A nisse ( Danish: [ˈne̝sə] , Norwegian: [ˈnɪ̂sːə] ), tomte ( Swedish: [ˈtɔ̂mːtɛ] ), tomtenisse , or tonttu ( Finnish: [ˈtontːu] ) is a household spirit from Nordic folklore which has always been described as a small human-like creature wearing a red cap and gray clothing, doing house and stable chores, and expecting to be rewarded at least once a year around winter solstice ( yuletide ), with the gift of its favorite food, the porridge .
78-513: Although there are several suggested etymologies, nisse may derive from the given name Niels or Nicholas, hence it is possibly cognate to St. Nicholas . In the 19th century the Scandinavian nisse became increasingly associated with the Christmas season and Christmas gift giving, its pictorial depiction strongly influenced by American Santa Claus Christmas cards in some opinion, evolving into
156-822: A household deity for boons in Iceland occurs in the "Story of Þorvaldr Koðránsson the Far-Travelled" ( Þorvalds þættur víðförla ) and the Kristni saga where the 10th century figure attended to his father Koðrán giving up worship of the heathen idol (called ármaðr in the saga) embodied in stone; this has been suggested as a precursor to the nisse by Feilberg, though there are different opinions on what label or category should be applied to this spirit (e.g., alternatively as Old Norse landvættr "land spirit"). Henning Frederik Feilberg argued that in Christianized medieval Denmark
234-451: A maiden name , a patronymic , or a baptismal name . In England, it was unusual for a person to have more than one given name until the seventeenth century when Charles James Stuart ( King Charles I ) was baptised with two names. That was a French fashion, which spread to the English aristocracy, following the royal example, then spread to the general population and became common by the end of
312-472: A power law distribution . Since about 1800 in England and Wales and in the U.S., the popularity distribution of given names has been shifting so that the most popular names are losing popularity. For example, in England and Wales, the most popular female and male names given to babies born in 1800 were Mary and John, with 24% of female babies and 22% of male babies receiving those names, respectively. In contrast,
390-496: A tomte is the soul of a slave during heathen times , placed in charge of the maintenance of the household's farmland and fields while the master was away on viking raids , and was duty-bound to continue until doomsday . The Norwegian nisse was no bigger than a child, dressed in gray, wearing a red, pointy hat ( pikhue = pikkelhue ; a hue is a soft brimless hat) according to Faye . In Denmark also, nisser are often seen as beardless, wearing grey and red woolens with
468-595: A character from the movie Splash . Lara and Larissa were rare in America before the appearance of Doctor Zhivago , and have become fairly common since. Songs can influence the naming of children. Jude jumped from 814th most popular male name in 1968 to 668th in 1969, following the release of the Beatles ' " Hey Jude ". Similarly, Layla charted as 969th most popular in 1972 after the Eric Clapton song. It had not been in
546-562: A comprehensive study of Norwegian first name datasets shows that the main factors that govern first name dynamics are endogenous . Monitoring the popularity of 1,000 names over 130 years, the authors have identified only five cases of exogenous effects, three of them are connected to the names given to the babies of the Norwegian royal family. Since the civil rights movement of 1950–1970, African-American names given to children have strongly mirrored sociopolitical movements and philosophies in
624-490: A distinct connotation and is not synonymous with the haugkall or haugebonde (from the Old Norse haugr 'mound'), although the latter has become indistinguishable with tuss , as evident from the form haugtuss . Some commentators have equated or closely connected the tomte/nisse to the haugbonde (< Old Norse : haubúi "mound dweller"). However there is caution served against completely equating
702-495: A family in the manner of American English Seniors, Juniors , III , etc. Similarly, it is considered disadvantageous for the child to bear a name already made famous by someone else through romanizations , where a common name like Liu Xiang may be borne by tens of thousands. Korean names and Vietnamese names are often simply conventions derived from Classical Chinese counterparts. Many female Japanese names end in -ko ( 子 ), usually meaning "child" on its own. However,
