Naming Committee Makes Historic Addition To Lexicon

The Naming Committee approved a new batch of names, including a female name that has set a new precedent.

Vísir reports that the Naming Committee approved a new round of names just before Christmas. Amongst these names was the female name Skaði, which set a historic precedent.

What makes this name special is that it is the first female name which follows the weak masculine inflection. The name is derived from Norse legend, and was the name of a goddess amongst the Jötnar, a race of giants who lived in Jötunheimr, one of the nine worlds of Norse cosmology.

Gender in Icelandic names is often a fluid thing. Some women’s names (e.g. Auður and Gerður) are masculine, and some men’s names (e.g. Sturla) are inflected according to feminine gender.

Six other names were also approved by the Committee. The male names Anor and Alan, as well as the female names Bría, Aldey and Sissa, were all approved. The Committee also granted the request of an Icelandic woman to bear the patronym Alexdóttir, though her father’s name is Aleksej.