Month: March 2026

Sne ’snow’ – a weather-related first name

By Birgit Eggert

The name Sne is identical to the Danish common noun sne, meaning ‘snow’. It was approved as a Danish female given name in 2007 and is therefore a relatively recent addition in Danish naming; accordingly, it had only 32 bearers as a first name in early January 2026.

Sne forms part of a broader trend in which personal names increasingly coincide with ordinary lexical items and therefore carry a semantic meaning that traditional names such as Jens, Hans, Karen, and Mette do not possess.

Although names such as Bjørn (bjørn ‘bear’), Karl (karl, originally ‘free man’, now ‘(young) man who works as a helper on a farm’) and Svend (svend, originally ‘young man, servant’, now ‘person who has trained as a craftsman and is employed in a company’) have been used in Danish naming since the Viking Age, we are not particularly accustomed to given names being identical to ordinary lexical items in the Danish language. Names such as Hans and Mette therefore have no inherent dictionary meaning in contemporary Danish, but function primarily as references to the individuals who bear them.

Most names do, however, carry a range of associated meanings—connotations—which nonetheless communicate something about the name-bearer. These may relate to age, gender, nationality, religious affiliation, and much more. There is in Denmark, for instance, likely to be an age difference between Bent and Noah, and a nationality difference between Helle and Fumiko.

When one uses a name that is identical to an ordinary lexical item, however, a dictionary meaning is carried along with it, and such a name can therefore signal additional layers of meaning—just as is the case with the winter‑related name Sne.

Names derived from words denoting weather conditions

Thus, the act of naming carries social identity attached to the chosen name, and when parents name their children, they may therefore use names as a means of social positioning through the connotations that accompany them. By selecting names that resemble words from the general vocabulary, it becomes possible to signal a message or a value embedded in the meaning of the word that the name mirrors.

A number of approved given names are identical to words denoting weather conditions. Examples include Rim (‘frost’) and Sky (’cloud’, or English sky) which are unisex names, as well as the aforementioned Sne, which is approved as a female name. These three names have come into use as girls’ names over the past thirty years, and although they are not widely used, they nonetheless form part of a broader trend observed in recent decades: an increase in the use of names that resemble words for weather phenomena, animals, and plants.

Figure 1: Diagram showing the number of bearers of the names Rim, Sky, and Sne among newborn girls. Rim and Sky also occur as boys’ names, but the number of male bearers is too small to be included in the diagram (K = female namebearer). Figure from Statistics Denmark.

A far more widespread name related to weather phenomena is Storm. It is used as both a male and a female given name in Denmark, although it is particularly common as a boys’ name. Its popularity increased from around the turn of the millennium and throughout the following decade, and it has remained a fashionable name ever since. As of 2025, it continues to appear firmly on Statistics Denmark’s top‑50 list of the most popular names for newborn boys.

Figure 2: Diagram showing the number of bearers of the name Storm. The blue line indicates its use as a boys’ name, while the green line — which only rises slightly after 2021 — indicates its use as a girls’ name (M = male namebearer; K = female namebearer). Figure from Statistics Denmark.

Names related to climate awareness

Given names for newborn children largely reflect the period in which they are bestowed, and naming fashions shift regularly. The first names that were common in the 1990s are therefore markedly different from those prevalent in the 2020s. As noted above, one increasing trend in recent years is the approval of a growing number of new given names that are identical to familiar lexical items in the wider language. This may reflect a heightened desire to position oneself socially through the connotations carried by such names.

The study from which the figures for Rim, Sky, Sne, and Storm are drawn was published in the book Klima i litteratur, sprog og medier (2025). It shows that there has been an increase in given names whose forms resemble words associated with weather phenomena, animals, and plants in their semantic content. This increase began around the turn of the millennium, but has been particularly evident since approximately 2010. Although individual names of this type are rarely especially frequent in their own right, the trend is clear when they are considered collectively as groups.

The hypothesis advanced in the study is that naming newborn children with this type of given name reflects the broader rise in public attention to climate issues in recent decades, and that this increased awareness has contributed to the perception of these natural elements as valuable and worthy of protection. The use of such names may therefore be an indication of growing climate consciousness in recent years—not necessarily because parents consciously choose ‘climate‑aware’ names for their children, but because the connotations evoked by these types of names are positive and point to something precious and valuable.