780-498: A given generation within a family and extended family or families, in order to differentiate those generations from other generations. The order given name – father's family name – mother's family name is commonly used in several Spanish -speaking countries to acknowledge the families of both parents. The order given name – mother's family name – father's family name is commonly used in Portuguese -speaking countries to acknowledge
858-529: A given name has versions in many languages. For example, the biblical name Susanna also occurs in its original biblical Hebrew version, Shoshannah , its Spanish and Portuguese version Susana , its French version, Suzanne , its Polish version, Zuzanna , or its Hungarian version, Zsuzsanna . Despite the uniformity of Chinese surnames , some Chinese given names are fairly original because Chinese characters can be combined extensively. Unlike European languages, with their Biblical and Greco-Roman heritage,
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#1733084920599936-454: A government-appointed registrar of births may refuse to register a name for the reasons that it may cause a child harm, that it is considered offensive, or if it is deemed impractical. In France, the agency can refer the case to a local judge. Some jurisdictions, such as Sweden, restrict the spelling of names. In Denmark, one does not need to register a given name for the child until the child is six months old, and in some cases, one can even wait
1014-469: A household spirit ( gårdsrå ). Several helper-demons were illustrated in the Swedish writer Olaus Magnus 's 1555 work, including the center figure of a spiritual being laboring at a stable by night (cf. fig. right). It reprints the same stable-worker picture found on the map Carta Marina , B, k. The prose annotation to the map, Ain kurze Auslegung und Verklerung (1539) writes that these unnamed beings in
1092-407: A little longer than this before the child gets an official name. Parents may choose a name because of its meaning. This may be a personal or familial meaning, such as giving a child the name of an admired person, or it may be an example of nominative determinism , in which the parents give the child a name that they believe will be lucky or favourable for the child. Given names most often derive from
1170-405: A man who scoffed at the modest gain lost his tomte and his fortune foundered; a poor novice farmer valued each ear tomte brought, and prospered. The Norwegian nisse will gather hay, even stealing from neighbors to benefit the farmer he favors, often causing quarrels. He will also take the hay from the manger ( Danish : krybbe ) of other horses to feed his favorite. One of his pranks played on
1248-498: A new gray kirtle ( kjortel ) for him and left it hanging on the tub. The tomte wore it and was delighted, but then sang a ditty proclaiming he will do no more sifting as it may dirty his new clothes. A similar tale about a nisse grinding grain at the mill is localized at the farmstead of Vaker [ no ] in Ringerike , Norway. It is widespread and has been assigned Migratory Legend index ML 7015. According to tradition,
1326-416: A pivotal character in his epic prose work, The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia ; Jessica , created by William Shakespeare in his play The Merchant of Venice ; Vanessa , created by Jonathan Swift ; Fiona , a character from James Macpherson 's spurious cycle of Ossian poems; Wendy , an obscure name popularised by J. M. Barrie in his play Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up ; and Madison ,
1404-512: A red cap. The tomte , according to Afzelius 's description was about the size of a one year-old child, but with an elderly wizened face, wearing a little red cap on his head and a gray wadmal (coarse woolen) jacket, short breeches , and ordinary shoes such as a peasant would wear. The tonttu of Finland was said to be one-eyed, and likewise in Swedish-speaking areas of Finland, hence the stock phrase " Enögd som tomten (one-eyed like
1482-546: A standard in Hungary . This order is also used to various degrees and in specific contexts in other European countries, such as Austria and adjacent areas of Germany (that is, Bavaria ), and in France , Switzerland , Belgium , Greece and Italy , possibly because of the influence of bureaucracy, which commonly puts the family name before the given name. In China and Korea, part of the given name may be shared among all members of
