Re: Naming customs (was Re: punctuated abbreviations)

From: "Nathaniel G. Lew" <natlew@...>
> I am certainly no expert, but I believe that in Iceland, where most people
> don't have surnames, it is actually illegal to change one's second name,
> which is a patronymic.  The explanation that I read is that Icelanders are
> deeply proud of the extensiveness their genealogical records, so that a
> name change that would disrupt the record of the lineage is taboo.
The pride, of course, is another thing that isn't exactly universal.

More info, anyway:
"Icelandic naming system"
http://everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=1376641


    *Muke!
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