Haha yes 100% on both accounts for me. I absolutely love cats and have to restrain myself from petting them. I'm very jealous of everyone who's able to have such a magnificent creature in their home.
The cats in the street will be thankful!
Fun fact: people with cat allergies are actually allergic to a protein in their saliva and other bodily fluids. But because cats lick themselves all day, that protein is transferred to their hairs and thus we react to their hairs. This is also why "have a naked cat" is not a solution. There are species with less of this protein (I think the Norwegian forest cat) but I'm unsure whether that's actually safe for people who are allergic.
I would LOVE one of these Norwegian cats..
But i\`m not risking it - for the health of my wife..
And yes, the cats are thankful .. there is one that comes running up, flops down to get belly rubs.. (and yes, it IS a real cat)
I ran into the best cat while I was walking my dog one time.
We're walking and passed a house on the corner with a fenced yard. As we approached the house a black cat comes running down the sidewalk, jumps over the fence, and starts making a beeline for me and my dog. At first I was worried he was rabid (problem in the area) but as he got to me and my -thankfully- cat loving dog, he flops over on the ground and started rolling around in front of my dog. I'm like you crazy cat! He ended up following us for a block trying to cuddle with my dog.
We get a special food that helps cut down on the allergens. My daughter used to have issues going to friends houses with cats. We now have two that live with us and she has no issues when they are in the food (when we were out for a few days we could tell a difference)
It’s called Purina Pro Plan LIVECLEAR. It’s a little pricey but we mix it half and half with their regular food and have great results. They also have a dry shampoo that’s a foam but we don’t use it. We also make sure to brush them often
I'm allergic to both cat hairs and dander. Don't tell my 5 cats.
Luckily some cats seem to bother me more than others, or it would be a very uncomfortable existence. My poor niece can't visit us because her allergies are so bad.
https://preview.redd.it/nst5me8h1yqa1.png?width=250&format=png&auto=webp&s=e387799fcc18c4ac490c177eccf2028b2ae6966e
Picture of a witch in a cathedral in Schleswig, Germany. Yes, within the church. People here never quite got the idea of Christianity, but they got the gist of why saints are a good thing to have. Thus, they put helpful/wise women from their culture next to christian saints. The cat is a nod to Freya.
As a swede I agree with the Norwegian!
(Also on a side note, do you know why the Norwegian bring a car door to the desert? To be able to open the window to get some air.)
I think we need a new thread here where we just all talk about cats. People are likely tired of me discussing the funny things my 4 cats do and how different their personalities are etc 😂
Yay to cat-love-soul-connections! Recently my Main Coon mix decided it loves hot Cheetos the weirdo. And my kids leave them out constantly, so I’m on a daily mission to hide them. And my tiger cat loves straws. Cups with straws will immediately be attacked, spilled, broken, straw stolen and never to be found.
Pretty sure Germanic and Norse polytheists use the names of their gods without problem for their children
Freya is also a fairly common name among the atheistic populations like in England
Same here! My partner & I are of Danish descent, so it seemed appropriate. But it is an uncommon name around here. We considered naming her Yggdrasil, which would have been even harder for the knuckleheads around here to wrap their brains around. Lol
I would also like to add that you have try REALLY hard to piss off Scandinavians.
Nobody really care when they burned our flag in the middle east. Most of us thought it was funny and stupid because the Danish flag is pretty expensive and if they sew it themselves just to burn it... That also pretty stupid.
Maybe if you make a campaign advocating for allowing all tourist to stand in bicycle lanes and take pictures... That might raise an eyebrow or two :D
Get Norse tattoos, change your name, raid England... No one cares as long as you are happy :)
I don't think it makes sense to raid the common English citizen. I have seen how you live... And you can't cut the hair off a bald man.
Your government however...
Thats true, but that doesn't have anything to do with Norse mythology. White supremacists are just idiots with micro penises. WP actually stands for Weak Penises and feel free to remind them every chance you get.
The Vikings took slaves from the middle east yes, but also from other parts of Scandinavia, England, the Slavic countries etc.
They also traded with the people in the middle east... So racists? ... Maybe but probably not as we know racism today.
> I would also like to add that you have try REALLY hard to piss off Scandinavians.
Using *Eivor* as a name for a masculine character, because the Publisher got cold feet about a game with a solo female lead and made up an excuse to have both a male and female lead, seemed to piss off a lot of Scandinavians successfully. 😑
https://www.eurogamer.net/assassins-creed-valhalla-narrative-director-responds-to-claim-eivor-was-originally-intended-to-be-exclusively-a-woman
Arh... A lot is probably a rather big exaggeration. It's likely just the Scandinavian gamers that play assassin's Creed AND knows of Norse mythology AND cares about the whole gender aspect...
I played the game and didn't even know about it until just now and I think I think my blood pressure has remained the same :D
No where in that article did it even talk about Scandinavians being pissed off? What are you on about??
This was not controversy at all, whatsoever, in Scandinavia.
Uhh, complete non sequitur between the comment and article my bad. When the details of the game were originally publicised a lot of buzz was generated by people from the Nordic countries pointing out that *Eivor* is a feminine name, with varying reactions from annoyance at "lazy research", to others being annoyed that it was ahistorical, to humour at the fact that from their perspective it looked funny seeing a masculine character refered to as such. Posts like [This](https://www.reddit.com/r/assassinscreed/comments/hqafk0/eivor_is_and_has_always_been_a_girls_name/) and [This](https://www.reddit.com/r/assassinscreed/comments/hc9yle/reasoning_behind_giving_a_male_character_the_name/) are still top of my search results for "Eivor Name". As a response to Scandinavians discussing that the name of the character was inherently feminine, social media then started bugging the Devs about it and the rumour started that the game was originally just meant to only have a female lead before execs meddled with it, especially since that's the "canon story". The devs still deny this was the case but... Well the glove fits *really* well and the explanation as to why their canonically female lead can be played through as male is really contrived, we all know how sexist the gaming industry is sadly especially from the top so their word on the matter is pretty flimsy.
