There is no choice: in Iceland, the name of the child is decided by the committee. Female Icelandic names and meanings - choosing a beautiful name for a girl The most common Norwegian surnames

5.6k (69 per week)

Iceland differs from most other countries in the world in that its inhabitants surnames are rarely available, and when addressing each other they use the first and middle names.

The Icelandic patronymic consists of the father's name and the word for "son" (son) or "daughter" (dottir). So, if Jon Einarsson had a son and was named Olafur, then his name will not be Olafur Einarsson, but Olafur Jonsson. Here's how famous people say it:

• musician Haukur Thomasson father's name is Thomas;
• the singer Bjork Gudmundsdottir dad's name is Gundmund;
• at Miss World 1988 Linda Petursdottir Father's name is Petur.

If you have to deal with two namesakes with the same names and patronymics, then they begin to distinguish them by the name of their grandfather. In this case, when fully addressing a person, the grandfather's patronymic is also added to the name and patronymic. For example, Jon Petursson Einarsson (Jon, son of Petur son of Einar).

Previously, a similar tradition was observed in other Scandinavian countries, but was later abolished, and was preserved only in Iceland. However, nowadays in Norway, Sweden and Denmark it has again become fashionable to use this principle, replacing the surname with a patronymic. If the father in an Icelandic family has an unusual name (for example, if he is an immigrant), then before giving the children his name as a patronymic, you need to get permission from a special department - the Icelandic Commission on Names, which will decide whether this name can be used in Icelandic.

In some cases, Icelanders do not choose their father's name for their patronymic, but their mother's name., for example, if they want nothing to do with their biological father. So called himself, for example, the famous Icelandic footballer - Heydar Helguson, that is, Heydar, the son of Helga. So for the Icelanders, the reservation of the character of "Office Romance", who named his director Prokofy Lyudmilych, would not have been such.

In general, Icelanders only use first names when addressing each other, even if it is the prime minister of the country.(Johanna Sigurdardottir was simply called Johanna). In certain cases, such a system shows its inconvenience. As elsewhere in the Icelandic phone book, subscribers are listed in alphabetical order. But if everywhere the listing begins with the surname (which is always rarer and more unique than the first name), then the Icelanders first sort by first name, and only then by patronymic. In addition, incidents often arise when Icelanders travel with their children. Customs officers of countries with a different formation of names clearly know that children must have the same surname as their parents, but this is not the case here.

But sometimes Icelanders also have real, “European” surnames, although they are rarely used here. Most often, surnames “stick” to Icelanders who had foreign ancestors in the past. But even then they use an abbreviated form of their patronymic in addition to their surname. Examples of famous Icelanders with surnames: actress Anita Briem, director Balthazar Kormakur, football player Eidur Gudjohnsen.

Estimate!

Rate it!

In most countries of the world, future parents, even before it becomes known whether their son or daughter will be born, begin to come up with a name for the child, discuss this issue with friends, and as soon as the baby is born, they immediately tell everyone what his or her name is .

In Iceland, the opposite is true. Here, acquaintances and relatives of young parents learn the name of the child, as a rule, only six months after the birth of the baby. If you ask a couple of Icelanders what they decided to name their child, they will look at you in surprise, and leave the question unanswered.

Unbelievable but true. Until six months, most newborn Icelanders live without a name, parents simply call their children "stúlka" - a girl or "drengur" - a boy. The thing is that it is not customary in Iceland to come up with a name for a child before his birth, but you need to look at the baby that was born. Well, after the parents choose a name for the baby, it must be officially approved in accordance with the Icelandic list of names. There are 1800 names in this document, not all of them are traditional, but only those names that comply with a number of rules receive approval. For example, it should not contain the Latin letters C or Z, since they are not in the Icelandic alphabet, and in addition, the name may not be approved if it is spelled strangely.

So, first, the parents must see the baby, then choose a name for him or her, then submit the name for consideration and wait for his official approval. As a rule, the whole process takes from one to six months, and only after the baby receives official documents, his name becomes known to everyone. In a word, why rush, because the name is a serious matter, you need to thoroughly think over it, then a person should live with it! Often, on the occasion of finding the name of a son or daughter, happy parents throw a party at which they officially introduce their child to friends and relatives. If the baby was born to a couple who adheres to the Christian faith, a party in honor of finding a name is often held on the same day as baptism.

