Names | What would the surname Jääkarhu sound like? Completely new names are being introduced more and more

New surnames that is, surnames that cannot be found in other living people are being used more and more every year. This is also reflected in the number of requests for opinions received by the Names Committee of the Ministry of Justice.

The name board of the Ministry of Justice says on their website that last year he received almost 1,300 requests for statements from the Digital and Population Information Agency (DVV) regarding the name change. Chairman of the Board, Doctor of Law Urpo Kangas tells STT about the majority of requests for surnames.

The board does not decide on the approval of the proposed new names, but that is DVV’s task. The agency decides the matter based on the statement and the application.

People have bad taste in names, says Kangas. However, he cannot name examples of memorable new surnames, on which a statement has been requested from the board. There are simply too many of them.

“The proposed names form a huge mass. There are a lot of good suggestions, but very many names and their justifications are marked by bad taste,” he tells STT.

DVV’s on the website can view new surnames currently awaiting approval. Recently, Unelma, Metsänkevät and Novankorpi have been on the list.

Kangas, who has been chairman of the name committee for several decades, has noticed an increase in the number of requests for opinions. He believes that the number this year will be the same as last year. Kangas cannot say the reason for the increased numbers, because there is no need to specifically justify the name change.

The reason could be, for example, Finland’s internationalization. Kangas estimates that the share of immigrants among those who change their name will increase.

“Many people who change their names come from countries where the Latin alphabet is not used. They are registered in the population information system in the form of travel documents, and in Finland they want to change their name to an easier-to-pronounce form.”

The list contains plenty of names of foreign origin, such as Shimwe, Osjkina and Hijoort. Among the native population, instead, the desire to change the last name is emphasized.

Proposed the name must pass quite strict criteria defined by law.

“The name must be based on established domestic practice. A proposal that either refers to bloodshed, is racist or stigmatizes its user in some way will not be accepted. The child’s interest is also weighed, because the child always gets his parent’s last name,” says Kangas.

Words that are clearly similar to a first name or defined as obviously unsuitable as a surname are also discarded in the application process. The fabric gives the latter, for example, the word bicycle. In Finland, however, there are surnames that refer to both objects and first names, such as Kjärva and Juuso.

Working as a special expert in the agency Tommi Heinonen commented to STT that DVV does not maintain statistics on how many proposals go through.

“We don’t really have an interest in figuring it out. The rejection is practically always due to the fact that the name proposal is in some way against the law,” says Heinonen.

Current practice the contrary name can still be used if the applicant has a special reason for doing so.

“You can get a surname if the applicant can prove that it belonged to an ancestor no more than five generations away. For example, religious reasons are also valid, and if, for example, Jääskinen and Karhunen want Jääkarhu as their joint surname when they get married, they will get it,” says Kangas.

Heinonen says that an adult can change their last name as many times as they want.

“There cannot be two overlapping applications at the same time. The processing process takes its own time, but once it has gone through and the new name has been approved, nothing prevents you from changing your name again right away,” he comments.

Kangas finds the question of when the current law needs to be updated to be interesting. The Finnish Names Act was last updated in 2019, before which the law was in force since 1985. The first law was enacted in 1920.