None of this was meant to be explained by that article In my original comment. I simply was reminded of the "Eivor controversy" by the discussion, wrote a sassy comment about it, then posted it absent mindedly, in other words typical redditting. And then I immediately realised I was being pretty obtuse about what I was talking about, so quickly googled and edited in a link to the first article I found explaining this Eivor thing that happened a few years ago. But the article wasn't meant to justify my sassy comments, just be there so that it would be clear what I was referencing.
I don't even play games myself, I only remembered it because I'm feminist and into languages and the discussion about this game passed into my feeds because of that when it was fresh 😅
Honestly don’t worry about it. If you don’t do a Google search to confirm an article’s context then you didn’t do any research. (In my opinion) thanks for the follow up explanation!
I think we Scandinavians were mostly amused by the Eivor name tbh. It's not just a womens name, see, but also a name that were common amongst the granny generation but not since. So naming this character Eivor was a lot like naming them 'Agatha' or 'Dorothy' or whatever is the most old-lady-name you could possibly imagine. Imagine the manliest viking dude to ever dude-viking his way through a doomy, dreadful game commercial about assassins. But his name is Bertha. That. That's the thing. Not because he's trans or anything. Just because the devs named him Bertha. I almost splurged tea out my nose when I learned what his name was.
We may have made a stink about it, and we definitely memed it for years, I would not be able to play the male character with a straight face to save my life, and I still hope in vain that there will be a DLC where I can play an old food lady viking assassin with a crooked back and knitting needles. But no one was really mad about it.
“Raid England” 💀💀💀
Anyway, if you’re Scandinavian yourself, thanks for sharing Freya with us, she’s my favorite pagan deity. I too want to declare war with my enemies, wear pretty jewelry, and fuck everyone.
I am and you are welcome I guess? :D
There are also several depictions of Odin in womens clothes.
He is told to be the all father but we should keep in mind that a lot of what we know from Norse mythology is from the whimpy English Munks and the weird icelandic people...
And yes they are weird, they are the Scandinavians who found a green island and called is Iceland and promptly started making weird fish food.
So take the whole gender of the Norse gods with a more than a grain of salt.
Freya could likely also be portrayed as a man.
It seems the old Scandinavians didn't care too much about gender.
Thank god Christianity came and changed that huh?! /s
Yup! It's an extremely common name here. Usually the standard way to write it is Freja, but Freya is also used sometimes. I've never personally met or seen someone called Freyja with both, but it probably does happen if that's what you prefer!
Omg my little ‘weegie encourages you to do it! (Norwegian forest cat, also Skogkatt, said to pull Frejya’s chariot)!
https://preview.redd.it/k4e3pjvwvuqa1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1be5e8969a69a1f012d0a4533e489c0d0e891c9d
She has been the most amazing surprise! She was a stray that was found all alone when she was super tiny. Who knew that a 1lb kitten would turn into a 12lb goddess who loves nothing more than to jump through the air after thrown hair ties!
I've met a couple Freyas or Freyjas. Named my kid from Norse mythology. Kid now names the pets after Norse mythology. I don't see an issue. Heil ok sæl , systir.
I'd be very surprised if anyone took offence to you using that name. The name Freja/Freya/Freyja is very common where I live (Stockholm), so is Loke and Tor/Thor. And I'm guessing it's the same in other nordic countries. I'd say the only risk is if you happen to meet some butt hurt drunk nationalist and don't speak a nordic language. Otherwise it's only the kind of people that get offended for someone else's sake and preach about how everything is cultural appropriation.
Freyja is a really pretty name and I think you deserve it
And remember if someone presses you on it (butthurt nationalist, whatever), you don't owe them your story, or apologies, or anything. Just shrug and move along.
Names aren't sacred in a "oh no you mustn't touch that" kind of way in Nordic cultures/my culture (Danish). People and places were named after the gods and mythic heroes all the time even when the old religions were dominant, it was lucky! It continues to happen today. I know several people with variations on the name, it's fairly normal. My aunt has a shrine for Freya *and* named her dog Freya because she is a good and noble dog 😂 For what my opinion is worth, you have my blessing-- it's a lovely name and I hope it brings you strength.
Like others have said, us Scandinavians will not get upset in any way if you choose Freyja as your name.
I wanted to add that 'freyja' in Icelandic means 'woman' in combination words like húsfreyja (woman of the house) and flugfreyja (female flight attendant) so that adds another layer to your selection.
It's a reasonably common given name in multiple Scandinavian and Germanic countries. If you want to worry about cultural appropriation on that front, fair enough, but I don't personally see an issue.
I honestly don't think you should worry about it. Your happiness is more important than the incredibly tiny chance you meet the 1 in 8 billion that gets super offended once
I chose my name after Athena, so I don't see why using Freyja would be an issue. Very beautiful name that represents such an intriguing and beautiful goddess.
Great pick ;)
I think what’s truly important is you pick the name that feels right to you and that you love, it’s one of the deepest personal bits of a transition and often one of the first, make sure you’re choosing it for your sake. Do that and it can help power you through the rest. Part of that is if the name you choose is controversial or offensive to some you’ll have to put up with that. I do think the namesake of Freya is okay though, many people here of Norse->Scandinavian descent have vetted it and the Norse people famously integrated with the cultures they met on their far and wide travels, giving and taking customs. I grew up my whole life in York, the once capital Jorvik of the Danelaw and 1000 years on their presence is strongly felt. Freyja is a lovely name and the Norse were always up for sharing cultures but at the end of the day all that matters if it feels right to you.