Well, as I wrote repeatedly, the Icelanders do not have a surname, their role is played by patronymics. For boys, the ending “son” is added to the name of the father, that is, “son”, and for the girl “dóttir” - “daughter”. However, as the Icelanders told me, sometimes they go to small tricks in order to feign the presence of a surname, for this, boys are often called the name of their grandfather, so that the family line can be traced.

OTHER COUNTRIES (select from the list) Australia Austria England Armenia Belgium Bulgaria Hungary Germany Holland Denmark Ireland Iceland Spain Italy Canada Latvia Lithuania New Zealand Norway Poland Russia (Belgorod region) Russia (Moscow) Russia (summary by region) Northern Ireland Serbia Slovenia USA Turkey Ukraine Wales Finland France Czech Republic Switzerland Sweden Scotland Estonia

select a country and click on it - a page with lists of popular names will open


Thingvellir Valley (photo by Hansueli Krapf)

A state located on the island of Iceland and small islands around it in the north of the Atlantic Ocean. The capital is Reykjavik. Population - 317,630 (2010). Over 95% are Icelanders (descendants of Scandinavians who speak Icelandic). Danes, Norwegians and others also live. The official language is Icelandic. As of 2006, 82.1% of the population belongs to the Evangelical Lutheran Church. There is also a follower of the Roman Catholic Church (2.4%), the Reykjavik Free Church (2.3%), the Hafnarfjordur Free Church (1.6%), other Christian churches (2.8%). 0.9% of the population belong to other religions, 2.6% do not identify themselves with any religion, 5.5% - other or undecided.

Iceland is the only country in Europe where most of the inhabitants do not have surnames. The latter are found only in a few. For example, former Prime Minister Geir Haarde, Nobel laureate Halldór Laxness. In 1925, a law was passed forbidding Icelanders from taking surnames. This norm was confirmed in 1991 and 1997. However, the descendants of foreigners and those Icelanders who took a surname before 1925 are granted the right to inherit a surname.

In public life, personal names are mainly used, on the basis of which all alphabetical lists are compiled (including telephone directories).

The second part of the naming of the Icelanders is the patronymic or, more rarely, the matronym. The patronymic is formed from the name of the father + identifier son(son) or dottir(daughter): Jón Stefánsson, Katrín Jónsdóttir, etc. In more rare cases, not the father's name is used, but the mother's, to which the same son or dottir. The population of Iceland is small, so there are usually no problems with distinguishing namesakes. But if this happens, then an indication of the profession is added to the lists. In everyday life, to distinguish full namesakes, they can sometimes use the paternal name of the child, for example: Jón Þórsson Bjarnarsonar.

If there are namesakes in one company, for example, Jón Stefánsson and Jón Þorláksson, then the former will be referred to as Jón Stefáns, and the latter as Jón Þorláks. i.e. formant son may be omitted.

There are certain legal restrictions on choosing a name for a child in Iceland. If the name has never been used before in the country, then it must be approved by the Committee on Names (Mannanafnanefnd), which has existed since 1991. At the same time, the main criteria are the use of only letters of the Icelandic alphabet and the possibility of integrating the name into the Icelandic language, the possibility of its declension.

In Iceland, information on the choice of names is provided by Statistics Iceland, the country's official statistics centre. On his website you can find data on the statistics of the names of the entire population of Iceland (the first hundred), on the most common names of newborns (at the moment for 2004–2007 and 2009). Separate tables show the frequency of double names (both for the entire population and for newborns).

The leader of the male names of newborns in 2009 was the name Alexander, received by 49 people. The most common middle name for boys is Þór (100 names). In the women's birthday list of newborns in 2009, the leader was the name Anna with 36 nouns. The most common middle names for girls - Maria And Osk(70 names each). Among the entire population of the country, the most common combination of male names is Jon Chor(as of January 1, 2010, 213 people), female - Anna Maria(at 352).

For more information, see the Statistics Iceland website (link at the bottom of the page).

20 most common Icelandic names as of 1/1/2010

(1. Data in parentheses as of 01.01.2005). 2. This statistic does not take into account middle names in the case of a two-name person; 3. f is the absolute number of name bearers.)

