BIRUTĖ SPRAUNIENĖ

Vilnius University

PECULIARITIES OF DANISH PERSONAL NAMES

KEYWORDS: onomastics, Danish personal names, language planning.

In a world shaped by globalization, contact with other cultures is increasing, creating a need to get to know them better. With borders opening, many Lithuanians choose to work, study, or simply spend their holidays abroad; we also welcome many visitors from foreign countries, and mixed marriages are becoming more common. Foreign names appear in legal documents, newspaper pages, and announcements of cultural events; they are encountered both by various professionals (law enforcement officers, civil registry office staff, translators) and by the general public.

This article aims to introduce Danish naming traditions and the legal provisions governing the assignment of personal names in Denmark.

In addition to the traditional categories of first name (Danish fornavn) and surname (Danish efternavn), Denmark’s Personal Names Act also uses the concept of a middle name (Danish mellemnavn), which is unfamiliar to Lithuanians. A middle name is a personal name that comes between a person’s last given name and surname and is typologically more closely associated with a surname. Historically, the tradition of giving children middle names at baptism emerged in Denmark in the late 19th century. A wide variety of personal names were chosen as middle names: patronymics (Danish patronymer¹), names of historical figures, the mother’s maiden name, foreign surnames (i.e., surnames that the person was not entitled to inherit or acquire through kinship), and a father’s name could be given to a daughter as a middle name, among other possibilities. Denmark’s Personal Names Act of 1961 officially recognized middle names and established

¹ Patronymics are divided into primary and secondary patronymics (Danish primer-/sekundærpatronymer). Primary patronymics are true patronymics, formed from a person’s father’s or mother’s name with the element -søn ‘son’ or -datter ‘daughter’. Secondary patronymics are patronymics that have become hereditary surnames. For example, the personal name Jensen was once a patronymic (‘son of Jens’), that is, a primary patronymic; however, having become a hereditary surname, it is no longer associated with a single person and is considered a secondary patronymic. In this article, the terms ‘patronymic’ and ‘patronymic surname’ refer to primary patronymics.

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the rules for assigning them. More than a third of all Danes have one or more middle names in addition to their surname, for example:

Hans Peter Skovgaard Jensen

given name(s) middle name surname

Middle names were legalized in order to increase the diversity of Danish personal names and make it easier to establish individuals’ identities. The following is a brief overview of the three types of Danish personal names—given names, middle names, and surnames—and the possibilities for assigning them under the laws in force in Denmark.

A given name is defined as the first personal name in a person’s sequence of names, by which the person is known (“called”). A person may have several given names. Two given names may be joined by a hyphen, e.g., Anne-Sophie. Parents choose a name for a child no later than 6 months after the child’s birth. Parents may choose a name (or names) for the child from the list of approved names published on the Family Agency’s website (www.familestyrelsen.dk). If parents wish to give the child a name that is not on this list, they may apply for the name to be approved. A newly approved name is automatically added to the list. In addition to male and female names, the list includes gender-neutral names suitable for both boys and girls, e.g.: Kim, Nikita.

A surname is a personal name that comes at the end of a person’s sequence of names and usually indicates family relationships. For example, the surname of Jens Hald Jensen is Jensen. A person may have only one surname. For example, Susanne Hansen, wishing to have Vildbjerg as her surname, loses the surname Hansen.

Double surnames are considered a single surname. Double surnames of Scandinavian origin are written with a hyphen, e.g., Hald-Jensen. Double surnames originating in Spanish-speaking countries are written separately, in accordance with the tradition of those countries, e.g., Castillo Morales.

A surname must be assigned to a child no later than during the first 6 months of the child’s life. The parents choose the child’s surname. If the parents do not decide on the child’s surname by the time the child turns 6 months old, the child is given the mother’s surname. If the mother’s surname is a patronymic (e.g., Helgesdatter, literally ‘Helge’s daughter’), the child is given the mother’s name as a surname, with the element –søn ‘son’ or –datter ‘daughter’, according to the child’s sex.