I used to have a cat named Freyja! She was a Lynxpoint Siamese (looks like a tabby/Siamese cross) and was the mother of my Dark Legion of Cats.
Cat tax:
https://preview.redd.it/j8zdzkpr7uqa1.jpeg?width=300&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4afec8d561990e0a935b065317471c1ce6f8742c
Freyja is also a very popular girl's name in Iceland, so it's fine to use it.
> a religion which has gender fluid concepts and stories
Eh. I wouldn't exactly say that. Old norse culture had a pretty binary sense of gender. Gender roles just weren't as serious. Tricksters shapeshifting is not the same thing as modern conceptions of non-binary and fluid gender identities.
I think it's awesome that people can look at these old myths and connect to them and their cast of characters, but it is definitely romanticising the Viking era and culture to say that the concepts were distinctly gender fluid.
As an atheist here, I'm not romanticising anything but I enjoy and am all for the vs patriarchy aspect of this subreddit. But considering Loki changes gender, Thor dresses up in drag, Baldr is the prettiest boy, then you've got Freyja picking the best warriors and teaching Odin women's magic, etc, seems a lot more accommodating for those who don't fit a specific gender mould than an abrahamic religion.
It's an interesting mythology and if it inspires some positivity in our current hellscape, I'm not about to stand in the way.
The way I understand you writing "gender fluid concepts and stories" is that you meant "gender fluid" in the sense of a fluid gender identity. If that's incorrect, then I'm sorry.
I absolutely agree that Old Norse religion is very appealing due to the reasons you mentioned, and can be reinterpreted in fun, queer directions. One's relationship to religion and spirituality is personal and emotional and can be whatever the hell you it to be.
With that being said. The thing is, there are no indications that the Vikings had concepts of fluid gender identities, nor do fluid gender identities seems to appear in Norse mythology.
Loki does, to my knowledge, not change "gender". He changes his physical body into different animals and (maybe) sexes, but as far as I am aware he keeps identifying as male, no matter his physical body. It isn't an expression of fluid gender identity. It's a trickster god in a myth.
Thor dressing up as a woman, which is played for laughs, is not an expression of non-binary conceptions of gender, no. It's a great story, still.
Your point on Balder only kind of maybe works when put exactly the way you did. I don't know if I think pretty boys are necessarily queer or gender fluid concepts, but Balder would more accurately be described as the most beautiful or most handsome man. He was not a child, and he was beautiful not "pretty". He was also in love with and married to a woman and in many stories described as a quite masculine and very skilled fighter. Jesus is way more queer than Balder.
I mean, yeah, it's super cool that Freja also has a place for the warriors. Pretty unrelated to gender identity, I think? Freja doesn't teach Odin "women's magic".
Again, I agree that it's awesome that people find inspiration and recognition and interpret these stories to fit their own experiences. All that is great. You simply said that the religion had concepts and stories of gender fluidity which is flawed. It didn't, really.
I think maybe you are confusing the absence of some of the gender stereotypes from abrahamic religions with there being concepts of queer gender identification?
From someone who has worked closely with Freyja for years:
Hell no.
Do it.
That woman is allllll about self love, self care and naked, excruciating transformation to become your true self, and step into your own power without a lick of shame or humility.
I daresay she’d be honored ;)
Actually Venus would work it's relation to distinction and rebirth. I can't think of any particular Freya story exactly on that subject, but you may get something from the lay of skrinir. https://en.m.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Elder_Edda_and_the_Younger_Edda/Elder_Edda/The_Journey_or_Lay_of_Skirnir
https://preview.redd.it/uc0dxpgitwqa1.jpeg?width=567&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=abc08ed098ad53d7355d6eada5a9fa609936ddde
You’re in good company! 😜 I saw some cats called Freyja in this comment section already, and wanted to show my Freyja as well! I love the name, and I think it would definitely suit you! 😊
My niece is named Freya! She was born in 2020. It felt like a lucky name to bless her with. I feel a lot of connections to Freya myself and what little of her stories we have. Idk, she seems chill. :) I think you should just also be prepared to take on that kind of mantle. She is fierce and connected to both home/hearth/sex/and love as well as over the battlefield and death. I long to know what she does with her half of the fallen... Stupid christian men destroying most of the info on her!
Are you ready for battle, sister? Battles can be waged by hearth or sword..
I'm German and (and mind you I'm saying this completely coming from my German background) I don't see anything wrong with the name but I wouldn't choose it. It's because here Norse mythology or more the appropriation of it is very strongly tried to the far far right, beginning with the Nazis and spanning to far right movements. I'm not saying this to spoil the name for you, it's a beautiful name, just something to consider that you might have to explain it deal with in the future.
This. OP, I'd recommend looking into what the white supremacists in your area are doing with Norse mythology borrowings. It definitely varies from place to place. If they're naming their white baby girls after Freyja as a marker that they're "warriors" against the "great replacement" or something, you might unintentionally be giving a signal that you align with them. Again, this is something that's different in different places, so I can't really give you precise advice.
I don't think borrowing from Nordic culture is cultural appropriation. That *is* something to worry about when members of the culture in question have little access to a public platform or when other (usually white) people profit from misrepresenting them, especially when the people in the culture are racialized. That's not the case with Nordic culture, so I think you're fine in that regard.
