Freja eID might be a little bit of a mouthful, and people generally simplify it down to just Freja leaving out the ‘eID’. But is it Freja, or Freya? If you absolutely want to, just combine them into the more traditional Freyja and call it a day. While we’re on the topic of days, Freyja was the inspiration for the name of many people’s favourite (or at least the runner-up) day of the week – Friday.
While it is apparent that the inspiration for naming our product is the eponymous goddess of the Nordic pantheon, we still wanted to do a short write-up on the name of ‘Freja eID’ and what it stands for.
Freja – goddess of the Norse pantheon
As mentioned above, Freja is a goddess of the Nordic pantheon, associated with love, beauty, fertility, war (and Valkyries) and magic. Traditionally in Old Norse, her name was written as Freyja, though the modern spelling is Freja (anglicised to Freya). It’s meaning is ‘lady’ or ‘mistress’, just as her brother’s name Freyr means ‘lord’ in Old Norse.
Prior to the Christianisation of Scandinavia, Freja was widely worshipped and honoured, having many toponyms in her name, especially in Norway and Sweden. In addition, plants were named after her, such as Freyja’s tears and Freyja’s hair, but these were changed instead to refer to the Virgin Mary after the Christianisation of Scandinavia. In general, Freja plays an important part in Nordic mythology and culture.
eID – a glimpse into the future
Not to be confused with the Islamic holiday, Eid al-Fitr, the ‘eID’ in Freja eID is an acronym of ‘electronic identification’, as defined by the European Union.
Electronic identities play a crucial part in the further development and integration of European countries as they are the best tool governments have for eGovernment, data protection and the prevention of fraud such as identity theft.
Apart from protection and security, another critical role that eIDs have is bringing about confidence in digital services. The digital market of services is growing rapidly, and without secure identities it simply wouldn’t be possible.
It is in this duality that we see Freja eID and it is what we are committed to – a supranational eID whose purpose is twofold:
- protect users and their data in the digital world
- enable and empower people to get the most of digital services
Freja eID – a blend of tradition and innovation
The name ‘Freja eID’ consists of two words. The first is rooted in the history and tradition of the country where it was born, distinguishing it as being innovatively Swedish. The second is relatively new, promising to bring a new age of unprecedented change and opportunity. What better blend of values, aspirations and symbolism could one ask for?
