At the beginning of the Asatru revival in North America, it was common for us to take Norse names regardless of our family's ancestral homeland. Ernie Bidwell became Thorsteinn Thorarinsson, Joe Thomas transmogrified into Erik Odinsson, and so forth. I, too, took such a name for a short length of time. Choosing a Viking-style name was a little like naming a Sixties rock band...pick a word from Column A and another from Column B, put them together, and see if you like the result.
However, there were reasons for these names other than mere coolness. They provided a nom de guerre by which people could protect their professional lives from discrimination - Edred Thorsson, also known as Stephen Flowers, PhD., comes to mind. In some cases, these names hearkened back to genuine forebears; Stephen Flowers had a real ancestor named "Edred." Mike Murray became Valgard because of a specific spiritual obligation he undertook. But for many of us, it was an attempt to reject our Christian past or to identify more closely with Norse culture.
I ditched my pseudonym sometime in the late 1970's. I haven't missed it. In fact, the custom itself is less common than it used to be. Many of us have decided that the Gods don't much care whether we're named Arnbjorn or Bob.
A somewhat different matter is the use of a magical name when working ritual. This has good precedent. All Odin's nick-names probably serve a ritual function. I have such a spiritual monicker that I chose long, long ago...and it was only decades later that I realized how incredibly appropriate it was! Sometimes the Self knows more than the self.
Plenty of the folks reading these words have a Norse pseudonym, and that's fine. I respect that choice. There's no harm in it and it is not my intention to tread on anyone's toes. For me, though, I decided that my most recent ancestors named me Stephen Anthony McNallen, and in honor of those ancestors - my mother and father, not to mention Fergus, "son of Nellan" back in 563 AD - I wear it proudly. It's good enough for me.
Steve McNallen
Asatru Folk Assembly
http://runestone.org
3 comments:
This is something that I have struggled with a little of late. I have been pondering changing my name, as a way to distance myself from the Christian upbringing that I abandoned some time ago. But then, is my name my self? Truly, how much does this affect who and what I am? I think I agree...the Gods do not care much what I am called, only how I live...my actions!
Excellent post, Stephen!
I do not really know why my mother chose "Tracie" as my first name, but I know why she chose "Laureen" as my middle name - she told me that someone had told her it is the feminine form of my father's middle name, Lawrence.
"Holladay" however, is not the name of my biological grandparents on my father's side of the family. The Holladays adopted him when he was an infant. His biological family name would have been Carter (which ties me in, biologically speaking, to the MacArthur clan).
I think it would be nice to see you write up a post about adoption and how it is every bit as valid a family structure as being born into a family - and how an adopted child takes on the hamingja of the family who adopts him/her.
PS: Not that I'd ever tell you what to post in your blog, Stephen! No, I simply suggested it because I think it'd be very interesting reading, and it might provide some encouragement for families who are considering adoption for themselves.
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