This article presents five undergraduate dissertations in socio-onomastics written by students from Halmstad University in 2016 and presented during a visit to the Department of Scandinavian Languages, Scandinavian Onomastics, at Uppsala University in 2017. Two of the dissertations deal with personal names (a social constructionist approach to personal names in children’s literature, and perceptions of name and identity among senior citizens). Two others focus on animal names in contemporary times (a gender analysis of names of horses, and a comparative analysis of names within different dog breeds). The last undergraduate dissertation concerns the process of naming companies. 

This paper presents a pilot study of how brand names and product namesare recognized in commercials. Previous research has primarily focused oncommercial names from the perspective of the enterprise, whereas we inthis study shift focus to a user perspective. The paper also presents a newmethod for onomastic study which was used in the pilot study: eye tracking.Eye tracking implies digitally registering and analyzing patterns in eyemovements in order to explore how particular features are recognized andcognitively processed in interaction with other features in the context. Thepaper describes the eye tracking method and its theoretical foundation aswell as apply it in a small pilot study. Six advertisements containing a totalof 12 commercial names and different visual structures were presented to10 study participants. Basing on the results of the eye tracking analysis, wediscuss how names in different visual settings have been recognized andremembered and identify potential research questions for future research.We also evaluate the utilization of the method as such and discuss itsimplications for future onomastics. © Respektive författare 2023

Innovations in names and name patterns was the theme of a Nordic Symposium held in Halmstad in November 2013. The symposium was arranged by Halmstad University in collaboration with NORNA. The proceedings present 20 symposium papers. They offers insights into names in multicultural environments, changes in the gender marking of first names, introduction of new names in the Swedish name day calendar, the role of names in literature, as well as emergence of new name patterns in place names, personal names, names of animals, planes, ships etc. The proceedings cover a large time span from iron age to contemporary time and deal with names from different Nordic countries as well as Germany. Several articles also present new theories and methods within the field of onomastics.

This study investigates the interplay between morality, impoliteness, and moral order in the online harassment of Swedish journalists on Twitter. It reveals how impoliteness serves as a tool to harm the media's epistemic credibility, rooted in anti-press and populist rhetoric, and exert destructive informal social control. The highlighted paradox is that provisions for freedom of speech, designed to protect, are paradoxically used to suppress journalists' voices through targeted insults and derogatory language. The study uncovers that such harassment is systematic, politically motivated, and morally grounded. We emphasize the urgent need to recognize and confront these subtle tactics that threaten journalistic freedom and, consequently, access to information in Sweden and internationally under growing criticism that seeks to delegitimize the media. © 2023 The Author(s). 

In this article I will discuss the change in the interpretation of the part of the Swedish name law (§34) that deals with inappropriate names. The discussion that I intend to run has its origins both in a societal context and in a linguistic perspective. First I will provide a background to the societal changes that may affect the name practice and the Name Law. Have the last 10 years of gender equality and social changes influenced the perception of the first names that are in use? Have the last decade of equality aspirations left traces among the Swedish first names? If this is the case, are there any similar changes in other linguistic areas? Regarding the convention of general language it is the language users themselves who decide what is acceptable and correct, but there are many social forces pulling in different directions, and the acceptance of some groups is always more important than others. But unlike general language the use of personal names is regulated by law, which means that the changes are easier to follow. It is also a choice that is more planned than the use of a temporary word as a name is closely associated with an identity. The kind of first names that I have chosen to study is the gender-neutral names. On the whole it can be said that the period that a name is a unisex name is relatively short. It solidifies often quite fast and is perceived as either a girl’s name or a boy’s name. The socio-ideological equality debate has, in recent years, found nourishment in a queer theoretical approach which questions the existing norm. For many young people, it is obvious that the notion of sex can also be based on social variables. An analysis of the name law of 1983 shows that the impact has not been as transformative for the first names as the previous Name Law was. Meanwhile, the reinterpretation of the existing law has amended the view of first names. There are two ways to explaining the increase in unisex names in Sweden. Either the parents are accepting unisex first names that are not gender-specific, or it is a name fashion that is supported by the names of the children of certain Swedish celebrities. For the former interpretation speaks perhaps the decision of the Supreme Administrative Court in 2009 when a man was allowed to use Madeleine as a first name. Through this verdict all first names in Sweden have become unisex in a legal sense.

The significance of nicknames in the making and performance of identity: The examples youth and gender identity

This article analyses the nickname’s significance for the construction of identity. The issues I specifically discuss are as follows: 1) How does the nickname contribute in the construction of identity? 2) How is youth and gender identity constructed through nicknames? My approach to identity is based on a constructivist perspective where the starting-point is that the identity is originally individual but also perceived as collective in a group constructing process where nicknames can be used to announce inclusion or exclusion of the group.