1560-440: A surname (also known as a family name, last name, or gentile name ) is normally inherited and shared with other members of one's immediate family. Regnal names and religious or monastic names are special given names bestowed upon someone receiving a crown or entering a religious order; such a person then typically becomes known chiefly by that name. The order given name – family name , commonly known as Western name order ,
1638-424: A variant of " nixie " or nix but detractors note this is a water sprite and the proper Dano-Norwegian cognate would be nøkk , not nisse . Thus the term nisse may be derived from Old Norse niðsi , meaning "dear little relative". According to Grimm nisse was a form of Niels or Niklas, like so many house sprites that adopted human given names , and was therefore cognate to St. Nicholas ). Indeed,
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#17330849205991716-545: Is already mention of "Nisse pugen" in a Norwegian legal tract c. 1600 or earlier, and Emil Birkeli [ no ] (1938) believed the introduction to be as early as 13 to 14c. The Norsk Allkunnebok encyclopedia was of the view that nisse was introduced from Denmark relatively late, and that native names found in Norway such as tomte , tomtegubbe , tufte , tuftekall , gardvord , etc., date much earlier. It has repeatedly been conjectured that nisse might be
1794-404: Is also borrowed from Swedish tomte , but "later tradition no longer consider these identical". Norwegian gardvord is a synonym for nisse , or has become conflated with it. Likewise turvord is a synonym. Other synonyms for nisse are Danish gaardbuk ("farm buck") and husbuk ("housebuck") where buck could mean billygoat or ram. According to Oddrun Grønvik, the nisse has
1872-840: Is borrowed from Swedish (cf. § Etymology ), but the Finnish spirit has gained a distinct identity and is no longer synonymous. There is also the tonttu-ukko (lit. "house lot man") but this is a literary Christmas elf. There are also localized appellations, in and tuftekall in Gudbrandsdalen and Nordland regions of Norway (cf. § Dialects ). Other variants include the Swedish names tomtenisse and tomtekarl ; also in Sweden (and Norwegian regions proximate to Sweden) tomtegubbe and tomtebonde ("tomte farmer"), (cf. § Additional synonyms ) and § Near synonyms ( haugkall . "mound man", etc.). The term nisse in
1950-503: Is evidenced in Asbjørnsen's collection. The Norwegian tufte is also equated to nisse or tomte . In Danish the form husnisse ("house nisse") also occurs. Other synonyms include the Swedish names tomtenisse and tomtekarl (cf. § Additional synonyms ). The names tomtegubbe and tomtebonde ("tomte farmer") have occurred in Sweden and parts of Norway close to Sweden. The Finnish tonttu [ fi ]
2028-483: Is left for it" might be exhibited: According to one Swedish tale, a certain Danish woman ( danneqwinna ) noticed that her supply of meal she sifted seemed to last unusually long, although she kept consuming large amounts of it. But once when she happened to go to the shed, she spied through the keyhole or narrow crack in the door and saw the tomte in a shabby gray outfit sifting over the meal-tub ( mjölkaret ). So she made
2106-552: Is localized in Træna Municipality in Nordland. Another synonym is tunkall ("yard fellow") also found in the north and west. Faye also gives Dano-Norwegian forms toft-vætte or tomte-vætte . Thus ostensibly tomte prevails in eastern Norway (and adjoining Sweden), although there are caveats attached to such over-generalizations by linguist Oddrun Grønvik [ no ] . It might also be conceded that tomte
2184-412: Is more a Swedish term than Norwegian. In Scania , Halland and Blekinge within Sweden, the tomte or nisse is also known as goanisse (i.e godnisse, goenisse 'good nisse'). Reidar Thoralf Christiansen remarked that the "belief in the nisse is confined to the south and east" of Norway, and theorized the nisse was introduced to Norway (from Denmark ) in the 17th century, but there
2262-450: Is often retold, a farmer put the butter underneath the porridge. When the nisse of his farmstead found that the butter was missing, he was filled with rage and killed the cow resting in the barn. But, as he thus became hungry, he went back to his porridge ( rice pudding ) and ate it, and so found the butter at the bottom of the bowl. Full of grief, he then hurried to search the lands to find another farmer with an identical cow, and replaced