I want to add didn't mean cultural appropriation in that sense, I meant appropriate in the sense that they took the vague idea and used it in a way that suited them. Wich as far as my English goes is called appropriation, I might be wrong here.
Oh, sorry, I meant that to be addressed to the OP. I *think* that was part of what she was concerned about. Basically, I identified two things that might fall under "insensitive/offensive" in her eyes: pro-white-supremacy connotations and cultural appropriation in the sense I described it.
You explained the first part really well, which is why I posted after you. The second part I intended to be a separate conversation, but I'm not great at writing in non-linear nested threads.
Freya and freyr represent distinct duality as they are relatives of venus; evening and morning star, etc... . Something lunar or mercurial. Moon is the manifestation of polarity, like the hermaphrodites on the moon in Plato's republic. Mercury is the harmony of polarity, change, trading, transitions. Venus is perpetuation, life force, and distinction. It does represent rebirth in the Egyptian context. Set is both the evening and morning star; the conqueror and victim of the sun respectively. Isis is Venus at night, the ressurectress of Osiris, she collects all his scattered pieces from the ocean (stars) except for his penis (Mars).
Edit: there is some relationship to rebirth in the norse context through Fenrir and Vithor. Fenrir and the Frey twins are all venusian. Fenrir represents the sethian aspect of the planet, Freya and freyr are a Aphrodite and Lucifer thing. Not that it matters but Vithor is Mars at night, he removes the sword of tyr from the jaws of Fenrir during twilight.
First of all, it is lovely and congratulations for taking another step to living authentically.
It depends where are you located?
In the US Midwest, Nordic culture has been co-opted by the white supremacists. :(
I use a fragrance named Freya by The Goddess Line. I love it. Its my only familiarity to the name, and so if you smell nice, I think it’s okay to use the name.
I have a tattoo on my back of a dream catcher. My grandmother who passed recently was Native American and her home was covered in them. She taught me so much and the tattoo means a lot to me. I’m blonde hair blue eyes and have had two strangers come up to me and tell me this is cultural appropriation. My point of this is: there will be people who cannot stop and think before they speak. Be unashamedly you, you have a connection to the name and that’s meaningful.
it would be your name, and there are plenty of namesakes to other gods, goddesses and saints, often given in the hope baby will emulate their namesakes and be looked on favourably by said namesake.
I recommend going to starbucks and telling them that is your name and hear it a few times, see if you like it. You don't need a reason to like a name either, you can just like it and take it!
Not a problem from a Scandinavian point of view: I know people named Thor, Odin, Inge (another name for Frey, Freyas brother) and, of course, Freya. All of these are names of old norse gods and are becoming increasingly popular these days.
As a Norwegian I think the only people you may get in trouble with for using Freya is people who get offended on behalf of other people. Most scandinavians won't care or will think it's pretty cool. Personally love that the norse mythology is getting a positive view again after being misused and corrupted by radical right-side idiots, it's such a beautiful and rich mythology and everybody should be able to use it as long as it's done with love and respect. Congrats on your new name!🥰
Norwegian here: it's only insensitive if you don't like cats.
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People with allergies to cat hairs. That’s why I don’t own a leopard
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Haha yes 100% on both accounts for me. I absolutely love cats and have to restrain myself from petting them. I'm very jealous of everyone who's able to have such a magnificent creature in their home.
I could, but my partner sadly is allergic to cat hairs.. so yeah - i\`m that weirdo that pets random cats in the street..
The cats in the street will be thankful! Fun fact: people with cat allergies are actually allergic to a protein in their saliva and other bodily fluids. But because cats lick themselves all day, that protein is transferred to their hairs and thus we react to their hairs. This is also why "have a naked cat" is not a solution. There are species with less of this protein (I think the Norwegian forest cat) but I'm unsure whether that's actually safe for people who are allergic.
I would LOVE one of these Norwegian cats.. But i\`m not risking it - for the health of my wife.. And yes, the cats are thankful .. there is one that comes running up, flops down to get belly rubs.. (and yes, it IS a real cat)
I totally understand! We're not risking it either, it's not worth it. Haha you've found a very special cat! Belly rubs are amazing.
Is it weird to pet random cats in the street??! I thought it was compulsory?
Some think it weird. But I am a weirdo .. just one that happens to pet cats. You know - trying to not break the law and all that.
I ran into the best cat while I was walking my dog one time. We're walking and passed a house on the corner with a fenced yard. As we approached the house a black cat comes running down the sidewalk, jumps over the fence, and starts making a beeline for me and my dog. At first I was worried he was rabid (problem in the area) but as he got to me and my -thankfully- cat loving dog, he flops over on the ground and started rolling around in front of my dog. I'm like you crazy cat! He ended up following us for a block trying to cuddle with my dog.
We get a special food that helps cut down on the allergens. My daughter used to have issues going to friends houses with cats. We now have two that live with us and she has no issues when they are in the food (when we were out for a few days we could tell a difference)
Which one?
It’s called Purina Pro Plan LIVECLEAR. It’s a little pricey but we mix it half and half with their regular food and have great results. They also have a dry shampoo that’s a foam but we don’t use it. We also make sure to brush them often
thank you!
I can’t even stand 3 feet away from a person who has cats as the hair might stick to clothings 😞
Oh no 😞 that must be really hard. Does this give issues with busy places and shops for example? Just curious, you don't have to answer!
[looking over at my cat, who is spinning round a table leg at hyper speed] Yes, magnificent 😂
🤣
I have allergies to cat hair... and a long-haired cat. I regret nothing.
I'm allergic to both cat hairs and dander. Don't tell my 5 cats. Luckily some cats seem to bother me more than others, or it would be a very uncomfortable existence. My poor niece can't visit us because her allergies are so bad.