Danish surnames are divided into hereditary surnames, which may be passed on to children, grandchildren, spouses, partners, etc., and non-hereditary (personal) surnames, which are not passed on to relatives. The category of non-hereditary (personal) surnames includes the aforementioned patronymics—personal names formed-

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… from the father’s or mother’s name with the element -son ‘son’ or –datter ‘daughter’, e.g.: Pedersøn, Pedersson, Anderssøn, Fatimasdatter. If the mother has a patronymic surname, e.g., Kirsten Hansdatter, her daughter may be called not Mette Hansdatter, but Mette Kirstensdatter, if the parents decide to give their daughter a patronymic surname. The practice of assigning patronymic surnames is relatively new in Denmark; it was legalized only in 2005 by the Danish Names Act. All other surnames are hereditary, that is, they may be freely passed on to relatives.

Surnames borne by more than 2,000 people in Denmark are considered freely selectable surnames. The Statistics Denmark agency, drawing on data from the Central Person Register, publishes an updated list of freely selectable surnames each year. Anyone may choose a surname on this list, regardless of family relationship.

If a surname is not on the list of freely selectable surnames, that means it is borne by 2,000 or fewer residents of Denmark. Such a surname belongs to the category of protected surnames. It may be given to a person only on the basis of a family relationship or with the written consent of all bearers of that surname.

A person may always reclaim a previous surname, regardless of whether it is freely selectable or protected. This also applies to surnames acquired through marriage or partnership. A person may always be given a surname borne or previously borne by their parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, or great-great-grandparents. This also applies to surnames acquired through marriage, partnership, etc. This provision, as mentioned earlier, does not apply to personal surnames—patronyms. For example, Susanne Jensen cannot be given her mother’s surname Olesdatter if this surname is her mother’s patronymic. A person may be given a step-parent’s or adoptive parent’s surname if they do not object. If spouses (or partners) wish to have the same surname, they may choose one another’s surname (the wife may take the husband’s surname, or the husband the wife’s).

Danish surnames are indeclinable and have no masculine or feminine endings. Patronymic surnames, of course, indicate a person’s sex, e.g., Helgesdatter (female) and Gunnarson (male). However, the Danish Names Act provides for a person to be given a surname with a masculine or feminine ending if the surname is traditionally associated with a culture in which masculine and feminine surname forms exist, for example, Polish feminine –a, masculine –i; Greek feminine –ou, -u or –i, masculine –is; Czech feminine –ova, masculine –il, and so on.

Foreign patronyms may also be given as surnames, for example, Icelandic forms with the second element –son / –dóttir or Muslim forms with the first element Al / El. For example, if the mother’s name is Bjørk, her daugh-

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ter may be given the surname Björkdóttir according to Icelandic naming tradition (whether or not the mother is Icelandic); likewise, if the father’s name is Muhammed, a son may be given the surname Al-Muhammed or Al Muhammed.

A middle name is defined as a personal name occurring between a person’s given name(s) and surname. A middle name is not required. A person may have several middle names. When a new middle name is chosen, the previous middle name(s) are not automatically lost. Like surnames, middle names are divided into hereditary names, which relatives may inherit, and non-hereditary (personal) names. The category of non-hereditary middle names includes patronyms (e.g., Jakobsson, Helgesdatter) and given names (e.g., Andrea Vagn Jensen, Hans Lykke Hansen). The Danish Names Act allows any masculine or feminine given name included in the approved names list to be chosen as a middle name. A middle name acquired in this way is considered personal (non-hereditary) and cannot be passed on to a child, spouse, or partner. A woman may choose a masculine given name as a middle name (and vice versa); for example, Tina Jensen may choose the masculine name Michael as a middle name. Such a personal middle name cannot later become the person’s surname; for example, Tina Michael Jensen cannot, if she wishes, call herself Tina Michael. All other middle names are hereditary and may be passed on to relatives. Any personal name that a person may legally choose as a surname may be chosen as a middle name. Thus, patronyms and the surnames of parents, grandparents, step-parents, adoptive parents, and others may become middle names. A person may inherit the middle names of their parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, or great-great-grandparents. A spouse’s or partner’s middle name or surname may be given to a person as a middle name if the relative does not object. This provision, as mentioned earlier, does not apply to patronyms; for example, Jens Gunnarson, married to Susanne Hansen, cannot pass his surname Gunnarson to his wife as a middle name if it is his patronymic surname.