References

This is an adapted English version of Sne – et vejrrelateret pigenavn published on December 1st 2025.

Namn og tabu

Av Krister Vasshus

I nordiske namnetradisjonar, kjem tabu til uttrykk på litt ulike måtar. I dette blogginnlegget vil eg kikke nærare på to typar tabu. Det eine tabuet gjeld dyr som me ut frå samanliknande språkvitskap kan sjå at har vore tabubelagde. Det andre tabuet gjeld religion.

Tabulagde ord brukt i namn

Me kjenner alle til nordiske namn der dyr inngår som del av namnet. Bjørn er kanskje det mest brukte i dag, mens Arne og Ulf/Ulv nok òg verkar kjent ut for dei fleste. I ditematiske namn er dei òg vanlege, og især ulven går mykje igjen i gamle germanske namn, som Rolf (av eldre Hróðulfr), Wulfstan og Wulfila. Eigentleg er det litt pussig at akkurat ulven har vore eit så ynda tema i eldre tid, ettersom me ser tydelege teikn på at sjølve ordet for ulven har vore kraftig tabubelagt.

Det urindoeuropeiske ordet for ulv var *wĺ̥kʷos, men utviklinga til det moderne ordet ulv har vore litt snørklete. Den regelrette utviklinga burde ha vore til urgermansk *wulhʷaz, men alle dei germanske språka viser at utgangspunktet var *wulfaz, altså med f istadanfor hʷ. Det er ikkje første gong ein har tukla med lydane i dette ordet, for det greske ulveordet lukos viser at ein bytta om på dei to første lydane i urindoeuropeisk *wĺ̥kʷos til *lẃkʷo.

At det har vore nifse greier å skulla uttala ulvens riktige namn, er altså tydeleg. Dette er nok òg grunnen til at me i moderne tid har namn som gråbein, tassen og varg, som altså er noaord (som erstattar eit tabubelagt ord).

Tilsvarande er det med bjørnen. Det skandinaviske ordet bjørn er i seg sjølv eit noaord. Det er laga som ei forvansking av urgermansk *beran, som i seg sjølv nok òg var eit noaord som tydde ‘den brune’. Det urindoeuropeiske ordet *h₂ŕ̥tḱos skulle ha utvikla seg til norsk *urt (gjennom urgermansk *urþhaz), men ein har altså unngått ordet heilt her i Norden. Likevel har ein sett på dyret med ein  viss beundring, og ein har brukt ordet bjørn som element i personnamn.

Gudar i namn

Religiøse termar går ofte igjen i dei eldste namna i Skandinavia, så det har òg vore eit ynda motiv. Skulle ein kalla opp gudar, var det likevel eit viktig prinsipp: Aldri direkte oppkalling! Ingen kunne heita Frøya eller Njord, Dis eller Ås. Skulle desse guddommane brukast i namn, måtte det vera i ditematiske samansetjingar. Frøydis var derfor akseptabelt, og Torbjørn likeeins. Det er først i moderne tid at ein har byrja å gi ungar namn frå gudeverda. Tor, Odin og Frøya er derfor ikkje heilt uvanlege namn i dag. Sjølv jotunnamn som Loke og Trym, eller dvergnamn som Sindre er heilt akseptable i dag. Men det religiøse tabuet er nok likevel ikkje heilt vekke. Det høver dårleg med språkkjensla vår dersom nokon har namnet Jesus, sjølv om det er eit akseptabelt namn i andre kulturar. Endå verre blir det dersom me leikar med tanken om Heilagånd eller Gud som personnamn.

Oppsummert kan ein seia at dei to formene for tabu kjem til uttrykk på forskjellege måtar i språket. Der me må rekna med at gudanes namn har vore brukte i kvardagen, har ein likevel vegra seg mot å kalla gudane eller guddommelege vesen opp med direkte oppkalling. Motsett har det vore med dei skumle dyra, som ein helst ikkje ville kalla på direkte. Sjølv om ein har gjort språklege krumspring for ikkje å ytra dyras ord høgt, har ein likevel ønska å vidareføra dyras kraft inn i personnamnestoffet.