now allow them to leave.
(Excerpt) Read more at theguardian.com ...
She’s a ringer for one of my g/daughters.
South Korea even has such laws, but that doesn’t keep celebrities and everyone from being known by westernized nicknames.
But then Þjóðvarður is on the list too.
Heaven forbid a country tries to preserve their language and culture....What a concept!
I noticed that Bambi is an approved male name. Hmm.
On the other hand, Barack is ilegal, and Mohammed is illegal, so this policy does have some positive aspects.
The Althing (oldest Parliament in the world) in Iceland has to approve every new word that enters the Icelandic language as to not dilute it with English/ foreign sounding words. It is said the Icelanders can read the Old Norse Sagas in there original versions because the language has changed so little over a 1,000 years.
Norway up until about 10 years ago had an approved names list too, then the Muzzies got offended and they dropped it. I think Denmark has an approved names list too.
Icelanders also have their fist names listed first in the phone book.
I would be tickled to give my kid a name like that, with the old "eth" and "thorn" letters. He might not like it as much...
Kill’em quick, while their numbers are small.
Cute girl, but this is a message for her father: their country, their rules. Don’t like it? Leave.
Despite my strong Scandinavian heritage, my wife and I used Biblical names for all our kids. As a group, however, they are referred to as the "Viking Horde" despite their Jewish-derived names.
“Thanks to this, I shall complain a wee bit less about bureaucracy here in the US (even the DPS offices).”
No, oppose even more strenuously else we arrive at this and then worse.
I have to wonder how the icelandic Naming Convention rubs up against the mooselim culture or vice versa.
CAN Mohammad possibly be on the icelandic approved names list?...
Actually their naming is based on the first name of the father. If Karl Svenson (Karl son of Sven) has a son and names him Jahn his last name will be Karlson. A daughter named Greta will have the last name of Karlsdottir.
Family gatherings must be a riot.
I guess that would mean any derivative of Mohammed or Ali would be out?
Latrina ?
To be clear, the family can name her whatever they want. But she has to have an official, approved, Icelandic name to use on official documentation.
Iceland has what is called a “closed class” system of names, where there is an approved list of names designed to keep the integrity of the nation’s culture and history. Other countries use similar systems, for example, unless its changed recently, Germany allows you to choose any name, but under the condition that there are at least 5 living people in Germany with that name already - this prevents people just making stuff up out of whole cloth, and also prevents people from going back and using archaic names long since disused.
IIRC, Jewish temple names would be another example of “closed class”.
Most places have a generally “open class” system, such as the United States, where you’re free to use almost anything you want as a name. Of course, try naming a child something offensive (e.g., “Adolph Hitler”) and see how fast the unwritten rules come into play. Similarly, there are other “open class” societies that have “banned names” lists, often derogatory names that are used for superstitious reasons but cause problems later in life.
They probably get an exemption.
In Iceland....as is elsewhere...
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