2340-940: Is predominant. Also, a particular spelling is often more common for either men or women, even if the pronunciation is the same. Many culture groups, past and present, did not or do not gender their names strongly; thus, many or all of their names are unisex. On the other hand, in many languages including most Indo-European languages (but not English), gender is inherent in the grammar. Some countries have laws preventing unisex names , requiring parents to give their children sex-specific names. Names may have different gender connotations from country to country or language to language. Within anthroponymic classification, names of human males are called andronyms (from Ancient Greek ἀνήρ / man, and ὄνυμα [ὄνομα] / name), while names of human females are called gynonyms (from Ancient Greek γυνή / woman, and ὄνυμα [ὄνομα] / name). The popularity (frequency) distribution of given names typically follows
2418-453: Is requested. In certain areas of Sweden and Finland, the Christmas gift consisted of a set of clothing, a pair of mittens or a pair of shoes at a minimum. In Uppland ( Skokloster parish [ sv ] ), the folk generously offered a fur coat and a red cap such as was suitable for winter attire. Conversely, the commonplace motif where the " House spirit leaves when gift of clothing
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2496-580: Is the Baby Name Game that uses the Elo rating system to rank parents preferred names and help them select one. Popular culture appears to have an influence on naming trends, at least in the United States and United Kingdom. Newly famous celebrities and public figures may influence the popularity of names. For example, in 2004, the names "Keira" and "Kiera" (anglicisation of Irish name Ciara) respectively became
2574-769: Is used throughout most European countries and in countries that have cultures predominantly influenced by European culture, including North and South America ; North , East , Central and West India ; Australia , New Zealand , and the Philippines . The order family name – given name , commonly known as Eastern name order , is primarily used in East Asia (for example in China , Japan , Korea , Taiwan , Singapore , and Vietnam , among others, and by Malaysian Chinese ), as well as in Southern and North-Eastern parts of India , and as
2652-466: The Julenisse The nisse is one of the most familiar creatures of Scandinavian folklore, and he has appeared in many works of Scandinavian literature . The nisse is frequently introduced to English readership as an "elf" or "gnome"; the Christmas nisse often bears resemblance to the garden gnome . The word nisse is a pan-Scandinavian term. Its modern usage in Norway into the 19th century
2730-590: The Chinese language does not have a particular set of words reserved for given names: any combination of Chinese characters can theoretically be used as a given name. Nonetheless, a number of popular characters commonly recur, including "Strong" ( 伟 , Wěi ), "Learned" ( 文 , Wén ), "Peaceful" ( 安 , Ān ), and "Beautiful" ( 美 , Měi ). Despite China's increasing urbanization, several names such as "Pine" ( 松 , Sōng ) or " Plum " ( 梅 , Méi ) also still reference nature. Most Chinese given names are two characters long and—despite
2808-485: The Revelations of Saint Birgitta ( Birgittas uppenbarelser ), it is recorded that the priests forbade their congregation from providing offerings to the tompta gudhi or "tomte gods", apparently perceiving this to be competition to their entitlement to the tithe ( Revelationes , book VI, ch. 78). There is not enough here to precisely narrow down the nature of the deity, whether it was land spirit ( tomta rå ) or
2886-521: The article wizard to submit a draft for review, or request a new article . Search for " Oddrun Grønvik " in existing articles. Look for pages within Misplaced Pages that link to this title . Other reasons this message may be displayed: If a page was recently created here, it may not be visible yet because of a delay in updating the database; wait a few minutes or try the purge function . Titles on Misplaced Pages are case sensitive except for
2964-401: The nisse , sets out under the catwalks sweet porridge, cake, beer, etc. on Christmas eve or each Thursday evening. But he is very picky about the taste. Some (later) authorities specified that it is the rømmegrøt (var. rømmegraut , " sour cream porridge") should be the treat to serve the Norwegian nisse . The nisse likes his porridge with a pat of butter on the top. In a tale that