Men's				Women's
№	Name	f	%	Name	f	%
1	Jon (1)	5,442	3.40	Guðrún (1)	5,053	3.20
2	Sigurur (2)	4,385	2.74	Anna (2)	4,474	2.84
3	Guimundur (3)	4,137	2.59	Sigríur (3)	3,693	2.34
4	Gunnar (4)	3,232	2.02	Christine (4)	3,655	2.32
5	Olafur/Olav (5)	2,883	1.80	Margret/Margrjet/Margret (5)	3,011	1.91
6	Einar (6)	2,530	1.58	Helga (6)	2,842	1.80
7	Christian/Christian/Christian (8)	2,383	1.49	Sigrun (7)	2,609	1.65
8	Magnus (7)	2,378	1.49	Ingibjörg (8)	2,334	1.48
9	Stefan/Stefan (9)	2,207	1.38	Johanna (9)	1,994	1.26
10	Johann (10)	1,979	1.24	Maria (10)	1,920	1.22
11	Björn (11)	1,741	1.09	Elin (11)	1,634	1.04
12	Arni (12)	1,643	1.03	Katrin (14)	1,423	0.90
13	Bjarni (13)	1,562	0.98	Hildur (17)	1,362	0.86
14	Helgi (14)	1,525	0.95	Ragnheiður (15)	1,332	0.84
15	Arnar (17)	1,519	0.95	Guðbjörg (12)	1,316	0.83
16	Halldor (15)	1,480	0.93	Ásta (13)	1,312	0.83
17	Petur/Pjetur (16)	1,412	0.88	Erla (16)	1,294	0.82
18	Christine (18)	1,333	0.83	Lilja (20)	1,242	0.79
19	Gisli (19)	1,295	0.81	Guðny (18)	1,217	0.77
20	Ragnar (20)	1,277	0.80	Olöf (19)	1,174	0.74

Most common newborn names, 2009

(in brackets - the place of the name in the previous year)

Men's		Women's
Place	Name	Place	Name
1	Alexander (6–7)	1	Anna (1)
2	Daniel (9)	2	Rachel (6)
3	Jon (2)	3	Emilia/Emelia (2–3)
4	Sigurður (16–19)	4	Katrin (2–3)
5	Viktor/Victor (1)	5–6	Kristin (11–12)
6	Arnar (4–5)	5–6	Viktoria (17–19)
7	Kristjan/Kristian/Christian (4–5)	7–8	Anita/Anita (9–10)
8–9	Gunnar (6–7)	7–8	Ísabella/Ísabel/Isabella/Isabel (17–19)
8–9	Kristofer (16–19)	9	Margret/Margrjet/Margret (25–27)
10	Stefan/Stefan (12–14)	10–11	Eva (11–12)
11	Guðmundur (10–11)	10–11	Sara (4)
12	Aron (3)	12–14	Elisabet/Elisabeth (7)
13	Gabriel (12–14)	12–14	Embla (15)
14–16	Einar (22–24)	12–14	Chris (37–41)
14–16	Matthias/Mattias/Mathias (16–19)	15–16	Guðrún (5)
14–16	Mikael/Mikkael/Mikkel (20–21)	15–16	Katla (37–41)

Iceland was settled by Norwegians at a time when the Scandinavian languages ​​were still almost indistinguishable from each other. The common Scandinavian language was called "Danish" at the time. In modern times, it is called Old Norse. Iceland, which developed somewhat differently than mainland Scandinavia, today speaks a language that is closer to Old Norse than any other language.

Icelandic names are one single word or one made up of several, a word in Old Norse. The names most often contain the theme of nature or battle, as you can see by reading the lists. Icelanders are often named after characters from Norse mythology.

What do they pay attention to when choosing?

It is worth talking about the structure of the names of the Icelanders. As a rule, Icelanders have a first name, a middle name (rarely called. An analogue is the middle name for the English) and a patronymic. Only a small number of Icelanders have surnames (immigrants and those Icelanders who wanted to register a surname for themselves, as well as Icelanders who married a person from another country and took his surname).

In general, when choosing a name, Icelanders are guided by the same traditions as throughout Europe. The first name is chosen either by sound or by meaning, or is given in honor of a relative or some significant person for them (for example, a friend). The second name, as a rule, is given in honor of someone (relative or friend). Due to the proximity of Icelandic and Old Norse, Icelanders understand the meaning of most names.

Often in the composition of names there is the word "Ases". In translation, it means the highest gods in Scandinavian mythology, living in Asgard.

