Namnändringar och inofficiella namn inom den urbana namngivningen i Sverige

Sammanfattning: The aim of this Master of Science thesis is to study the frequency of geographical renaming and unofficial names among Sweden’s urban place-names and to provide knowledge to those who work with urban place-names. The methods used: literature studies, case studies, interviews and a questionnaire directed at place name officials from a selection of Sweden’s municipalities. Conclusion: The official urban place-naming in Sweden is in most cases handled by the municipalitites and takes place in accordance with established practices rather than any actual legislation. Since 2000, the geographical place-names are included in the national Heritage Conservation Act which, among other things, stipulates that established geographical names must not be altered without good cause. The questionnaire directed at a selection of place-name officials shows that the knowledge of the Act of 2000 is widespread and constitutes a foundation for the work. Suggestions for re-naming are relatively rare and in most cases denied, unless the current name has some serious flaw with regards to how easy it is to spell, perceive and remember, or if it can be found to be offensive. The case studies show different types of actual re-naming cases, both denied and approved. Unofficial names have also been investigated in the questionnaire. Almost all of the investigated municipalities have come in contact with such names, but they have not found them to be a real problem since they eventually ”fade out” in most cases. The case studies illustrate the unclear origins of unofficial names as well as their undefined use, but also their popularity and market value for commercial organisations. Two national and international place-name officials have been interviewed and they both describe an increasing ”commercialisation” of urban place-names, and the potential risks of ”parallel” names and an ”undermining” of the official naming. In order to secure well-functioning official place-naming henceforth the following key points have been identified in the thesis: - Education for municipal place-name officials. - Cooperation between municipalities and other ”naming authorities”. - Information within municipalities, to other municipal organisations. - An early start with naming in urban planning reduces the need for unofficial names. - Commemorative place-naming should be practiced with great caution due to the various difficulties associated with those names.