3042-511: The puge (cog. Old Norse puki , German puk cf. Nis Puk ; English puck ) was the common name for the ancient pagan deities, regarded as devils or fallen angels. Whereas Feilberg here only drew a vague parallel between puge and nisse as nocturnally active, this puge or puk in medieval writings may be counted as the oldest documentation of nisse , by another name, according to Henning Eichberg . But Claude Lecouteux handles puk or puge as distinct from niss [ e ]. Feilberg made
3120-524: The tomte/nissse with the mound dwellers of lore (Cf. § Origin theories ). The haugbonde is said to be the ghost of the first inhabitant of the farmstead, he who cleared the tomt (house lot), who subsequently becomes its guardian. This haugbonde has also connected with the Danish/Norwegian tuntræt (modern spelling: tuntre , "farm tree") or in Swedish vårdträd [ sv ] ("ward tree") cult. The story of propitiating
3198-476: The 51st and 92nd most popular girls' names in the UK, following the rise in popularity of British actress Keira Knightley . In 2001, the use of Colby as a boys' name for babies in the United States jumped from 233rd place to 99th, just after Colby Donaldson was the runner-up on Survivor: The Australian Outback . Also, the female name "Miley" which before was not in the top 1000 was 278th most popular in 2007, following
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3276-1170: The African-American community. Since the 1970s neologistic (creative, inventive) practices have become increasingly common and the subject of academic study. Oddrun Gr%C3%B8nvik Look for Oddrun Grønvik on one of Misplaced Pages's sister projects : [REDACTED] Wiktionary (dictionary) [REDACTED] Wikibooks (textbooks) [REDACTED] Wikiquote (quotations) [REDACTED] Wikisource (library) [REDACTED] Wikiversity (learning resources) [REDACTED] Commons (media) [REDACTED] Wikivoyage (travel guide) [REDACTED] Wikinews (news source) [REDACTED] Wikidata (linked database) [REDACTED] Wikispecies (species directory) Misplaced Pages does not have an article with this exact name. Please search for Oddrun Grønvik in Misplaced Pages to check for alternative titles or spellings. You need to log in or create an account and be autoconfirmed to create new articles. Alternatively, you can use
3354-417: The Christmas meal, or even clothing (cf. below). A piece of bread or cheese, placed under the turf, may suffice as the bribe to the tomtar/nissar ("good nisse") according to the folklore of Blekinge . In Denmark, it is said that the nisse or nis puge ( nis pug ) particularly favors sweet buckwheat porridge ( boghvedegrød ), though in some telling it is just ordinary porridge or flour porridge that
3432-634: The English editions of the Hans Christian Andersen 's fairy tales the Danish word nisse has been translated as 'goblin', for example, in the tale " The Goblin at the Grocer's ". Forms such as tufte have been seen as dialect . Aasen noted the variant form tuftekall to be prevalent in the Nordland and Trondheim areas of Norway, and the tale "Tuftefolket på Sandflesa" published by Asbjørnsen
3510-519: The Trinity"; Haile Miriam, "power of Mary"—as the most conspicuous exception). However, the name Jesus is considered taboo or sacrilegious in some parts of the Christian world , though this taboo does not extend to the cognate Joshua or related forms which are common in many languages even among Christians. In some Spanish-speaking countries, the name Jesus is considered a normal given name. Similarly,
3588-418: The buck-goat. In one tale localized at Oxholm [ da ] , the nisse (here called the gaardbuk ) falsely announces a cow birthing to the girl assigned to care for it, then tricks her by changing into the shape of a calf. She stuck him with a pitchfork which the sprite counted as three blows (per each prong), and avenged the girl by making her lie precarious on a plank on the barn's ridge while she
3666-738: The character when used in given names can have a feminine (adult) connotation. In many Westernised Asian locations, many Asians also have an unofficial or even registered Western (typically English) given name, in addition to their Asian given name. This is also true for Asian students at colleges in countries such as the United States, Canada, and Australia as well as among international businesspeople. Most names in English are traditionally masculine (Hugo, James, Harold) or feminine (Daphne, Charlotte, Jane), but there are unisex names as well, such as Jordan , Jamie , Jesse , Morgan , Leslie/ Lesley , Joe / Jo , Jackie , Pat , Dana, Alex, Chris / Kris , Randy / Randi , Lee , etc. Often, use for one gender