Popular Options

Men's

1. Adalbert- "noble + bright." The name is of ancient Germanic origin. Adalbert is a noble man who knows what honor is.
2. Adalrik- "noble, noble + rich, powerful." Adalric is a somewhat proud man who knows how to handle his money. It has the features of a king.
3. Adalstein- "main, noble + stone." Athalstein is a well-behaved stoic, unflappable man. If he needs to demonstrate calmness in a stressful situation, he copes with such a task.
4. Asgeir- "ace + spear." Asgeir is wise, warlike. He is a very interesting person, not devoid of talents.
5. Asvid- “as + tree, forest”. Asvid has a broad soul and the ability to learn.
6. buggy- "bag, bag, bundle." Buggy is cheerful and open, he has pure thoughts. He is simple and naive, capable of good deeds.
7. Balli- "dangerous, risky, terrible." Bally cannot live without risk. He constantly "runs up". Balli is fierce and ruthless towards his enemies, but can be a good friend and strong protector.
8. Berg- to protect, preserve. Berg is a real watchdog. For his friends, he becomes the strongest support, someone you can always rely on.
9. Bergstein- "protect, store + stone." The meaning is the same as that of the name Berg.
10. Bercy- "bear cub, bear." Bersi is strong and resourceful, and also has a cheerful spirit and bright soul.
11. Billing- "twin". Billing is smart, calm and reasonable.
12. Brinjolf- “armor + wolf”. Brinjolf is cunning, capable of meanness, but if he knows that you are a good person, you will never become his victim. With everyone who deserves it, he turns out to be warm and honest.
13. bjorn- "bear". Björn is calm, but sometimes becomes furious. He is ready by any means to protect what is dear to him.
14. Byart- "light". As is clear from the etymology, Byart is a bright soul, he is open and sincere, does not recognize deceit and lies as an acceptable means to achieve his goals. Prefers to play fair.
15. Gagar- dog, dog. Gagar knows how to find an approach to people, he is an interesting conversationalist and a true friend, ready to stand up for a person dear to him.
16. gapy- "yawn, open your mouth wide." Gapi is lazy and, he is lethargic, inactive and lack of initiative, but he can change for the better.
17. Guard- "fence, fortification, protection." Gard is firm, if he is sure of something, usually insists on his own, but after the conversation he always checks the information and accepts the point of view of the interlocutor if he finds confirmation of his words.
18. Gautar- "gout, goth." Gautar is wild, not social, but this does not prevent him from living a normal life. He only gets along well with one or two friends.
19. Hedda- "pike". Gedda is quirky and resourceful, smart. He knows how to turn the situation to his advantage.
20. Doug- "day". Doug is open to new beginnings, knows how to enjoy the little things.
21. Dadi- the meaning is not clear. Dadi seems funny from the outside, a little awkward. He is cheerful and frank, very straightforward.
22. Duva- "pigeon". Duva is easy-going, easy to talk him into something. As a rule, he does not have an established opinion of his own, but he tries to find it.
23. Ivar- "yew + warrior or defender." Ivar is sharp-tongued, witty. He is strong in spirit and, if he develops in this way, he will become strong in body.
24. Isolv- "ice + wolf". Isolv is cold, secretive, he is a loner, and socialization is given to him with great difficulty. It can be said that he does not need the company of people. Sometimes, however, even Isolv feels the need for communication, and then it is very difficult for him to find an interlocutor. If someone "discovers" Isolva, manages to gain his trust, it is impossible to say exactly what he will find. A young man may turn out to be an empty personality, or he may open up as an extremely interesting and multifaceted person.
25. Iuli- "sea urchin". Iuli, as his name implies, is pungent, "poisonous." Sometimes he offends even those people whom he would not want to offend. In the process of life and communication with people, this feature can “smooth out”, disappear.
26. Campi- "mustache". Campi is not serious, maybe even a little infantile. This is often not liked by the people around him. In the course of life, he can change a lot for the better.
27. Ketil- "helmet". Ketil is wise and prudent. He never does anything before thinking about possible scenarios and consequences. If we talk about the choice between reason and feelings, he definitely prefers the side of reason.
28. Whip- "node". Knut is tough, even a little cruel person. It is impossible to say for sure whether he is capable of meanness, but it is not always possible to expect good from him.
29. leive- "heir, descendant." Leif is smart, pleasant to talk to. He has a lot of knowledge and a lot of interesting stories, he loves to read.
30. Magnus- "great". The name is of Latin origin. Magnus is majestic, even somewhat proud. It may be unpleasant for some people. However, if you dig deeper, it turns out that Magnus simply prefers to communicate on an equal footing with people equal to him. Prove to him your mind and ability for critical thinking - and you will immediately become his friend.
31. Nest- “next, close”. Nest has a habit of becoming attached to people so tightly that parting, especially painful, is difficult for him and can become isolated for a long time because of it. However, if he gets the right person, a wonderful pair of friends will form.
32. Ragnar- "higher powers or council + warrior or protector." Ragnar is a born leader, a wonderful ruler. He is a militant person.
33. ulv- "wolf". Ulv is restrained, proud, somewhat aristocratic. He does not like any nonsense, despises infantile and weak people.
34. Fadir- "father". Fadir is a mentor. He knows how to teach, knows how to direct.

