Sweden’s New Gender-Neutral Pronoun: Hen

[iverglas]

12. it's fairly common in European countries

to have rules about what children may and may not be named. In some instances I think they stem from ancient established religions, in some a desire to maintain ethnic identity, in others it's just the concept of ordre public (roughly, the public interest) that makes children's names a matter of valid public concern. And make civil-law countries especially, those lovers of codification, bureaucratized beyond belief in some ways. Some of the rules really do seem a bit overly intrusive, and not just to us.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/08/world/europe/08iht-danes.html

Personally, I find the growing practice of giving girls male names rather distasteful. All the Madisons and Cassidys and the like. English (for example) has many good, strong female names with long histories, and rejecting them in favour of making pseudo-boys out of girls isn't really advancing equality. And I don't think there are too many Swedes about to name their sons Lisa.

I always think of my mum and little sister getting such a kick out of beauty queen Kaye Lani Rae Rafko's name. ... Ooh, now I have to watch Roger & Me again to see what she said to Michael Moore ...