3744-484: The common explanation in Denmark is that nisse is the diminutive form of Niels, as Danes in 19th century used to refer to a nisse as " Lille Niels " or Niels Gårdbo ( gårdbo , literally "yard/farmstead dweller" is also name for a sprite). The tomte ("homestead man"), gardvord ("farm guardian"), and tunkall ("yard fellow") bear names that associated them with the farmstead . The Finnish tonttu
3822-420: The contract is broken, and the tomte may very well leave the farm or house. According to one anecdote, a peasant used to put out food on the stove for the tomtar or nissar . When the priest inquired as to the fate of the food, the peasant replied that Satan collects it all in a kettle in hell, used to boil the souls for all eternity. The practice was halted. The bribe could also be bread, cheese, leftovers from
3900-668: The corresponding statistics for England and Wales in 1994 were Emily and James, with 3% and 4% of names, respectively. Not only have Mary and John gone out of favour in the English-speaking world, but the overall distribution of names has also changed significantly over the last 100 years for females, but not for males. This has led to an increasing amount of diversity for female names. Education, ethnicity, religion, class and political ideology affect parents' choice of names. Politically conservative parents choose common and traditional names, while politically liberal parents may choose
3978-440: The dark, like those of a cat . The Tomte ' s height is anywhere from 60 cm (2 ft) to no taller than 90 cm (3 ft) according to one Swedish-American source, whereas the tomte (pl. tomtarna ) were just 1 aln tall (an aln or Swedish ell being just shy of 60 cm or 2 ft), according to one local Swedish tradition. The nisse may be held to have the ability to transform into animals such as
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#17330849205994056-503: The eighteenth century. Some double-given names for women were used at the start of the eighteenth century but were used together as a unit: Anna Maria, Mary Anne and Sarah Jane. Those became stereotyped as the typical names of servants and so became unfashionable in the nineteenth century. Double names remain popular in the Southern United States . Double names are also common among Vietnamese names to make repeated name in
4134-452: The examples above—the two characters together may mean nothing at all. Instead, they may be selected to include particular sounds, tones , or radicals ; to balance the Chinese elements of a child's birth chart ; or to honor a generation poem handed down through the family for centuries. Traditionally, it is considered an affront , not an honor, to have a newborn named after an older relative and so full names are rarely passed down through
4212-535: The families of both parents. Today, people in Spain and Uruguay can rearrange the order of their names legally to this order. The order given name - father's given name - grandfather's given name (often referred to as triple name ) is the official naming order used in Arabic countries (for example Saudi Arabia , Iraq and United Arab Emirates ). In many Western cultures , people often have multiple given names. Most often
4290-407: The family. For example, Đặng Vũ Minh Anh and Đặng Vũ Minh Ánh, are two sisters with the given names Minh Anh and Minh Ánh. Sometimes, a given name is used as just an initial, especially in combination with the middle initial (such as with H. G. Wells ), and more rarely as an initial while the middle name is not one (such as with L. Ron Hubbard ). A child's given name or names are usually chosen by
4368-407: The farm's fortune. Given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name ) is the part of a personal name that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a family or clan ) who have a common surname . The term given name refers to a name usually bestowed at or close to
4446-419: The fine point of distinction that tomte actually meant a planned building site (where as tun was the plot with a house already built on it), so that the Swedish tomtegubbe , Norwegian tuftekall , tomtevætte , etc. originally denoted the jordvætten ("earth wights"). The thrust of Feilberg's argument considering the origins of the nisse was a combination of a nature spirit and an ancestral ghost (of
4524-407: The first one in sequence is the one that a person goes by, although exceptions are not uncommon, such as in the cases of John Edgar Hoover (J. Edgar) and Dame Mary Barbara Hamilton Cartland (Barbara). The given name might also be used in compound form, as in, for example, John Paul or a hyphenated style like Bengt-Arne . A middle name might be part of a compound given name or might be, instead,