A person may decide to register their middle name as a surname; for example, Jens Hald Jensen may choose the middle name Hald as a surname and be called Jens Hald. Since the Danish Names Act provides the right to reclaim a previously held middle name, Jens Hald may reclaim the former middle name Hald and be called Jens Hald Hald.

As this brief overview shows, Danish names legislation gives Danish citizens considerable freedom to choose their own personal names. The law is based on the fundamental principle that a citizen’s name is their personal

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a matter in which society should interfere no more than necessary. The legalization of such extensive freedom of choice in personal names was partly driven by Danish politicians’ and language planners’ aim of increasing the diversity of Danish surnames. For the past few centuries, secondary patronymics with the element -sen, such as Hansen, Andersen or Jensen² had predominated in the stock of Danish surnames. This made it difficult to establish a person’s identity, so several personal-name laws were enacted to increase surname diversity; however, few people took advantage of the opportunity to give up a surname containing the element -sen. Psychological factors also influence surname changes: people identify with their surnames and are reluctant to change them. With the adoption of the 2005 Personal Names Act, the problem finally seems to have been solved: in 2007, the number of the 20 most common surnames containing the element -sen had clearly decreased compared with the 1971 figures. This was due to a provision in the Act allowing people to register their middle name as a surname and give up a surname containing the element -sen.

A middle name is a type of personal name characteristic of Scandinavian languages. As noted earlier, middle names began to be used to make it easier to establish people’s identities. Although middle names can be either surnames or given names, they nevertheless function more like surnames, despite not being part of the surname. The fact that a middle name is closer to a surname than to a given name is also reflected in the possibility for a woman to choose a male given name as her middle name, and for a man to choose a female one. Danish surnames do not have separate masculine or feminine forms, but given names are classified as masculine, feminine, or gender-neutral, and Danish personal-name law prohibits assigning a person a given name that does not correspond to their sex (exceptions are possible only for transgender people). Since given names serving as middle names are equally suitable for people of both sexes, this shows that, like surnames, they do not indicate sex.

LITERATŪRA

Meldgaard E. V. 2008: Det drejer sig om: Efternavnets historie [Apie pavardės istoriją]. Institut for Navneforskning. Prieiga per internetą: http://nfi.ku.dk/publikationer/webpublikationer/ddsoefternavnetshistorie.pdf (žiūrėta 2011 06 20–27).

² 1970 m. atliktas tyrimas parodė, kad danų pavardžių fondą sudarė 85 000 skirtingų pavardžių, tačiau net pusė Danijos gyventojų turėjo vieną iš 14 įprasčiausių pavardžių su dėmeniu -sen, o du trečdaliai turėjo vieną iš 50 dažniausių pavardžių, iš kurių vos keletas pavardžių (pvz.: Møller, Schmidt, Lund, Holm) buvo ne antriniai patronimai su dėmeniu -sen.

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Lov nr. 524 af 24/06/2005 (Navneloven) [2005 m. birželio 24 d. įstatymas Nr. 524 (Danijos asmenvardžių įstatymas)]. Prieiga per internetą: https://www.retsinformation.dk/Forms/R0710.aspx?id=31494 (žiūrėta 2011 06 20–27).

Vejledning om behandling af navnesager [Rekomendacijos dėl asmenvardžių suteikimo]. Prieiga per internetą: https://www.retsinformation.dk/Forms/R0710.aspx?id=127432 (žiūrėta 2011 06 20–27).

Danijos teisingumo ministerijos Šeimos departamento interneto svetainėje skelbiama informacija. Prieiga per internetą: www.familestyrelsen.dk (žiūrėta 2011 06 27).

Gauta 2011 09 15

PECULIARITIES OF DANISH PERSONAL NAMES

S u m m a r y

The paper gives a concise overview of the traditions of Danish personal names and giving them to people in Denmark in accordance with the Danish legislation. When discussing the types of Danish personal names, most attention is given to the specific category of a middle name by highlighting the function of this type of personal names characteristic of Scandinavian languages and its differences from more usual categories of names and surnames.

KEY WORDS: onomastics, Danish personal names, language planning.

BIRUTĖ SPRAUNIENĖ

Vilniaus universiteto Skandinavistikos centras Universiteto g. 5, LT-01513 Vilnius [email protected]

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