Names

"Sancho Panza by name is my own self, if I was not changed in my cradle."— Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (1547-1616), Don Quixote

Swedish Names

Scandinavians didn't use hereditary surnames in most cases until about 1900. Their customs would surprise many Americans.

Swedish Priests' Names
Swedish Soldiers' Names

More Information

The Language of Names, What we call ourselves and why it matters, Justin Kaplan and Anne Bernays, Simon & Schuster, (256 pages) New York.

Naming Ourselves, Naming Our Children: Resolving the Last Name Dilemma by Sharon Lebell. Crossing, Freedom, CA, 1988 (out of print).

An Interesting Site

"Name Choice Freedom is not a new concept; it's just that few people exercise or realize that they have such freedom. The result is that nearly every woman gives up her name at marriage and nearly every child is given the surname of fathers."

The Lucy Stone League is dedicated to:

Equal rights for women and men to retain, modify and create their names, because a person's name is fundamental to her/his existence.

Equal actual frequency of name retention, modification and creation between men and women at marriage and throughout life.

Equality of patrilineal/matrilineal name distribution for children.