Næmni

Næmni is a term found in Icelandic onomastics and philology that denotes a name or appellation used to identify a person, place, or thing. In scholarly discussions, næmni is often treated as a category or concept related to naming practices, rather than as a specific proper name itself. The term appears primarily in historical texts, dictionaries, and linguistic analyses rather than in everyday Icelandic.

Etymology and form: Næmni is generally considered to be related to the common Icelandic word nafn, meaning “name,” and is formed with a suffix that gives it a nominal, abstract sense. The precise attestation and usage of næmni vary across manuscript traditions, and it is typically described as a specialized or archaic term rather than a standard modern word. Because it occurs mainly in scholarly contexts, its exact boundaries with related terms such as nafn or appellative forms can be subtle and context-dependent.

Modern usage and interpretation: In contemporary Icelandic, nafn is the standard term for a “name.” Næmni endures in academic discussions as a way to refer to the category of naming or to discuss epithets, titulature, or designation practices in historical sources. When used by scholars, næmni can help distinguish the act or class of naming from the asset of a concrete name itself. In English-language scholarship, its sense is often conveyed as “naming” or “epithet” depending on the context.