Emerstarian name

Per Emerstarian custom, a person should a forename (Emerstarian: furstnamn), a middle name (Emerstarian: midtennamn), and a surname (slutskenamn); forenames and middle names are chosen by both the parents at birth whereas surnames are inherited from the father, except in cases that the child is illegitimate and in some of the Halleran Islands, where patronymic surnames are still used. When the child is illegitimate, assuming they are not recognized by the father, they will often take the mother's name until they are of age. At that point, it is not uncommon for them to take on a new surname.

Styles and forms of address

In normal polite usage, a person's name is usually preceded by some sort of style; in formal polite usage, especially among the clergy and peerage and royalty, a more expansive title is used.

• Gosse, for males (A formal version of grabb, which means lad. Abbreviation: G. singular, Gr. plural): used to refer to common boys.
• Mann, for males (Emerstarian word for man. Abbreviation: M. singular, Mr. plural): used to refer to common men.
• Mester, for males (Emerstarian word for master. Abbreviation: Me. singular, Mer. plural): used to refer to boys of the gentry.
• Herr, for males (Emerstarian word for sir. Abbreviation: H. singular, Hn plural): used to refer to men of the gentry. Etymologically related to herre, which is the Emerstarian word for lord.
• Froette, for females (Abbreviation: Ft. singular, Ftr plural): used to refer to common girls.
• Froken, for females (Emerstarian word for miss. Abbreviation: Fn. singular, Fnr. plural): used to refer to common, unmarried women.
• Froka, for females (Emerstarian word for mistress. Abbreviation: Fa. singular, Far. plural): used to refer to common, married women.
• Damette, for females (Abbreviation: De. singular, Der. plural): used to refer to girls of the gentry.
• Damine, for females (Abbreviation: Da. singular, Dar. plural): used to refer to young, unmarried women of the gentry.
• Dam, for females (Abbreviation: Dm. singular, Dr. plural): used to refer to married women of the gentry.
• Leker, for males and females (Emerstarian word for doctor. Abbreviation: Lr. singular, Lrn. plural): used to refer to someone with a doctorate

In the case that someone may hold a position in the Church, police, military, you would use that title after a title listed above. For example, a Captain in one of the branches of the Royal Emerstarian Military whose surname is Anderssen, is a man, and of the common class would be referred to as Mann Kaptejn Anderssen.

Forenames and middle names

The forename of a child is given to the child by their parents sometime after their birth. Historically, this could be up to two years after their birth in case the child died in infancy. The naming of a child was an important event in Emerstarian culture and was known as their Name Day, but today, while parents usually will wait several months to a year to name their child, the tradition is slowly dying out.

The following table gives the most popular forenames in Emerstari for all living males and females in order for 2012:

Feminine

Masculine

Nathalie, Else, Lorena, Frederikke, Kjarlotte, Georgia, Erika, Annikke, Johanna, Elsa, Henriette, Annette, Elisabet, Heidi, Olause, Katherine, Regnahilde, Karlotte, Motte, Margaret, Theodora, Borgehilde, Magdelena, Ulrika, Lara, Kjella, Amelie, Ulfa, Keljie, Maude, Marie, Inge, Lukke, Adelhilde, Sorena, Maria, Margarette, Birgette, Danne, Helenne, Sofia, Kristin, Elfenhilde, Henrikke, Karolin, Kristelin, Tøra, Svea, Blanke, Elefine, Elise, Molke, Stefanie, Vilhelmine, Alderika, Lovise, Georgine, Sigrid, Borgehilde, Valderine, Rulfa, Rikarda, Debora, Hervalda, Ljutte, Regnhilde, Romë, Flora, Kendil, Bjernahilde, Kristerine, Helge, Lina, Amelia, Torhilde, Elen, Josefine.

Erik, Frederik, Johann, Karl, Ragnvald, Georg, Olaf, Harald, Gustaf, Per, Donner, Håkon, Nathanael, Jakob, Kristoffer, Thomes, Valter, Ervin, Rudolf, Aksel, Hans, Villem, Hasse, Kristien, Deitrik, Lorens, Anders, Benjamin, Henrik, Matts, Olof, Ragner, Birger, Leff, Elbrekt, Artur, Ulrik, Adulf, Ingemjar, Ljotte, Gjorde, Martin, Theodor, Lars, Fredrik, Regnherdt, Finn, Ingvar, Rikard, Mikael, Knudt, Oskar, Nils, Hervald, Loff, Peder, Tervald, Ulf, Daniel, Alderik, Simeon, Ingevar, Lukas, Deiter, Bjorn, Stefan, Osvald, Måns, Feliks, Rulf, Olfer, Greger, Lukas, Eber, Samuel, Ludvig, Geirre, Tregge, Benkt, Svøn, Valder, Lokke, Hosse, Valdemar, Soren, Oluf, Bjarne, Engelbrekt, Verner, Adeluf, Benedikt, Eberhem, Josef, Sigfred, Tor, Lodevig, Hughes, Sigismund.

Surnames

See: List of the surnames of Emerstarian peers

Patronymic surnames have existed in Emerstari since the fifth century, but geographic surnames began to be used by the nobility around the tenth century. Emerstarian surnames are generally divided into several groups according to deriviation:

• Patronymic names: The earliest form of surname in Emerstari; they developed to show the lineage of an individual. These names were widely used among the common class, but they began to turn into hereditary surnames in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

Examples: Johanssen, Erikssen, Karlssen, Perssen, Nilssen

• Geographic names: These are derived from either a town that the family originates in or from a geographic near where they may have lived.

Examples: Strom, Berg, Kjelleberg, Holm, Ekljund, Lind, Gren

• Occupational names: These names are derived form the job that some one did.

Example: Meijer, Holdemann, Inmann, Helmann, Komann, Sjomann

• Attribute names: These are derived from possibly from a phyiscal attribute of the person or something that the person was known for doing or being like.

Examples: Sjunde, Ljusse, Skjelden

• Soldier names: Due to the many Emerstarians having similar surnames, when people were put into rottes in the Emerstarian allotment system, some adopted what became known as soldier names, which were usually derived from nicknames.

Examples: Svård, Holte, Hoske, Herdt, Svarte.

Marriage

Upon marriage in Emerstari, among the common people, it is most common and is traditional for a woman to take her husband's surname. The children of the marriage, therefore, would also have the father's surname. This is also generally the practice among the gentry as well. In the nineteenth century, however, following a fad from Marseille, some Emerstarian noble women began to hypenate their names; this tradition still persists to some extent, but it is still fairly uncommon.