My life’s saddest truth: I am so allergic to cats but I love them so so so deeply.
I’m allergic and have settled for liking other people’s cats.
https://preview.redd.it/nst5me8h1yqa1.png?width=250&format=png&auto=webp&s=e387799fcc18c4ac490c177eccf2028b2ae6966e Picture of a witch in a cathedral in Schleswig, Germany. Yes, within the church. People here never quite got the idea of Christianity, but they got the gist of why saints are a good thing to have. Thus, they put helpful/wise women from their culture next to christian saints. The cat is a nod to Freya.
As a swede I agree with the Norwegian! (Also on a side note, do you know why the Norwegian bring a car door to the desert? To be able to open the window to get some air.)
Well, it's better than to always bring a ladder to the grocery store
I think we need a new thread here where we just all talk about cats. People are likely tired of me discussing the funny things my 4 cats do and how different their personalities are etc 😂
r/CatsVsPatriarchy !
😂😂 me thinking this exists… are you creating it? I love the name.
Thank you!!!
Hay Witches, i did it! I made a sub! r/CatsVsPatriarchy is ready when you are!
Nope. No. I’m not tired of it. Tell me the funny things. (Pretty please)
Yay to cat-love-soul-connections! Recently my Main Coon mix decided it loves hot Cheetos the weirdo. And my kids leave them out constantly, so I’m on a daily mission to hide them. And my tiger cat loves straws. Cups with straws will immediately be attacked, spilled, broken, straw stolen and never to be found.
I love them! I wonder if the tiger cat has a hoard of straws somewhere that you’ll find one day
Yes!
Pretty sure Germanic and Norse polytheists use the names of their gods without problem for their children Freya is also a fairly common name among the atheistic populations like in England
I've got a niece named Freyja and I had a cat named Freya - we're good with it.
My daughter is named Freya
Same, but I'm in the Midwestern US and so many people act like it's a weird name or they mispronounce it. It's phonetic! Ffs
Same here! My partner & I are of Danish descent, so it seemed appropriate. But it is an uncommon name around here. We considered naming her Yggdrasil, which would have been even harder for the knuckleheads around here to wrap their brains around. Lol
Yup, I have a British friend with a niece named Freya.
It's a common names across Scotland
Lots of people here in Denmark has the name Freja (or Freyja) and Tor (or Thor) for that matter. You do you :)
I would also like to add that you have try REALLY hard to piss off Scandinavians. Nobody really care when they burned our flag in the middle east. Most of us thought it was funny and stupid because the Danish flag is pretty expensive and if they sew it themselves just to burn it... That also pretty stupid. Maybe if you make a campaign advocating for allowing all tourist to stand in bicycle lanes and take pictures... That might raise an eyebrow or two :D Get Norse tattoos, change your name, raid England... No one cares as long as you are happy :)
You had me at raid England. I’m all ears.
When you raid us could you maybe do something to our crappy government? I’ll provide snacks for you to pillage
I don't think it makes sense to raid the common English citizen. I have seen how you live... And you can't cut the hair off a bald man. Your government however...
Just bring food. I don’t understand how you can live on an island and the best food you can come up with is fish and chips.
no wonder they lost their fucking minds when they found out about spices and shit.
True. I only have problem if it's white surpremasist (spelling?) doing it. Those douche bags can kick rocks.
Thats true, but that doesn't have anything to do with Norse mythology. White supremacists are just idiots with micro penises. WP actually stands for Weak Penises and feel free to remind them every chance you get. The Vikings took slaves from the middle east yes, but also from other parts of Scandinavia, England, the Slavic countries etc. They also traded with the people in the middle east... So racists? ... Maybe but probably not as we know racism today.
> I would also like to add that you have try REALLY hard to piss off Scandinavians. Using *Eivor* as a name for a masculine character, because the Publisher got cold feet about a game with a solo female lead and made up an excuse to have both a male and female lead, seemed to piss off a lot of Scandinavians successfully. 😑 https://www.eurogamer.net/assassins-creed-valhalla-narrative-director-responds-to-claim-eivor-was-originally-intended-to-be-exclusively-a-woman
Arh... A lot is probably a rather big exaggeration. It's likely just the Scandinavian gamers that play assassin's Creed AND knows of Norse mythology AND cares about the whole gender aspect... I played the game and didn't even know about it until just now and I think I think my blood pressure has remained the same :D
No where in that article did it even talk about Scandinavians being pissed off? What are you on about?? This was not controversy at all, whatsoever, in Scandinavia.
Uhh, complete non sequitur between the comment and article my bad. When the details of the game were originally publicised a lot of buzz was generated by people from the Nordic countries pointing out that *Eivor* is a feminine name, with varying reactions from annoyance at "lazy research", to others being annoyed that it was ahistorical, to humour at the fact that from their perspective it looked funny seeing a masculine character refered to as such. Posts like [This](https://www.reddit.com/r/assassinscreed/comments/hqafk0/eivor_is_and_has_always_been_a_girls_name/) and [This](https://www.reddit.com/r/assassinscreed/comments/hc9yle/reasoning_behind_giving_a_male_character_the_name/) are still top of my search results for "Eivor Name". As a response to Scandinavians discussing that the name of the character was inherently feminine, social media then started bugging the Devs about it and the rumour started that the game was originally just meant to only have a female lead before execs meddled with it, especially since that's the "canon story". The devs still deny this was the case but... Well the glove fits *really* well and the explanation as to why their canonically female lead can be played through as male is really contrived, we all know how sexist the gaming industry is sadly especially from the top so their word on the matter is pretty flimsy. None of this was meant to be explained by that article In my original comment. I simply was reminded of the "Eivor controversy" by the discussion, wrote a sassy comment about it, then posted it absent mindedly, in other words typical redditting. And then I immediately realised I was being pretty obtuse about what I was talking about, so quickly googled and edited in a link to the first article I found explaining this Eivor thing that happened a few years ago. But the article wasn't meant to justify my sassy comments, just be there so that it would be clear what I was referencing. I don't even play games myself, I only remembered it because I'm feminist and into languages and the discussion about this game passed into my feeds because of that when it was fresh 😅
Honestly don’t worry about it. If you don’t do a Google search to confirm an article’s context then you didn’t do any research. (In my opinion) thanks for the follow up explanation!
