[Reader-list] what's in a name?

[Geert Lovink]

hi, can anyone explain to me why denmark is such an interesting  
country? geert

On 20 Feb 2006, at 8:16 PM, aarti at sarai.net wrote:

> What's in a name? Much apparently in denmark where parents must choose  
> a
> baby's name from a pre-approved list. If you wish to name your little
> bundle of joy something bizzare like "chutney" then you must submit an
> application to the government's "Names Investigation Department".
>
> read on..
> http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/08/international/europe/08names.html? 
> ex=1254974400&en=2dd65b3bf717f9db&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&pagewante 
> d=all
>
> Jens and Vita, but Molli? Danes Favor Common Names
> By LIZETTE ALVAREZ
>
> Published: October 8, 2004
>
> COPENHAGEN - If Denmark somehow morphed into the celebrity epicenter of
> the universe, there would be no place for the baby-naming  
> eccentricities
> of the world's megastars.
>
> Apple Paltrow Martin would be rejected as a fruit, Jett Travolta as a
> plane (and misspelled as well), Brooklyn Beckham as a place, and Rumer
> Willis, as, well, Danish name investigators would not even know where  
> to
> begin with that one.
>
> Advertisement
>
> "Cuba is also a problem,'' said Michael Lerche Nielsen, assistant
> professor for the Department of Name Research at Copenhagen  
> University. "I
> have to decide: Is this a typical boy or girl name? And that's the  
> problem
> with geographical names."
>
> In Denmark, a country that embraces rules with the same gusto that  
> Italy
> defies them, choosing a first and last name for a child is a serious,
> multitiered affair, governed by law and subject to the approval of the
> Ministry of Ecclesiastical Affairs and the Ministry of Family and  
> Consumer
> Affairs.
>
> At its heart, the Law on Personal Names is designed to protect  
> Denmark's
> innocents - the children who are undeservedly, some would say cruelly,
> burdened by preposterous or silly names. It is the state's view that
> children should not suffer ridicule and abuse because of their parents'
> lapses in judgment or their misguided attempts to be hip. Denmark, like
> much of Scandinavia, prizes sameness, not uniqueness, just as it values
> usefulness, not frivolousness.
>
> "You shouldn't stand out from anyone else here; you shouldn't think you
> are better than anyone else," said Lan Tan, a 27, Danish woman of
> Singaporean and Malaysian descent who is trying to win approval for her
> daughter's name, Frida Mei Tan-Farndsen. "It's very Scandinavian."
>
> While other Scandinavian countries have similar laws, Denmark's is the
> strictest. So strict that the Danish Ministry of Justice is proposing  
> to
> relax the law to reflect today's Denmark, a place where common-law
> marriage is accepted, immigration is growing, and divorce is routine.  
> The
> measure, which would add names to the official list, is scheduled for
> debate in Parliament in November. "The government, from a historical  
> point
> of view, feels a responsibility towards its weak citizens," said Rasmus
> Larsen, chief adviser at the Ministry for Ecclesiastical Affairs,
> discussing the law. "It doesn't want to see people put in a situation
> where they can't defend themselves. We do the same in traffic; we have
> people wear seat belts."
>
> People expecting children can choose a pre-approved name from a  
> government
> list of 7,000 mostly Western European and English names - 3,000 for  
> boys,
> 4,000 for girls. A few ethnic names, like Ali and Hassan, have recently
> been added. But those wishing to deviate from the official list must  
> seek
> permission at their local parish church, where all newborns' names are
> registered. A request for an unapproved name triggers a review at
> Copenhagen University's Names Investigation Department and at the  
> Ministry
> of Ecclesiastical Affairs, which has the ultimate authority. The law  
> only
> applies if one of the parents is Danish.
>
> Many parents do not realize how difficult it can be to get a name  
> approved
> by the government. About 1,100 names are reviewed every year, and 15
> percent to 20 percent are rejected, mostly for odd spellings. Compound
> surnames, like Tan-Farnsden, also pose a problem.
>
> Parents who try to be creative by naming their child Jakobp or Bebop or
> Ashleiy (three recent applications) are typically stunned when they are
> rejected. In some cases, a baby may go without an officially approved  
> name
> for weeks, even months, making for irate, already sleep-deprived,  
> parents.
>
> Greg Nagan, 39, and Trine Kammer, 32, thought it would be cute to name
> their daughter Molli Malou. To their surprise, Malou was not a problem,
> but Molli with an I, which they thought sounded Danish, had to be  
> reviewed
> by the government. The church told Ms. Kammer she needed to state in a
> letter the reason for choosing Molli. She did so, and said she told the
> clerk, "Here's your stupid letter: The reason for naming her Molli is
> because we like it."
>
> "Isn't this silly?" Ms. Kammer said. "We love to make everything a rule
> here. They love to bureaucratize."
>
> The century-old law was initially designed to bring order to surnames.
> Before the law, surnames changed with every generation: Peter Hansen  
> would
> name his son Hans Petersen. Then Hans Petersen would name his son Peter
> Hansen. And on it went, wreaking bureaucratic havoc. The law ended  
> that.
> It also made it difficult for people to change their last names, a move
> that was designed to appease the noble class, which feared widespread
> name-poaching by arrivistes, Mr. Nielsen said.
>
> Then in the 1960's, a furor erupted over the first name Tessa, which
> resembled tisse, which means to urinate in Danish. Distressed over the
> lack of direction in the law, the Danish government expanded the  
> statute
> to grapple with first names. Now the law is as long as an average-size
> book.
>
> It falls mostly to Mr. Nielsen, at Copenhagen University, to apply the  
> law
> and review new names, on a case-by-case basis. In a nutshell, he said,
> Danish law stipulates that boys and girls must have different names,  
> first
> names cannot also be last names, and bizarre names are O.K. so long as
> they are "common."
>
> "Let's say 25 different people" worldwide, he said, a number that was
> chosen arbitrarily. How does Mr. Nielsen make that determination? He
> searches the Internet.
>
> Generally, geographic names are rejected because they seldom denote
> gender. Cairo, if it is approved at all, may be approved for a boy, but
> then could not be used for a girl. Jordan is a recent exception to the
> one-gender rule.
>
> In some cases, Mr. Nielsen says, he believes he is performing a vital
> public service. He advised the Ministry that Anus and Pluto be  
> rejected,
> for example. He also vetoed Monkey. "That's not a personal name, " Mr.
> Nielsen explained. "It's an animal. I have to protect the children from
> ridicule."
>
> Leica, however, has been approved, as has Benji, Jiminico and Fee.
>
> "People's names have become part of their identities now," Mr. Nielsen
> said. "And people change their names the way you change your clothes or
> your apartment. It has become more common."
>
> And what about Molli Malou?
>
> Approved, by government decree, just recently.
>
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