Revision of the Finnish Name-Day Calendar

• Autores: Minna Saarelma Maunumaa
• Localización: ‘Names and Their Environment’: Proceedings of the 25th International Congress of Onomastic Sciences, Glasgow, 25-29 August 2014 / Carole Hough (ed. lit.), Daria Izdebska (ed. lit.), 2016, ISBN 978-0-85261-947-6, págs. 219-219
• Idioma: inglés
• Enlaces
  • Texto Completo Libro (pdf)
• Resumen

  • Finland is one of those European countries where the custom of celebrating name-days is widespread today. This custom is secular by nature, but it has its roots in the medieval Calendar of Saints. After the Reformation, hundreds of new names have been accepted to the Finnish almanac, and many have been removed. Nowadays, the Finnish name-day calendar is revised every fifth year, based on the popularity of names. Other factors, linguistic and cultural, are also taken into account. This paper analyses the latest revision of the Finnish name-day calendar, which was published for the Finnish media in August 2013. In 2015, 39 new names will be added to the Finnish almanac. Some of these are Finnish-language names, e.g. the girls’ name Taika ‘magic’, or the boys’ name Sisu ‘persistence’. Many of the new names have Biblical origin, e.g. Annu (< Anna), Isabella (< Elisabet), Sarita (< Sara); Kimi (< Joakim), Luka, Nooa, and Paulus. Other international names are represented by Isla, Kiira, Mimosa, Vanessa; Hugo, Milo, Noel and Robin. This paper analyses all these new names and their origins. The criteria for the choice of names, and their placement in the calendar, shall be discussed as well.