4602-507: The following categories: In many cultures, given names are reused, especially to commemorate ancestors or those who are particularly admired, resulting in a limited repertoire of names that sometimes vary by orthography . The most familiar example of this, to Western readers, is the use of Biblical and saints' names in most of the Christian countries (with Ethiopia, in which names were often ideals or abstractions—Haile Selassie, "power of
4680-466: The former with the latter. In another tale localized in Hallingdal , Norway, a maid decided to eat the porridge herself, and ended up severely beaten by the nisse . It sang the words: "Since you have eaten up the porridge for the tomte (nisse), you shall with the tomte have to dance!" The farmer found her nearly lifeless the morning after. In Sweden, the Christmas porridge or gruel ( jul gröt )
4758-448: The home, taking interest in the welfare of the homestead, its crops, and the family members. There are two 14th century Old Swedish attestations to the tomta gudhane "the gods of the building site". In the "Själinna thröst" ("Comfort of the Soul"), a woman sets the table after her meal for the deities, and if the offering is consumed, she is certain her livestock will be taken care of. In
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#17330849205994836-446: The milkmaid is to hold down the hay so firmly the girl is not able to extract it, and abruptly let go so she falls flat on her back; the pleased nisse then explodes into laughter. Another prank is to set the cows loose. As the protector of the farm and caretaker of livestock, the tomte ’s retributions for bad practices range from small pranks like a hard strike to the ear to more severe punishment like killing of livestock or ruining of
4914-507: The name Mary , now popular among Christians, particularly Roman Catholics , was considered too holy for secular use until about the 12th century. In countries that particularly venerated Mary, this remained the case much longer; in Poland, until the arrival in the 17th century of French queens named Marie. Most common given names in English (and many other European languages) can be grouped into broad categories based on their origin: Frequently,
4992-505: The names of literary characters or other relatively obscure cultural figures. Devout members of religions often choose names from their religious scriptures. For example, Hindu parents may name a daughter Saanvi after the goddess, Jewish parents may name a boy Isaac after one of the earliest ancestral figures, and Muslim parents may name a boy Mohammed after the prophet Mohammed . There are many tools parents can use to choose names, including books, websites and applications. An example
5070-521: The native Norwegian is retained in Pat Shaw Iversen's English translation (1960), appended with the parenthetical remark that it is a household spirit , Various English language publications also introduce the nisse as an "elf" or "gnome". In the past, H. L. Braekstad [ no ] (1881) chose to substitute nisse with " brownie ". Brynildsen [ no ] 's dictionary (1927) glossed nisse as ' goblin ' or ' hobgoblin '. In
5148-463: The nisse lives in the houses and barns of the farmstead, and secretly acts as their guardian. If treated well, they protect the family and animals from evil and misfortune, and may also aid the chores and farm work. However, they are known to be short tempered, especially when offended. Once insulted, they will usually play tricks, steal items and even maim or kill livestock . In one anecdote, two Swedish neighboring farmers owned similar plots of land,
5226-602: The parents soon after birth. If a name is not assigned at birth, one may be given at a naming ceremony , with family and friends in attendance. In most jurisdictions, a child's name at birth is a matter of public record, inscribed on a birth certificate , or its equivalent. In Western cultures, people normally retain the same given name throughout their lives. However, in some cases these names may be changed by following legal processes or by repute. People may also change their names when immigrating from one country to another with different naming conventions. In certain jurisdictions,
5304-483: The pioneer who cleared the land) guarding the family or particular plot. The nature spirits―i.e., tomtevætte ("site wights"), haugbue ("howe/mound dwellers"), "underground wights" ( undervætte, underjordiske vætte ), or dwarves, or vætte of the forests―originally freely moved around Nature, occasionally staying for short or long periods at people's homes, and these transitioned into house-wights ( husvætte ) that took up permanent residence at homes. In one tale,
