Ave, Sandum Citizens!
When the Office of the Sôgmô conducts the next census on XXI Iunio MMXIII (21 June 2013), a new cultural reform shall take place. Citizens and residents will be given the option of applying for their own Sandum name. They may choose to continue using their given name or they will be given the option of adopting and using a new Sandum name, that combines self-created names with those already given to them. In a report on Sacerdotium, the newspaper of the Collegio Sacerdae, several conventions dictating names in Sandus were established. Among these are how names are inherited, how nicknames are made gender-neutral, and how given names can be translated into Sandum names.
Two new forms shall be created to be used for names. First, a census form shall be made in order to make the census-taking more orderly; second, a new form shall be made available via the census and citizenship forms wherein citizens may apply for a name worked on by the Central People’s Government, using the information provided, according to the wishes of the citizen. On the name form, citizens will be asked to provide their full given macronational name, what they think or know their name means or what they wish it meant, and any other characteristics they would prefer to express. Next comes the more in-depth details of their Sandum Name.
The second section of the form will be divided into three parts: praenomen, nomen, cognomina.
Section 2, Part A: Praenomen will be in concerns of their first name; it shall ask if they would like to retain their given first name or adopt a Sandum one. A list will be provided of default “Sandum” praenomina; should they not like any of the praenomina available, another sub-section will be available to mark if they would like further research into more names wherein they must either provide an individual they admire or they will be required to give what sorts of historical figures they would like to be polled on.
Section 2, Part B: Nomen will be on their last names; this section will ask two broad questions: would you like to retain your given last name or would you like to change it. The retaining question will ask if you would like the maintain it in its entirety or, in the case that the given last name has been Anglicised (for example, the ending “owitz” on some Anglicised Russian last names will be reverted to the modern transliteration of “ovich”). The changing question will have options for writing in a last name, changing your last name to the Sandum father-mother/mother-father last name — where both parents’ names are put into a hyphenated name, with the leading name being derived from the gender of the citizen –, or adopting a cognomen as a last name.
Section 2, Part C: Cognomina will ask a range of questions. To list a few: sex/gender; demonym or where one comes from; Sandum province one lives in; occupation, profession, or job one does; patronymic and matronymic names; ethnicity or tribe; residence derived from settlement or street names; and physical or personality characteristics.
Section 3 will ask you to identify other items one would like to see in their name and what cognomina they would like to see in their given name. This section will also note that Sandum names are given in full (i.e., they’re given according to all characteristics found in Section 2), but that the official who creates the name will meet with the individual to present them their entire Sandum name and can then choose to shorten their entire Sandum name. The census will note both the full and the shortened name.
All information on the full names of Sandum citizens found in Section 1 of the form will be kept private and will not be disclosed to any unauthorised official of the State of Sandus.
The Census form will be a compilation of all the past criteria and will contain given names, Sandum full names, and Sandum shortened names. Notes will be taken of each change made in accordance with the law. As a new census data-sheet will be made for the upcoming Summer Solstice, these forms will have to be completed whilst the Sôgmô is away in France and Iceland de II ad XIX Iunio MMXIII (from 2 to 19 June 2013).
Let us affirm the rights and integrity of citizens in compliance with the Sandum work on Independence!
— Sôgmô Sörgel
sandus.org 