New Trends in Nordic Socio-onomastics was started as a workshop programme in 2018-2019 funded by The Joint Committee for Nordic research councils in the Humanities and Social Sciences (NOS-HS). It lives on as a research network that gathers around good ideas and knowledge exchange on every thinkable aspect of socio-onomastics. The primary objective of establishing the network was to stimulate innovative research development within the field.
Name research is a small research field and there are few researchers in this field in each Nordic country. Therefore, this joint Nordic network has an important role to play in creating a critical mass and options for a focused thought dividends. The organization of the network workshops encouraged the participants to explore new theoretical perspectives relevant for socio-onomastic studies, as well as new methodological tools suitable for contemporary synchronic, historical and diachronic onomastic studies. It enabled researchers from different Nordic countries to come together to be inspired to make use of recent theoretical and methodological developments within adjacent fields in new, creative ways.
Founders of the network are Birgit Eggert, University of Copenhagen, Emilia Aldrin, Halmstad University, and Terhi Ainiala, University of Helsinki.