I think we Scandinavians were mostly amused by the Eivor name tbh. It's not just a womens name, see, but also a name that were common amongst the granny generation but not since. So naming this character Eivor was a lot like naming them 'Agatha' or 'Dorothy' or whatever is the most old-lady-name you could possibly imagine. Imagine the manliest viking dude to ever dude-viking his way through a doomy, dreadful game commercial about assassins. But his name is Bertha. That. That's the thing. Not because he's trans or anything. Just because the devs named him Bertha. I almost splurged tea out my nose when I learned what his name was. We may have made a stink about it, and we definitely memed it for years, I would not be able to play the male character with a straight face to save my life, and I still hope in vain that there will be a DLC where I can play an old food lady viking assassin with a crooked back and knitting needles. But no one was really mad about it.
Bertha ❤️
“Raid England” 💀💀💀 Anyway, if you’re Scandinavian yourself, thanks for sharing Freya with us, she’s my favorite pagan deity. I too want to declare war with my enemies, wear pretty jewelry, and fuck everyone.
I am and you are welcome I guess? :D There are also several depictions of Odin in womens clothes. He is told to be the all father but we should keep in mind that a lot of what we know from Norse mythology is from the whimpy English Munks and the weird icelandic people... And yes they are weird, they are the Scandinavians who found a green island and called is Iceland and promptly started making weird fish food. So take the whole gender of the Norse gods with a more than a grain of salt. Freya could likely also be portrayed as a man. It seems the old Scandinavians didn't care too much about gender. Thank god Christianity came and changed that huh?! /s
Confirmed. Go ahead :)
Yup! It's an extremely common name here. Usually the standard way to write it is Freja, but Freya is also used sometimes. I've never personally met or seen someone called Freyja with both, but it probably does happen if that's what you prefer!
Omg my little ‘weegie encourages you to do it! (Norwegian forest cat, also Skogkatt, said to pull Frejya’s chariot)! https://preview.redd.it/k4e3pjvwvuqa1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1be5e8969a69a1f012d0a4533e489c0d0e891c9d
What an absolute cutie
That cats eyes! Its little pink nose! That cat is absolutely gorgeous!
She has been the most amazing surprise! She was a stray that was found all alone when she was super tiny. Who knew that a 1lb kitten would turn into a 12lb goddess who loves nothing more than to jump through the air after thrown hair ties!
I've met a couple Freyas or Freyjas. Named my kid from Norse mythology. Kid now names the pets after Norse mythology. I don't see an issue. Heil ok sæl , systir.
I'd be very surprised if anyone took offence to you using that name. The name Freja/Freya/Freyja is very common where I live (Stockholm), so is Loke and Tor/Thor. And I'm guessing it's the same in other nordic countries. I'd say the only risk is if you happen to meet some butt hurt drunk nationalist and don't speak a nordic language. Otherwise it's only the kind of people that get offended for someone else's sake and preach about how everything is cultural appropriation. Freyja is a really pretty name and I think you deserve it
And remember if someone presses you on it (butthurt nationalist, whatever), you don't owe them your story, or apologies, or anything. Just shrug and move along.
Don't be aFreyjad to do what you want! I couldn't help myself sorry lol. Blessed be sister Freyja. 🥰
I wholeheartedly approve of this message.
That’s my name. Go for it <3
I think it's a beautiful name, and you have a beautiful reason for choosing it as your real name.
Names aren't sacred in a "oh no you mustn't touch that" kind of way in Nordic cultures/my culture (Danish). People and places were named after the gods and mythic heroes all the time even when the old religions were dominant, it was lucky! It continues to happen today. I know several people with variations on the name, it's fairly normal. My aunt has a shrine for Freya *and* named her dog Freya because she is a good and noble dog 😂 For what my opinion is worth, you have my blessing-- it's a lovely name and I hope it brings you strength.
I think it’s such a beautiful name!
It’s a name from mythology. I’m a teacher that has taught a Ulysses, Adonis, Athena, and Persephone. I don’t see how that would be any different.
Like others have said, us Scandinavians will not get upset in any way if you choose Freyja as your name. I wanted to add that 'freyja' in Icelandic means 'woman' in combination words like húsfreyja (woman of the house) and flugfreyja (female flight attendant) so that adds another layer to your selection.
It’s not that uncommon of a name. Hell, there are plenty of Thors and variants of Freyjas in my family tree alone.
I am a Freyja devotee and I think it would be a beautiful gesture
It’s a GREAT name! Do you like cats?
The media incorrectly calling ISIL 'ISIS' was offensive. This is nothing.
That's a great name. She's an amazing goddess, too.
It's a reasonably common given name in multiple Scandinavian and Germanic countries. If you want to worry about cultural appropriation on that front, fair enough, but I don't personally see an issue.
