Not allowed to carry the name Alex Emma: "Need to pay until we find a name that suits the state"

Icelandic parents, who want to give their two years old daughter the name Alex Emma, need to pay about 1500 Icelandic Kronas of periodic penalty payments per day to the Treasury when The Icelandic Naming Committee denied their request for Alex as the first name of a girl. They say that they did not expect such "harsh measures" and say that their only option is to appeal the verdict.

„We had our daughter in August in 2013 and had determined her name long time ago," Nanna Þórdís Árnadóttir, the mother of Alex, says. "Then we sent an announcement on it and then it became evident that the girl has never been christened Alex here in Iceland, although it is done abroad, and this has to be submitted before The Icelandic Naming Committee."

Then the family waited for several months for the verdict of the committee. The verdict was passed on the 19th of December. The committee reached the conclusion that Alex  can only be considered a male name in the Icelandic language, as there is not any history or tradition for anything else. Yet, it is mentioned in the verdict that the female name Alex does not contradict the Icelandic language structure and it is not considered a cause of nuisance for the girl.

Today, following a number of phone calls and letters from Registers Iceland, the parents of Alex received a letter saying that they would be subject to daily fines from the 3rd of April for not informing the institution about the naming of the child. Nanna says that it is out of the question to give Alex another name, but she is now almost 19 months old.

„She has three other siblings and has been called Alex Emma all this time," Nanna says. „Then there is also stubbornness, you just think that this is ridiculous. I mean, what kind of fascist state is this? We call her Alex and I am not going to approve of this."

The parents must pay 1437 Icelandic Kronas per day until Registers Iceland is notified of an allowed name. Nanna says that they are now looking at possible ways to appeal the verdict of The Icelandic Naming Committee.

„We are now looking at what others have done, looking at court-cases," she says. They contacted Björk Eiðsdóttir, editor, among other things, but her daughter was allowed to carry the name Blær despite the denial of The Icelandic Naming Committee, following Björk's legal proceedings against the Icelandic state.

„There is no other option. Now after three weeks we need to start paying until we find a name that suits the Icelandic state."

Nanna says that the family has not made enough effort to examine possible ways before the letter arrived today.

„I really didn't expect such harsh measures, I must admit," she says. "It was not until I got the letter that I thought: "O.K., this is really happening."