Icelandic girl wins right to use her given name

[katmai]

Tell me this is really just an Onion article.

Icelandic girl wins right to use her given name
By GUDJON HELGASON | Associated Press – 13 hrs ago


REYKJAVIK, Iceland (AP) — A 15-year-old Icelandic girl has been granted the right to legally use the name given to her by her mother, despite the opposition of authorities and Iceland's strict law on names.

Reykjavik District Court ruled Thursday that the name "Blaer" can be used. It means "light breeze."

The decision overturns an earlier rejection by Icelandic authorities who declared it was not a proper feminine name. Until now, Blaer Bjarkardottir had been identified simply as "Girl" in communications with officials.

"I'm very happy," she said after the ruling. "I'm glad this is over. Now I expect I'll have to get new identity papers. Finally I'll have the name Blaer in my passport."

Like a handful of other countries, including Germany and Denmark, Iceland has official rules about what a baby can be named. Names are supposed to fit Icelandic grammar and pronunciation rules — choices like Carolina and Christa are not allowed because the letter "c'' is not part of Iceland's alphabet.

Blaer's mother, Bjork Eidsdottir, had fought for the right for the name to be recognized. The court ruling means that other girls will be also allowed to use the name in Iceland.

In an interview earlier this year, Eidsdottir said she did not know the name "Blaer" was not on the list of accepted female names when she gave it to her daughter. The name was rejected because the panel viewed it as a masculine name that was inappropriate for a girl.

The court found that based on testimony and other evidence, that the name could be used by both males and females and that Blaer had a right to her own name under Iceland's constitution and Europe's human rights conventions. It rejected the government's argument that her request should be denied to protect the Icelandic language.

Blaer had told the court she was very happy with her name and only had problems with it when she was dealing with state authorities who rejected it.

The court did not grant her any damages. The government has not indicated whether it will appeal the decision to the Supreme Court.

[Eddie Teach]

In an interview earlier this year, Eidsdottir said she did not know the name "Blaer" was not on the list of accepted female names when she gave it to her daughter. The name was rejected because the panel viewed it as a masculine name that was inappropriate for a girl.

It means "light breeze."

That's not particularly masculine. We don't even call boys "Gale" anymore.

[Valmy]

Icelandic culture is doomed

[The Brain]

Gudjon is legal? The fuck?

[Josquius]

Until now, Blaer Bjarkardottir had been identified simply as "Girl" in communications with officials.

How wonderfully Dickensian.

[Drakken]

We had a similar situation in Quebec until a few years ago. The Registre de l'État civil could uniterally refuse given names if the department deemed these were unsuited for the child's future well-being, or grossly demeaning the child (like giving the name Bugger or Spatula to a child).

This lead to really silly situations, like a mother having to go to court to explain that Ivory, the given name she wanted to her daughter, was not only a soap brand name but also a white material used for luxury products, thus a positive name that wouldn't be insulting to the child. She won, so the department loosened her requirements and started to give the benefit of the doubt to the mother, unless the name was really meant as an insult to the child.

[Neil]

Disgusting.  This girl deserves to be killed.

[Viking]

Gudjon is legal? The fuck?

My uncle is a Guðjón as well as one of my great grandfathers.

[Eddie Teach]

Gudjon is legal? The fuck?

Is that what the hookers call him?

[dps]

Gudjon is legal? The fuck?

My uncle is a Guðjón as well as one of my great grandfathers.

Your uncle is also one of your great grandfathers?  And people make fun of Mississippi and West Virginia over inbreeding.

[Viking]

There is actually a list of approved names. It's there to protect the witless (viz any of chris martin and gwyneth paltrow's kids) and to entrench the icelandic nature of the society. You can't use foreign names and you can't use blasphemous names (though the bulk of the list is the exceptions since most icelandic names either refer to god or one of the norse deities and thus provide exemptions). It's silly and old fashoned, but the list came into existence during nationalism when iceland was still trying very very hard not to be danish and the people proved rather uncooperative.

The list is redundant today and the name Blær is so cringeworthingly icelando-teenibopper that I want to hurl.

He mother deserves to be killed and I checked, they be no relations of mine.

[Viking]

Gudjon is legal? The fuck?

My uncle is a Guðjón as well as one of my great grandfathers.

Your uncle is also one of your great grandfathers?  And people make fun of Mississippi and West Virginia over inbreeding.

no, my uncle, like myself is named after his grandfather

[Liep]

Blæret.

[Tamas]

How was "Bjork" feminine enough when "Blaer" wasn't? 

[Martinus]

We had a similar situation in Quebec until a few years ago. The Registre de l'État civil could uniterally refuse given names if the department deemed these were unsuited for the child's future well-being, or grossly demeaning the child (like giving the name Bugger or Spatula to a child).

We have laws like this as well and I wholeheartedly support them.

Edit: Or maybe I don't. I couldn't care less. At least it weeds out the stupid.