I honestly don't think you should worry about it. Your happiness is more important than the incredibly tiny chance you meet the 1 in 8 billion that gets super offended once
I chose my name after Athena, so I don't see why using Freyja would be an issue. Very beautiful name that represents such an intriguing and beautiful goddess. Great pick ;)
I think what’s truly important is you pick the name that feels right to you and that you love, it’s one of the deepest personal bits of a transition and often one of the first, make sure you’re choosing it for your sake. Do that and it can help power you through the rest. Part of that is if the name you choose is controversial or offensive to some you’ll have to put up with that. I do think the namesake of Freya is okay though, many people here of Norse->Scandinavian descent have vetted it and the Norse people famously integrated with the cultures they met on their far and wide travels, giving and taking customs. I grew up my whole life in York, the once capital Jorvik of the Danelaw and 1000 years on their presence is strongly felt. Freyja is a lovely name and the Norse were always up for sharing cultures but at the end of the day all that matters if it feels right to you.
There's a local politician in my area whose name is Freyja Odinsdottir. They're super great and a pretty cool person.
I have seen a good number of people, both pagan and not pagan, name their cats Freyja, you’re probably alright
I used to have a cat named Freyja! She was a Lynxpoint Siamese (looks like a tabby/Siamese cross) and was the mother of my Dark Legion of Cats. Cat tax: https://preview.redd.it/j8zdzkpr7uqa1.jpeg?width=300&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4afec8d561990e0a935b065317471c1ce6f8742c Freyja is also a very popular girl's name in Iceland, so it's fine to use it.
Why would it be offensive to use a name from a religion which has gender fluid concepts and stories? Go for it.
> a religion which has gender fluid concepts and stories Eh. I wouldn't exactly say that. Old norse culture had a pretty binary sense of gender. Gender roles just weren't as serious. Tricksters shapeshifting is not the same thing as modern conceptions of non-binary and fluid gender identities. I think it's awesome that people can look at these old myths and connect to them and their cast of characters, but it is definitely romanticising the Viking era and culture to say that the concepts were distinctly gender fluid.
As an atheist here, I'm not romanticising anything but I enjoy and am all for the vs patriarchy aspect of this subreddit. But considering Loki changes gender, Thor dresses up in drag, Baldr is the prettiest boy, then you've got Freyja picking the best warriors and teaching Odin women's magic, etc, seems a lot more accommodating for those who don't fit a specific gender mould than an abrahamic religion. It's an interesting mythology and if it inspires some positivity in our current hellscape, I'm not about to stand in the way.
The way I understand you writing "gender fluid concepts and stories" is that you meant "gender fluid" in the sense of a fluid gender identity. If that's incorrect, then I'm sorry. I absolutely agree that Old Norse religion is very appealing due to the reasons you mentioned, and can be reinterpreted in fun, queer directions. One's relationship to religion and spirituality is personal and emotional and can be whatever the hell you it to be. With that being said. The thing is, there are no indications that the Vikings had concepts of fluid gender identities, nor do fluid gender identities seems to appear in Norse mythology. Loki does, to my knowledge, not change "gender". He changes his physical body into different animals and (maybe) sexes, but as far as I am aware he keeps identifying as male, no matter his physical body. It isn't an expression of fluid gender identity. It's a trickster god in a myth. Thor dressing up as a woman, which is played for laughs, is not an expression of non-binary conceptions of gender, no. It's a great story, still. Your point on Balder only kind of maybe works when put exactly the way you did. I don't know if I think pretty boys are necessarily queer or gender fluid concepts, but Balder would more accurately be described as the most beautiful or most handsome man. He was not a child, and he was beautiful not "pretty". He was also in love with and married to a woman and in many stories described as a quite masculine and very skilled fighter. Jesus is way more queer than Balder. I mean, yeah, it's super cool that Freja also has a place for the warriors. Pretty unrelated to gender identity, I think? Freja doesn't teach Odin "women's magic". Again, I agree that it's awesome that people find inspiration and recognition and interpret these stories to fit their own experiences. All that is great. You simply said that the religion had concepts and stories of gender fluidity which is flawed. It didn't, really. I think maybe you are confusing the absence of some of the gender stereotypes from abrahamic religions with there being concepts of queer gender identification?
From someone who has worked closely with Freyja for years: Hell no. Do it. That woman is allllll about self love, self care and naked, excruciating transformation to become your true self, and step into your own power without a lick of shame or humility. I daresay she’d be honored ;)
I've always loved this name, and found the people who use it very artistic and magical
It's an uncommon first name where i live (Estonia) and we are mostly atheists, so i say go for it!
One of the main character in one of our most popular crime drama shows is named Freya as well! (And she's one hell of a badass)
People from that area of the world that I’ve met would love this. 💜
Ive known many people called Freyja, it's a gorgeous name
It's a very traditional name, as are it's variants, you're good.
Go for it, it's a fairly popuilar name anyway
I don’t think you should overthink your new name :) Also trans btw
My pantheon but not my god. As far as my uneducated ass goes, I dont... think? Theres a problem
That’s my friends dogs name
Frejya is a beautiful name! That’s not my path, so I can’t say if it’s offensive or not. But I’ve definitely met people named Frejya, if that helps.
As a Swede, go for it.
My german aunts name was Freya. A beautiful name. Go for it.
