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A name day is a tradition in many countries in Europe and Latin America that consists of celebrating a day of the year that is associated with one's given name. The celebration is similar to a birthday.
The celebration of name days has been a tradition in Catholic and Orthodox countries since the Middle Ages, and has also continued in some measure in countries, such the Scandinavian countries, whose Protestant established church retains certain Catholic traditions. The name days originate in the list of holidays celebrated in commemoration of saints and martyrs of the church. For example, the name Karl or Carl is celebrated in Sweden on January 28, the anniversary of the death of Charlemagne (Charles magnus, i.e., 'the great'). The church promoted celebration of name days (or rather saints' feast days) over birthdays, as the latter was seen as a pagan tradition.
Where name days occur an official list is held containing the current assignations of names to days. There are different lists for Finnish, Swedish, Sami, and other countries that celebrate namedays, though some names are celebrated on the same day in many countries. From the 18th century and onwards the list of name days has been modified in Sweden and Finland, but not in other countries.
From the 18th century onwards, names used by the royal family were introduced to the Swedish list of name days, followed by other common names. In 1901 a comprehensive modernisation was made to make the list up to date with current names. The monopoly on almanacs, held by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, expired in 1972 and so did the official name day list. Competing name day lists began to emerge but the official list was still in general use until 1986 when consensus of a new list with three names on each day was reached. This list was revised in 1993 and reduced to two names on each day. However, widespread dissatisfaction with the list prompted the Swedish Academy to compile a new two-name list which was finally accepted and brought into use in 2001. Although it does not have the official status of the 1901 or older lists, it is now universally used in Sweden.
The two names associated with January 16th are Hjalmar and Helmer