In the analysis, I am using 198 nicknames that are collected through interviews and questionnaires. Name-bearers usually get their nicknames when they are children or adolescents. A gender perspective on the issue shows that it is more common for women to get nicknames at the age of 0–5 years, while men get, to a greater extent, their nicknames at the age of 11–15 years. However, it is more common that men’s nicknames contain different features which reinforce traditional gender roles. The conclusion is that the nickname can be an important linguistic resource for constructing identity.

The background for this paper is Everett M. Rogers' model of the characteristics of the innovation as an influence on its diffusion process, and the paper will investigate the possibilities to apply that model to a first name context. The examples used in the paper have been taken from the Swedish town of Skellefteå and its surroundings in northern Sweden, from the beginning of the 18th to the end of the 19th century. The point of departure is the diffusion of new first names within this region and I am discussing the characteristics of these new names as a factor for their diffusion. The characteristics that are dealt with in the paper is the new first name´s relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trial ability and observability. The conclusion indicates that it is indeed possible to use Rogers' model of the characteristics of innovation in a first name context, even though there are many questions remaning to be answered.

The aim of this article is to discuss both the structure and the function of modern nicknames in Sweden. The material for the study has been collected, partly through postal surveys and, partly through interviews. In total, the material consists of 203 informants – 125 women and 78 men. In order to understand and analyze the nicknames, theoretical perspectives from sociology, ethnology, psychology, and linguistics are used. From these disciplines, I have applied reasoning used in pragmatics and onomastics, as well as different theoretical perspectives concerning power, identity and the interactional context as the basis for the analysis of the results. The categorization of the material is based on four categories: the source, the composition, the meaning, and the perceived reason for the naming. In general, nicknames occur in the childhood family (34 %), especially among women. Finally, three main functions of the nicknames, affective function, relationship function, and positioning function, are discussed in the article.

The aim of the study is to examine the modern everyday use of nicknames. The study is based on two different types of material – questionnaires and interviews. In contrast to previous nicknames-studies in Sweden, this study considers, not only different sorts of nicknames, even though this has been taken into consideration, but the function of the nicknames in everyday communication. The observations are based on the name-bearer’s own estimation of his or her nickname(s). The theoreti- cal framework is a combination of onomastics, sociolinguistic, identity-theoretical, and interactional theories. The results demonstrate that the use of nicknames is an important social act that can be either positive or negative for the nickname-users. Six naming environments have been identified for the nicknames’ occurrence: childhood family, childhood friends, sports context, adulthood friends, partner and other. It appears that nicknames are co-creators of a gender and a youth identity. Three different functions for nicknames have been identified: affective function, relation function and positioning function. Finally, this study argues that there are two dimensions, public–private and exclusive–inclusive, that are useful in describing the use of nicknames. © Linnea Gustafsson 2016

The aim of this thesis is to examine and elucidate the introduction of new first names and the patterns of name giving from a social perspective based on material from baptismal registers. The region I have chosen to examine is Skellefteå and its surroundings 1791-1890. The point of departure is that the name giving may be considered a symbolic indication of the division between "us" and "them", based on constantly changing taste. During the period under examination, 1791-1890, 71 149 first names occur and 582 of which has been defined as new, i.e. first names that, as far as I know, did not exist in the area before the first example. Seen as the percentage of names occurring within different social groups the largest portion of new first names is introduced by the bourgeoisie and the smallest by the agrarian group.

The new first names have been categorised as either a name choice or a name formation, with the former category containing more names than the latter. As regards categories of new names the bourgeoisie predominantly utilize name choice while for the agrarian group name formation predominates.

The new pattern of name giving I have examined is the polyname system, which expands from the 18th Century onwards. The custom first grows in the name giving of girls, especially if born into the bourgeoisie. This social group also introduces the custom for the boys. When the custom of giving two names becomes too common in the region the bourgeoisie returns increasingly to one first name for the children, or to three or four names for each child. As regards the order of the new or old names, for boys the old name is generally placed first, especially among the agrarian group, if the two names are even in other respects e.g. have the same number of syllables.

Once a new first name has been introduced it has to spread to survive. Of the 582 new names 422 spread and 160 do not. To examine the initial diffusion process from both a social and a geographical perspective 23 names have been chosen as representatives of different patterns of diffusion. The diffusion is described in terms of influence spreading from district to district or influence in the immediate surroundings. These two geographical aspects have been treated from a social perspective, in terms of a heterogeneous or homogenous social diffusion respectively.