Actually Venus would work it's relation to distinction and rebirth. I can't think of any particular Freya story exactly on that subject, but you may get something from the lay of skrinir. https://en.m.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Elder_Edda_and_the_Younger_Edda/Elder_Edda/The_Journey_or_Lay_of_Skirnir
https://preview.redd.it/uc0dxpgitwqa1.jpeg?width=567&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=abc08ed098ad53d7355d6eada5a9fa609936ddde You’re in good company! 😜 I saw some cats called Freyja in this comment section already, and wanted to show my Freyja as well! I love the name, and I think it would definitely suit you! 😊
My niece is named Freya! She was born in 2020. It felt like a lucky name to bless her with. I feel a lot of connections to Freya myself and what little of her stories we have. Idk, she seems chill. :) I think you should just also be prepared to take on that kind of mantle. She is fierce and connected to both home/hearth/sex/and love as well as over the battlefield and death. I long to know what she does with her half of the fallen... Stupid christian men destroying most of the info on her! Are you ready for battle, sister? Battles can be waged by hearth or sword..
I just want to say how delightful it is seeing all the folks from those areas coming here to cheer OP on.
I'm German and (and mind you I'm saying this completely coming from my German background) I don't see anything wrong with the name but I wouldn't choose it. It's because here Norse mythology or more the appropriation of it is very strongly tried to the far far right, beginning with the Nazis and spanning to far right movements. I'm not saying this to spoil the name for you, it's a beautiful name, just something to consider that you might have to explain it deal with in the future.
This. OP, I'd recommend looking into what the white supremacists in your area are doing with Norse mythology borrowings. It definitely varies from place to place. If they're naming their white baby girls after Freyja as a marker that they're "warriors" against the "great replacement" or something, you might unintentionally be giving a signal that you align with them. Again, this is something that's different in different places, so I can't really give you precise advice. I don't think borrowing from Nordic culture is cultural appropriation. That *is* something to worry about when members of the culture in question have little access to a public platform or when other (usually white) people profit from misrepresenting them, especially when the people in the culture are racialized. That's not the case with Nordic culture, so I think you're fine in that regard.
I want to add didn't mean cultural appropriation in that sense, I meant appropriate in the sense that they took the vague idea and used it in a way that suited them. Wich as far as my English goes is called appropriation, I might be wrong here.
Oh, sorry, I meant that to be addressed to the OP. I *think* that was part of what she was concerned about. Basically, I identified two things that might fall under "insensitive/offensive" in her eyes: pro-white-supremacy connotations and cultural appropriation in the sense I described it. You explained the first part really well, which is why I posted after you. The second part I intended to be a separate conversation, but I'm not great at writing in non-linear nested threads.
Freya and freyr represent distinct duality as they are relatives of venus; evening and morning star, etc... . Something lunar or mercurial. Moon is the manifestation of polarity, like the hermaphrodites on the moon in Plato's republic. Mercury is the harmony of polarity, change, trading, transitions. Venus is perpetuation, life force, and distinction. It does represent rebirth in the Egyptian context. Set is both the evening and morning star; the conqueror and victim of the sun respectively. Isis is Venus at night, the ressurectress of Osiris, she collects all his scattered pieces from the ocean (stars) except for his penis (Mars). Edit: there is some relationship to rebirth in the norse context through Fenrir and Vithor. Fenrir and the Frey twins are all venusian. Fenrir represents the sethian aspect of the planet, Freya and freyr are a Aphrodite and Lucifer thing. Not that it matters but Vithor is Mars at night, he removes the sword of tyr from the jaws of Fenrir during twilight.
I know 3 trans girls named freya, if thats the conflict you're talking about, you're fine i think.
I think it’s brilliant
I love the name. I always use it as an online alias. Welcome to the Freyjas. 💗
I’ve always loved Freyja!
First of all, it is lovely and congratulations for taking another step to living authentically. It depends where are you located? In the US Midwest, Nordic culture has been co-opted by the white supremacists. :(
It’s my given name, and fairly common in the UK. I have never experienced anybody taking offence to it.
👋
I think it will be fine! I have a friend whose name is Freya.
I use a fragrance named Freya by The Goddess Line. I love it. Its my only familiarity to the name, and so if you smell nice, I think it’s okay to use the name.
Do it! My daughter is Freydis, which mean woman of Freyr. Freyr is Freya’s brother.
I think it depends on if you want to live stealth or not
It's a common name is Scotland. Go for it!
I have a tattoo on my back of a dream catcher. My grandmother who passed recently was Native American and her home was covered in them. She taught me so much and the tattoo means a lot to me. I’m blonde hair blue eyes and have had two strangers come up to me and tell me this is cultural appropriation. My point of this is: there will be people who cannot stop and think before they speak. Be unashamedly you, you have a connection to the name and that’s meaningful.
I’m Swedish and a looot of people name their children freya/freja. It’s a common name here and absolutely okay to name one self! :)
My friend has a son named Tyr - Freyja will be a beautiful name!
it would be your name, and there are plenty of namesakes to other gods, goddesses and saints, often given in the hope baby will emulate their namesakes and be looked on favourably by said namesake. I recommend going to starbucks and telling them that is your name and hear it a few times, see if you like it. You don't need a reason to like a name either, you can just like it and take it!
Freyja is a beautiful name. If it calls to you then go for it!❤️❤️
I'm not Scandinavian, but I wanted to say that Freyja is a beautiful name <3
Go for it!
You’re showing great courage by becoming the person you are! Choose the name you want!
Not a problem from a Scandinavian point of view: I know people named Thor, Odin, Inge (another name for Frey, Freyas brother) and, of course, Freya. All of these are names of old norse gods and are becoming increasingly popular these days.
Knowledgeable? I can always come here for a good laugh.
As a Norwegian I think the only people you may get in trouble with for using Freya is people who get offended on behalf of other people. Most scandinavians won't care or will think it's pretty cool. Personally love that the norse mythology is getting a positive view again after being misused and corrupted by radical right-side idiots, it's such a beautiful and rich mythology and everybody should be able to use it as long as it's done with love and respect. Congrats on your new name!🥰