Iceland is considered part of the European community, but has a lot of differences in culture and traditions. This also applies to the full names of local residents. For example, Icelandic surnames are patronymics (rarely matronyms), which are very difficult to hear for a simple European.

However, most Icelanders are registered on Facebook. The country is considered the most active in the social network. This article will help you not to make a mistake when referring to.

Briefly about the country

The name of this island state is translated as "country of ice." Iceland is also called the island, which, together with small islands around it, makes up the territory of the country.

For a long time, the state was dependent on others, such as Norway, then Denmark, Great Britain, and the USA. Only in 1944 did it gain independence, becoming a republic.

The population of the country is slightly more than three hundred thousand inhabitants. All of them are employed in agriculture, fishing, industry, crafts, trade, and transport.

Ninety-eight percent of the inhabitants of the island are Icelanders, who are descendants of the Vikings. The remaining two percent are foreigners. Icelandic surnames appeared in the country thanks to foreigners.

Name Features

Traditionally, the full Icelandic name consists of the given name and patronymic. It is almost impossible to meet, for example, female Icelandic surnames. Referring to a resident of Iceland, you should use only his name, regardless of age and position.

Even telephone directories in the country are created by alphabetically sorting the names. Next, a patronymic is added to them.

Due to the small population, Icelandic surnames are not needed. It is rare to find namesakes by name and patronymic in the country. However, if this happens, then the middle name of the second order is used. To do this, the name of the grandfather is added to the name. For example, Heidar Erikson Bjarnarsonar means that the man's name is Heidar, he is the son of Eric, the son of Bjarni.

What is the construction of the middle name of the Icelanders?

Use of patronymics and matronyms

The usual patronymic in Iceland is made up of the father's name, put in the genitive case, with a prefix at the end of the word "son" for boys and "daughter" for girls. Such a patronymic plays the role of a surname familiar to Europeans.

What is the last name in Icelandic? For example, take the name of the world-famous vocalist, songwriter, actress and producer Björk Gudmundsdouttir. Since it is not customary to use a patronymic when addressing, everyone knows her as Björk (which means her name, we will find out a little later). The middle name says that she is the daughter of Gudmund. To paraphrase in the Russian manner, the singer could be called Björk Gudmundovna.

There are patronymics in the country, which are made on behalf of the mother (matronymic). This happens when the mother or child wishes to distance themselves from the father. There are cases when the matronym is used for the sake of euphony. Even less often, you can meet an Icelander in whose name there are two patronymics at the same time (from the name of the father and mother). For example, one of the Reykjavik politicians was named Dagyur Bergtouryuson Eggertsson.

Meaning of names

For foreigners, many Icelandic names and surnames seem very difficult both to pronounce and to understand. But you just need to get used to them. In some cases, without a patronymic, it is quite difficult to determine which gender this or that name belongs to. A list of names with their meanings will help to understand this.

Examples of Icelandic names and their meaning:

• Askold - wielding a spear.
• Arna is an eagle.
• Bjork - birch.
• Blair is a breeze.
• Wilchjalmer - helmet.
• Larus is a seagull.
• Pala is small.
• Schneibjorn is a polar bear.
• Winner is a wave.
• Fritrika is a peaceful ruler.
• Chrafon is a raven.
• Katla and Hekla - derived from the names of volcanoes.

At birth, children are most often given not one name, but two or three. This helps identify each other, creating fewer first and middle name matches. Many Icelanders prefer to use abbreviated versions of their names in everyday life. For example, Guvrun - Gunna, Stefan - Steppi and so on.

Who has surnames

In the country, you can still find real, in the understanding of Europeans, Icelandic surnames. However, they have a small number of inhabitants. Most often, surnames are preserved as a legacy from parents with foreign origin. Those few who have surnames supplement their full name with a patronymic, inserting it in the middle in an abbreviated form.

Famous Icelanders have surnames such as:

• Eidur Gudjohnsen is a football player.
• Balthazar Kormakur - director.
• Anita Brimer is an actress.

At the legislative level, the issue of naming was settled only in 1925. Until that time, it was possible to go through a legal procedure and get an arbitrary surname. For example, Halldor Kiljan Laxness, a writer and Nobel Prize winner, once took advantage of such an opportunity. At birth, he was given the name Haltour Gwydjonsson.