Programme Workshop

What was in a name?
Culture, naming practices and individual outcomes in the past

Trondheim, October 12-13, 2026

Venue: Akrinn (Sverres gate 12) - Room U202

Monday, October 12th

09:45         — Welcome —

10:00 Naming and work in the Venetian Pre-Alps, 1573–1782

Francesco Fiore Melacrinis (University of Milan-Bicocca)

10:45 Saint’s-day naming as a measure of religiosity: France, 1801–1859

Nick Fitzhenry (Aix-Marseille School of Economics), Cécilia García-Peñalosa (Aix-Marseille School of Economics) and Alberto Soto Aladro (Aix-Marseille School of Economics)

Coffee break

11:45 Two centuries of first names in northern Sweden: Kin, ethnicity, church, calendar and fashion, 1700-1900

Erling Häggström (Umeå University) Gunfridsson and Ritu Andersson (Umeå University)

Lunch

13:30 Naming the Nation: Cultural Change, Kinship and Family Strategies in Greece, c. 1830–1920

Eftychia Kalaitzidou (Norwegian University of Science and Technology)

14:15 Political selection and the quality of institutions: Elite and gender gaps

Rebeca Echavarri (Public University of Navarra)

Coffee break

15:30 In the Name of God! Religiosity and the Production of Science

Lars H. Andersen (Norwegian University of Science and Technology)

18:30              — Dinner —

 

Tuesday, October 13th

09:00 The Onomastic Revolution: Using naming practices as a lens on neonatal mortality

Alessandra Minnello (University of Padova)

09:45 Land access and name changes within Sámi communities, 1900-1910

Ida Stallvik (Norwegian University of Science and Technology)

Coffee break

10:45 Industrialization and cultural values in China: Evidence from the 156 projects

Yuting Chen (University of British Columbia)

Lunch

12:30 Social status and first names in England, 1780-2026

Christian Alexander Abildgaard Nielsen (University of Southern Denmark), Gregory Clark (University of Southern Denmark) and Matthew Curtis (University of Southern Denmark)

13:15 What was in a grandfather’s name?

Gunnar Thorvaldsen (University of Tromsø) and Gulbrand Alhaug (University of Tromsø)

Coffee break

14:30 The practice of giving names in Russian Orthodox culture: the problems of choice

Alexandre Avdeev (University of Paris 1 Panthéon Sorbonne) and Irina Troitskaya (University of Paris 1 Panthéon Sorbonne)

15:15 In the name of kings: Nationalism and education in early-20th century Norway

Francisco J. Beltrán Tapia (Norwegian University of Science and Technology)

QUIZ TIME!

18:00      — Farewell Dinner —

The baptism (Anker, 1864).

Population census (Spain, 1860).

The baptismal procession (Fendi, 1829).