From Iceland — Naming Committee Put To Shame Again

Naming Committee Put To Shame Again

Published December 20, 2013

A three year old boy won a case against the Naming Committee in the District Court of Reykjavík on Thursday, giving him the right to be named after his grandfather.

This is the second time this year that the District Court rules in favour of someone who’s had to fight for the right of carrying a name which the Naming Committee doesn’t accept.

Reykdal Máni Magnússon is a three year old boy in Selfoss. His parents, Sóley Hulda Hólmarsdóttir and Magnús Ninni Reykdalsson wanted to name him after Magnús’ father but were informed by the Naming Committee that ‘Reykdal’ went against the structure of the Icelandic language.

The committee did however acknowledge that many men had carried that name before, amongst them the little boy’s grandfather.

Reykdal Máni’s parents decided to fight the system and filed a law suit against the Naming Committee.

The District Court of Reykjavík found that the Naming Committee had not taken into account the importance of consistency and equality when it decided that the name didn’t conform to the language structure.

The judge even brought in two grammarians for consultation on the matter.

“We are obviously over the moon about the ruling, after having fought for this for three years,” Reykdal’s father, Magnús, told Sunnlenska.

“Now we have to re-apply to the Naming Committee and hope that the state won’t appeal. It’s a beautiful Christmas present to us and I’m sure Reykdal Máni is content and happy at his playschool, as usual.”

See also:

Stupid Law Against Creativity

Proposal To Shut Down Naming Committee

‘Stúlka’ Wins Right To Be ‘Blær’

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