5382-642: The rise to fame of singer-actress Miley Cyrus (who was named Destiny at birth). Characters from fiction also seem to influence naming. After the name Kayla was used for a character on the American soap opera Days of Our Lives , the name's popularity increased greatly. The name Tammy , and the related Tamara became popular after the movie Tammy and the Bachelor came out in 1957. Some names were established or spread by being used in literature. Notable examples include Pamela , invented by Sir Philip Sidney for
5460-434: The same quality of meadow and woodland, but one living in a red-colored, tarred house with well-kept walls and sturdy turf roof grew richer by the year, while the other living in a moss-covered house, whose bare walls rotted, and the roof leaked, grew poorer each year. Many would give opinion that the successful man had a tomte in his house. The tomte may be seen heaving just a single straw or ear of corn with great effort, but
5538-414: The sprite is called nisse but is encountered but by a tree stump (not in the house like a bona fide nisse ), and this is given as an example of the folk-belief at its transitional stage. But there is also the aspect of the ghost of the pioneer who first cleared the land, generally abiding in the woods or heaths he cleared, or seeking a place at the family hearth, eventually thought to outright dwelling in
5616-413: The stables and mine-works were more prevalent in the pre-Christian period than the current time. The sector "B" of this map where the drawing occurs spanned Finnmark (under Norway) and West Lappland (under Sweden). While Olaus does not explicitly give the local vernacular (Scandinavian) names, the woodcuts probably represent the tomte or nisse according to modern commentators. Later folklore says that
5694-469: The time of birth, usually by the parents of the newborn. A Christian name is the first name which is given at baptism , in Christian custom. In informal situations, given names are often used in a familiar and friendly manner. In more formal situations, a person's surname is more commonly used. The idioms ' on a first-name basis ' and 'being on first-name terms' refer to the familiarity inherent in addressing someone by their given name. By contrast,
5772-439: The tomten)". There are also folktales where he is believed to be a shapeshifter able to take a shape far larger than an adult man, Since nisser are thought to be skilled in illusions and sometimes able to make themselves invisible, one was unlikely to get more than brief glimpses of him no matter what he looked like. Norwegian folklore states that he has four fingers, and sometimes with pointed ears and eyes reflecting light in
5850-517: The top 1,000 before. Kayleigh became a particularly popular name in the United Kingdom following the release of a song by the British rock group Marillion . Government statistics in 2005 revealed that 96% of Kayleighs were born after 1985, the year in which Marillion released " Kayleigh ". Popular culture figures need not be admirable in order to influence naming trends. For example, Peyton came into
5928-474: The top 1000 as a female given name for babies in the United States for the first time in 1992 (at #583), immediately after it was featured as the name of an evil nanny in the film The Hand That Rocks the Cradle . On the other hand, historical events can influence child-naming. For example, the given name Adolf has fallen out of use since the end of World War II in 1945. In contrast with this anecdotal evidence,
6006-469: Was sleeping. Even in the mid 19th century, there were still Christian men who made offerings to the tomtar spirit on Christmas day. The offering (called gifwa dem lön or "give them a reward") consisted of pieces of wadmal (coarse wool), tobacco , and a shovelful of dirt. One is also expected to please nisse with gifts (see Blót ) a traditional gift is a bowl of porridge on Christmas Eve . The Norwegian household, in order to gain favor of
6084-449: Was traditionally placed on the corner of the cottage-house, or the grain-barn ( lode ), the barn, or stable; and in Finland the porridge was also put out on the grain-kiln ( rin ) or sauna. This gruel is preferably offered with butter or honey . This is basically the annual salary to the spirit who is being hired as "the broom for the whole year". If the household neglects the gift,
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