Heathen Names

I've been seeing a lot of discussion over the last few days about "heathen names" and "viking names", and thought I'd weigh in on it.

Choosing a new name because of religion has a long history. In the ancient world, freshly converted Christians would choose (or be given) a new "Christian name" to symbolize shedding the old Pagan identity, and becoming a good Christian. In many cultures, people had multiple names and nicknames.

In the Pagan and Wiccan communities, "craft names" have been around about as long as Wicca has. The idea was that by choosing a magickal name or a craft name, you could protect yourself. Wiccans, especially, have faced a lot of discrimination in the workplace and at school over the years. It was common for people to practice in absolute secrecy, and many people hid their religion from their families and friends. So by using a different name around other Wiccans and Pagans, no one could accidentally "out" you or get you in trouble. After a while, Wicca and Paganism became more popular and acceptable, and people began to regard craft names as a spiritual thing, where you shed your old (often Christian) identity and introduced yourself to the gods with your new Pagan identity. I think that's incredibly ironic. It's a very popular tradition in the Pagan community, and some people have birth names, pagan names that they go by in the general community, and even "coven names" that are known only by members of the same coven or circle.

Now, I understand why Heathens decide to choose new Heathen names, but I think that in the context of the Heathen worldview, it doesn't make much sense and it might even be offensive. Many Heathens, like myself, come to Heathenry through Paganism. I see Heathens talk about religious baggage all the time, and I agree with the opinion that Heathen names are a result of Pagan or eclectic baggage.

One of the main arguments against Heathen names is that it's offensive to your ancestors. While I think that it probably depends on your specific ancestors and your specific name, in most cases I think it's fairly true. Your name is a gift from your ancestors, and it's the legacy that you're going to pass on to your descendants. Even if everything else about your family is forgotten, you can figure out at least a little bit through your surname. Keeping your name is a way to honor your ancestors, as one redditor said. So unless you have a really good reason (like if your name is absolutely ridiculous, or you're a trans person who wants a name that matches your gender), I think you probably shouldn't change your name for the sake of Heathenry.

Secondly, if you don't actually belong to the ethnic group you're taking your name from, you might be participating in cultural appropriation. So keep that in mind.

Third, unlike in Wicca and Paganism, there is no traditional or cultural reason to take up a new name. Religious minorities are much more widely accepted now than we were even 5 or 10 years ago, and it's not really traditional to re-name yourself in Heathenry.

All that aside, I think that if someone asks you to call them a specific name, then you should. Ultimately someone could have a good reason for it, and they're the one who has to live with it, so let them be. If anyone I know were to choose a Heathen name or a Viking name, I would call them by it.