The aim of the article is to describe the frequency and phonological aspects of Syrian first names in Sweden. The data is taken from Syrian citizens who were living in Sweden and had been in contact with the Syrian embassy in Stockholm between 2014 and 2018. In total, 1,119 first names (tokens) were studied: 328 are female names and 791 are male names. The research questions in focus are as follows: 1) What similarities and differences exist between Syrian female and male first names, regarding both frequency and phonological aspects? 2) What similarities and differences exist between the first names of Syrian and Swedish citizens in Sweden, regarding frequency and phonological aspects? 3) What are the possibilities of native Swedish parents accepting Syrian first names for their own children?The results show differences between female and male first names with regard to variation in first names. Further, there are similarities as well as differences between Syrian and established Swedish first names, which may lead to a lack of acceptance of using Syrian first names to name children of native Swedes. The starting point for the analysis is contact onomastics and the question of whether the Swedish naming practice is (or is not) undergoing a change due to names in contact. 

This article is about names of make-up (nail polishes, lipsticks and eye shadows) of six Swedish make-up companies. In total, the names of 272 products are studied. The research question is how product names are a resource of identification in the companies’ textual descriptions of themselves. The names are, thus, highlighted against a background of buzzwords in the texts. The results show that there are two types of identity offers, the exotic-luxurious-romantic and the domestic-ecological-sustainable, which is also reflected in the language choice of the names. The analysis is based on a social ideological framework, which shows that there is a difference that is visible in the make-up names with regard to the change in feminism and the growth of the sustainability ideologies in recent decades. The study confirms that make-up names are a linguistic resource used in company narratives to offer customers specific identities.

With a particular focus on differences within social groups, this article describes the multiple forename system as it emerged between 1720 and 1890 in the area of Skellefteå in the north-east of Sweden. Female and male forenames are compared, as is the introduction of the multiple forename system in different social groups in the study data. Theoretical starting points are taken from the discipline of cultural soci-ology, especially the work of Simmel (1957) and Bourdieu (1984; 1989; 1997). The results indicate that this naming pattern was introduced in the naming of girls prior to the naming of boys. Analysis of the social aspects of the process takes its starting point in fields like ‘names and social identity’, ‘status and (group) solidarity’, and ‘the importance of taste’. The data studied are divided into six social groups based on the father’s social rank at the time of the child’s birth, one group comprising unmarried mothers and one ‘miscellaneous’ group. The results illustrate that the practice of giving children at least two forenames was introduced by the upper middle class (upper bourgeoisie), who then either returned to giving one forename or increased the number of forenames to three for each child. This may have created exclusiveness within the group. Differences between ‘us’ and ‘them’ can thus be elucidated on the basis of the naming pattern used.

This article discusses structural differences between women’s andmen’s first names from 1915 to 2016. The focus is on phonologicalfeatures such as phonemes, syllables and stress. In addition, certainvariations in the frequency of first names are also examined. The dataconsists of the 100 most common first names for each gender at sevenpoints in time over the period of study.

This paper presents a study of company names from four different business sectors – dental practices, real estate agencies, cleaning companies and restaurants. The different nature of the sectors means that they use different resources in their company names to perform a persuasive function. The following resources were selected for study: personal names, locality, seriousness or humour and choice of language used in the company name. The results show that the most important similarities exist between on the one hand, dental practices and real estate agencies, and on the other, cleaning companies and restaurants. The former more often feature family names, seriousness and the Swedish language, while the latter feature more first names, distant places and humour in their company names. The results are discussed within a frame of social and ideological issues.

This is a study that approaches questions concerning first names in a multiculturalcountry, Sweden, from a longitudinal perspective. The names studied are Finnish firstnames that have been used in Sweden over the periods 1900–89 and 2004–13. Despitethe geographical proximity between Sweden and Finland, the languages Swedish and Finnish belong to different families, a fact that is often reflected in first names – giving rise either to completely different names or to specific spellings. This is a pilotstudy that raises more new questions than it answers, and the tentative focus of thediscussion is on name fashions (a revival of Old Norse names and Scandinavianism innaming) and external influences on name giving (immigration). The study shows thatFinnish first names were most frequent in Sweden among citizens born between 1920and 1969. Subsequently, their frequency has shown a marked decline.

This article focuses on attitudes to forenames. It is based on the results of a questionnaire (completed by 154 respondents), in which people were asked to comment on the appropiateness of a selection of forenames presented to them. The list included two categories of names: (1) new names either approved or rejected by the name authorities and (2) fairly unusual names from the 19th century. It emerges that, on the whole, the general public are more restrictive than the authorities. When it comes to first names that sound like last names, the authorities and the public are agreed on their inappropriateness. The strongest discrepancy is found for forenames with appellative connotations, of which members of the public disapprove. It is also clear that, as far as appropriateness is concerned, the public do not distinguish between new names and unusual 19th-century names.

Apart from these findings, there are indications of gender and ega differences in the study. Among those who gave conservative answers there were more women than men, and the average age in this group was higher than in the more tolerant group. Overall, the study reveals certain tendencies regarding attitudes towards forenames, but it also raises many new questions that still await an answer.