Swedes with common surnames are opting to change them more than ever before and analysts believe the trend will continue with the introduction of simpler rules.
The Swedish Patent and Registration Office (Patent– och registreringsverket) has received a large increase in the number of people who have contacted them to request their new names be officially recognised.
Officials revealed that the name-change trend was growing, pointing out that about 8,300 people applied to officially change their names last year in comparison to the 7,900 the previous year.
PRV case officer Mattias Benke said when he began working there in 1997 around 4,000 applied to change their names, commenting that there has been a “strong increase”. He explained that many Swedes change their names to match a previous family name, but noted that many are now also using what he described as “made-up names” like Oxstark, Falkmark and Blackkatt.
Rules regarding changing names have become less stringent in Nordic countries in recent years, but Sweden has remained a little behind countries such as Denmark, where people can change their name to that of their unmarried partner. Swedish law states that couples must be married before they can share a name.
Benke predicted that the number of name-change applications would rise again in 2015, when the rules will change to allow people to use another family’s surname as long as more than 2,000 people have that name.