Banned Names in Norway Explained

Norway does not have an official blacklist of forbidden baby names. But Norwegian law still places limits on what you can call yourself or your child.

Can you name a baby absolutely anything you want in Norway? Not quite.

Norway's naming rules are much more liberal than they once were, and unusual names are certainly permitted. But the authorities can still reject a name in some circumstances.

Perhaps the most important thing to understand is that there is no official list of banned Norwegian baby names. Instead, Norway's Naming Act sets out general rules covering first names, middle names and surnames.

A proposed name can be refused if it is likely to cause a significant disadvantage to the person using it, or if there are other strong reasons why it should not be accepted. That leaves quite a lot of room for interpretation.

Norway's naming law

Norway has regulated personal names for more than a century. The country's first comprehensive law on personal names came into force in 1923.

Among other things, it introduced rules governing surnames and stated that a first name could be refused if it was likely to become a burden to its bearer.

That law was replaced by new legislation in 1965. The current Navneloven, or Naming Act, was passed in 2002 and came into force on January 1, 2003. It represented a significant liberalisation of Norway's naming rules.

In simple terms, Norwegian authorities are now much less interested in deciding whether a name is conventional or sensible. But there are still limits.

What names are banned in Norway?

There isn't a neat list of names you aren't allowed to use.

The most important restriction comes from Section 10 of the Naming Act. A name must not be accepted if it could cause “substantial disadvantage” (vesentlig ulempe) to the person concerned, or if other strong reasons count against it.

That wording is deliberately broad. Norwegian name researcher Ivar Utne has previously explained that names associated with swear words, offensive expressions, diseases, medicines or other strongly negative concepts can fall foul of the rule.

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Titles such as Konge (King) and Prinsesse (Princess) have also been cited as examples of problematic names. But these aren't entries on a statutory blacklist. They are examples of the kinds of names that could be rejected under the wider rule.

In fact, official guidance stresses that it should take quite a lot for the authorities to reject a chosen first name. The current law was deliberately designed to allow more freedom than the legislation it replaced. So unusual doesn't necessarily mean illegal.

What about made-up names?

Inventing a name is not automatically against the law either. Norwegian administrative guidance specifically says that invented and constructed names should be assessed using the same general principles as other first names.

That means a completely new name could potentially be accepted provided there isn't some other legal reason to refuse it.

The authorities are therefore not asking simply: Has anyone been called this before? They are more concerned with whether the proposed name falls within the restrictions of the Naming Act.

Foreign names in Norway

Norway's increasingly international population makes this subject more complicated. A perfectly normal name in one language can resemble an embarrassing or offensive word in another.

Finnish names such as Kukka, for example, have previously been cited by Norwegian name researchers because they can sound unfortunate to Norwegian ears.

There have also been cases in which authorities have contacted parents to explain that their chosen foreign name has an unintended meaning in Norwegian.

But this doesn't mean foreign names with unfortunate Norwegian associations are automatically prohibited. Quite the opposite: the Naming Act specifically recognises names with an origin or naming tradition outside Norway.

Government guidance also says officials should be very cautious about overruling someone's choice.

If the applicant is unaware of an unfortunate Norwegian meaning, the authorities can explain it. But if the person still wants the name, the threshold for refusing it is intended to be high.

That's an important distinction. Norway's naming law isn't designed to force everyone to choose traditionally Norwegian names.

Can you use a surname as a first name?

This is another area where the rules are more complicated than they first appear. As a general rule, you cannot simply take a name that is registered in Norway as a surname or middle name and use it as a first name.

However, there is an important exception. The name can be accepted if it also has an established origin or tradition as a first name in Norway or another country.

There are also provisions covering cultures that do not make the same distinction between first names and surnames as Norway traditionally does.

The reverse principle applies when creating a surname. So it's not quite correct to say that a surname can never be used as a first name, or vice versa. Its history and use matter.

Do Norwegian names have to match your gender?

Norwegian administrative guidance has traditionally distinguished between male and female first names.

As a general rule, a name traditionally regarded solely as a male name is not accepted as a female name, and vice versa. Names with an established tradition for both sexes can be used by either.

There are also exceptions for transgender people. Government guidance allows a person with a transgender identity to choose a name associated with another gender without requiring them to undergo a medical transition.

As international naming traditions become increasingly common in Norway, there are also many names whose gender classification is less straightforward than traditional Norwegian names.

Naming a baby in Norway

Parents must report their child's name to the Norwegian National Population Register before the child reaches six months old.

The Norwegian Tax Administration (Skatteetaten) handles the registration and determines whether the chosen name complies with the Naming Act.

If an application cannot be accepted, the parents can appeal. The relevant County Governor (Statsforvalteren) is the appeal body.

There are separate rules governing the child's surname. If the parents have not registered an acceptable name by the six-month deadline, the law provides for the child to receive the mother's surname, subject to some exceptions for particular naming traditions.

Changing your name in Norway

Adults aren't the only people allowed to change their names. From the age of 16, a person can change their own name without needing their parents to submit the request.

For children under 16, the person or people with parental responsibility normally submit the change. Once a child is over 12, the child must also consent to the name change.

There's another restriction that sometimes surprises people. From the age of 16, you generally cannot change or remove your first name or surname more than once every ten years.

There are several exceptions. For example, you can return to a former first name, take certain family or partner surnames, or make another change when special circumstances apply.

Protected surnames in Norway

Some of Norway's strictest naming rules actually concern surnames rather than first names. Norwegian surnames are divided into free and protected names.

If more than 200 people in Norway have a particular surname, it is considered free. In most circumstances, anyone can choose it. If 200 people or fewer have the surname, it is protected.

That doesn't necessarily mean you can't use it. A person may be entitled to take a protected surname because of family connections, marriage, a qualifying cohabiting relationship, adoption or certain relationships with step- or foster parents.

Otherwise, permission from the people already carrying the protected surname may be required.

Statistics Norway's online name search is useful for checking how many people currently use a particular surname.

Middle names don't mean quite the same thing in Norway

There is another Norwegian naming quirk worth understanding. In everyday English, we usually use “middle name” to describe a second given name. That's not what mellomnavn means in Norwegian law.

Take the fictional name: Ole Petter Hansen Olsen. Ole and Petter are both first names. Hansen is the middle name. Olsen is the surname.

A Norwegian legal middle name is essentially a name that could also be used as a surname.

If you want two actual surnames, they must normally be joined by a hyphen: Ole Petter Hansen-Olsen. Without the hyphen, Hansen would normally be treated as a middle name and Olsen as the surname.

So how strict are Norway's naming laws?

Despite their reputation, modern Norwegian naming laws are actually fairly liberal.

The changes introduced in 2003 were specifically intended to give people greater freedom over their own names while still protecting children from particularly problematic choices and protecting established surnames.

That's why asking which names are “banned in Norway” is slightly misleading. There isn't a secret government list containing hundreds of forbidden baby names. Instead, there's a legal framework.

Call your child something unusual, international or newly invented and there's every chance it will be accepted. Try something likely to cause substantial problems for the child, however, and Skatteetaten may have something to say about it.