Naming conventions in Hendalarsk

Naming conventions in Hendalarsk vary according to culture. Khunyer and Hendalarskaren have sharply divergent naming traditions, due in part to their distinct ethnogeneses, and the fact that Khunyer dominance over the Hendalarskaren reached its height and faded long before it was common for most people to have more than one name means that there is relatively little Khunyer influence on the form of a typical Hendalarskara name.

Most Hendalarskaren have four names - a first name (Fornám), a second name (Kvalnám), a matronymic (Muternám) and a surname (Erbnám). Each of these names has clear rules and traditions governing its use, which are outlined below. Khunyer names have their own, entirely distinct set of conventions, the most notable of which is that the first name and surname are usually reversed (so that in the name Szabolcs Anton, for instance, Szabolcs is the surname). In keeping with the language's overall tendency towards agglutination, Nünsyi names tend to form one long string; their own rules are also discussed in more detail below. In addition to these broad cultural trends, many immigrants in Hendalarsk have their own distinct naming conventions according to the rules of their homelands, although there is an increasing tendency for second-generation immigrants and onwards to reconfigure their names according to the standard four-name Hendalarskara pattern

Hendalarskara names

Fornám

The fornám, perhaps unsurprisingly meaning 'forename', is the first component of a standard Hendalarskara name. It is chosen by a child's parents within six weeks of the child's birth and cannot subsequently be legally changed, barring some exceptions such as a person opting to change their gender identity and coming to view the fornám as a deadname. Fornäme are usually quite traditional, with the vast majority being drawn from the Henalaskischer Fornámskompent, a collection of 250 boys' names, 250 girls' names and (in recent editions) 100 historically gender-neutral names. As of 2021, the most common Fornäme were Mákus for boys and Kristín for girls, although all 600 were used by at least one child born that year.

Many Hendalarskaren choose to be identified by their fornám in formal situations, with the kvalnám reserved for more intimate setting such as friends and partners. It is, for example, considered highly unusual for a politician to go by their kvalnám instead of their fornám in political contexts, even on the radical left, with such a move usually understood to be part of a desire on the politician's part to be understood as populist or otherwise unorthodox; a 2014 study from Alodarfs Universitét indicated that such a decision nevertheless made a candidate more likely to fail at the ballot box.

Kvalnám

A Kvalnám, meaning 'chosen name', is chosen by an individual on their 18th birthday. Unlike a fornám, a kvalnám may freely be changed at any point in the bearer's life, although for the change to be registered officially a form must be filed with the borough council and thence forwarded on to the Domestic Department in Frémenwerd. There are also almost no restrictions on what names might be used as a kvalnám, leading individuals such as comedians and campaigners to change their kvalnäme to a deliberately absurd name so as to highlight a particular goal or cause. Even ordinary people often change their kvalnám at least once or twice in their lives, as the kvalnám is taken to be a reflection of a person's self-perception. Children do not have kvalnäme, and are consequently known only by three names until their 18th birthday, although they often pick one for themselves and use it with friends and family rather earlier. During the early modern period and the Industrial Revolution, kvalnäme were instead chosen on an individual's gaining their first job, so as to make it easier to tell employees of the period's increasingly large enterprises apart.

Muternám

The Muternám, meaning 'mother name', is the second name to be assigned rather than chosen, and takes the form of a matronymic. It consists of the mother's Fornám, suffixed with -són, -toschter or -kind according to the bearer's gender identity, and cannot be changed unless the mother's fornám is itself changed or (optionally) if the mother is found guilty of serious crimes. It is increasingly common for Hendalarskaren - mainly but not solely women - who have a particularly strong relationship with their mothers to go by their Muternám rather than their Erbnám in informal contexts, rendering a short name of the form [Kvalnám] [Muternám]. A woman with the full name Karóla María Aríanstoscher Schwankert, for example, might find herself referred to by her friends as María Aríanstoscher in group conversation, rather than María Schwankert (more traditional) or Karóla Schwankert (in a formal letter).

Erbnám

The simplest component of a Hendalarskara name is the Erbnám, or 'inherited name', which refers to the father's lineage (or the lineage of one given partner in a same-gender union). Passed down through the generations, an Erbnám is relatively static and is the main source by which genealogists trace descent, with the Muternám an auxiliary which helps resolve ambiguities between common surnames, children of the same father by different women and similar such situations. An Erbnám is, like a Muternám, very difficult to change, although cases such as the Erbnam's source parent being found guilty of domestic abuse or other serious crimes can, as with the Muternám, open up the possibility of change; the most typical solution would be for the person seeking change to adopt the mother's Erbnám instead. Individuals will almost invariably be referred to by their Erbnám in paperwork and other official or formal contexts, although as ever individuals might choose to go by a different combination of their names in more familiar or private settings.