Fugato

Stiff goldenrod (oligoneuron rigidum)

Nicknames (other than “Gulli”) that have been used for me at one time or another:

Daujau and Dauþóbin

My own pronunciations of “Gunnlaugur” and “Gunnlaugur Þór Briem,” respectively, in my early days of speaking. Picked up by others and still used now and then.

Kristján

Used by my mother off and on through my entire life. I have no idea why. It is a fairly common Icelandic name, and has no special significance in the family. It means “Christian,” of course; not the most apt descriptive term, but probably not intended as such anyway.

Proffi

Used by kids at school for years. Can’t imagine why.

Goldenrod

Used by several smart-alecs, including Kristján Valur at OZ, and Snæbjörn at Landsbankinn. It is a name of a plant, but also used by Han Solo for the robot C-3PO in the first Star Wars movie.

Gulldrengurinn

Used by several people, including the musical Gröndal family. Means literally “the golden boy.”

Brímarinn

Used by remote or recent acquaintances who want to use a teasy kind of name for me and can’t think of anything better.

“Gullu-thor, big bore”

Used by Ketu the chutki, invariably sung in a cheerful taunting tone.

Goolie, Gully

Used by English speakers in general. Not their fault: the ‘u’ sound in my name does not exist in English. Incidentally, “Goolie” is old British military slang for “testicle,” derived from the Hindi word “gooli” (small pellet). I trust that most English speakers are unaware of this. Finnish speakers, however, are fully aware that “Kulli” (where the K is pronounced like a G) means “penis.” I had introduced myself to dozens of them in a business setting before discovering this.

Several unacceptably and unpublishably corny nushymushy names

Used by my sister in outbursts of sororal affection. Sorry, I cannot post these publicly. My dignity does not allow it, and anyway I wouldn’t know how to write them.

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