"Freja" Fourth Most Popular Newborn Girl Name in Denmark in 2014

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Freja is the fourth most popular newborn girl name in Denmark in 2014, according to Statistics Denmark. Freja entered Statics Denmark's list of most popularity child names in 1994 at #42 and has steadily become very popular. This popularity appears to have peaked in 2009, when the Freja was the #1 most popular name for newborn girls that year. The name has hovered around the top most popular newborn girl names since.

The North Germanic goddess Freyja as depicted in Freja by Swedish artist John Bauer, 1905

The modern Danish personal name Freja derives from Old Norse Freyja, a theonym (god name) referring to the major goddess Freyja. The name itself transparently means 'Lady' (the name of her brother, Freyr, is 'Lord'). Freyja is thought to have been a title for the goddess, who is otherwise know by at least several other names. The usage of a derivative of the goddess name Freyja as a given name is a recent development and does not appear to have historical precedent in the region.

While the list of newborn girl names primarily shows the influence of names deriving from Latin in the decision making process. However, another name deriving from pre-Christian North Germanic religion, Nanna (from the name of the Old Norse goddess—#38), also appears on the list, along with other Old Norse-derived names such as Signe (#32) and Astrid (#41). Newborn boy names show less of an influence from Old Norse, with a scant few representatives from the Danish language's ancestral name lexicon (for example, Aksel at #26 and Asger at #47).

SOURCE
* Navne til nyfødte ('Names of Nameborns') at Statistics Denmark (in Danish)

Ásatrúarfélagið Goði Blesses Icelandic Air Company WOWair's New Airbus, "Freyja"

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Dorrit Moussaief, First Lady of Iceland, and Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson, goði of Ásatrúarfélagið, Iceland's major Germanic neopagan organization, were invited to to the unveiling of WOWair's, an Icelandic air company, new airbus unveiling. The airbus is named after Freyja, the North Germanic goddess. Hilmar performed a blessing for the unveiling of the airbus:

"Ancient and modern Iceland met yesterday evening at Reykjavik Airport, as Icelandic low-cost airline WOWair held a naming ceremony for one of two brand-new Airbus A321 aircraft purchased by the airline. The guests of honour at the event were Dorrit Moussaief, First Lady of Iceland, and Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson, high priest of the Icelandic neo-pagan religious association, Ásatrúarfélagið.

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In keeping with this reference to ancient Norse beliefs, Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson, chief religious official of the Icelandic neo-pagans, was then called upon to bless the new aircraft by means of a short ceremony involving pouring beer out of a horn onto the tarmac under the plane. Guests were then invited to climb the steps and view the interior of WOWair’s latest acquisition.

Freyja will be put to work straight away and is scheduled to operate WOWair’s inaugural flight to Boston, departing from Keflavík International Airport at 4pm today."

To view more, including video of the event, view the rest of the article here: "Chief pagan blesses Icelandic jet" via mbl.is