What are the Icelandic names

Iceland is considered part of the European community, but has many differences in culture and traditions. This applies to the full names of local residents. For example, Icelandic surnames are patronyms (less often matrons), which are very difficult to perceive by hearing a simple European.

Most of the Icelanders are registered in Facebook. The country is considered the most active in the social network. Do not be mistaken when addressing a resident of Iceland will help this article.

Briefly about the country

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

For a long time, the state was dependent on others, such as Norway, then Denmark, the United Kingdom, the United States. Only in 1944 it gained independence, becoming a republic.

The population of the country is just over three hundred thousand people. All of them are engaged in agriculture, fishing, industry, handicrafts, trade, transport.

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

Names Features

Traditionally the full Icelandic name consists of a name and a patronymic. To meet, for example, female Icelandic surnames is almost impossible. When addressing a resident of Iceland, one should use only his name, regardless of age and position.

Even telephone directories in the country are created by sorting alphabetical names. Next, they complete the patronymic.

Because of the small population, Icelandic surnames are not needed. In the country you can rarely find namesakes by name and patronymic. However, if this happens, then the second-degree patronymic is in use. To do this, the name of the grandfather is added to the name. For example, Haydar Ericson Bjarnarsonar means that the man's name is Heydar, he is the son of Eric, the son of Bjarni.

What kind of design does the Icelandic patronymic have?

Use of Patrons and Matrons

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

How does the name sound in Icelandic? For example, take the name of the world-famous vocalist, songwriter, actress and producer Bjork Gudmundsdouttir. Since it is not customary to use the patronymic when applying, everyone knows her as Bjork (which means her name, we'll find out a little later). The middle name says that she is the daughter of Gudmund. If to rephrase in the Russian manner, the singer could be called Bjork Gudmundovna.

In the country there are patronymics, which are produced on behalf of the mother (matronimas). This happens if the mother or child wishes to distance themselves from the father. There are cases when the matronim is used for the sake of euphonism when the name and patronymic are combined. Even less often you can meet an Icelander, in whose name there are two patronymic names (on behalf of the father and mother). For example, one of the politicians of Reykjavik was Dagur Bergtouryusson Eggertsson.

Value of names

For foreigners, many Icelandic names and surnames seem very complicated, both in pronunciation and in understanding. But you just need to get used to them. In some cases without a patronymic it is rather difficult to determine to which sex a particular name belongs. The list of names with their meanings will help to understand this.

Examples of Icelandic names and their meaning:

• Askold - owning a spear.
• Arna is an eagle.
• Bjork is a birch.
• Blair is a breeze.
• Vilhdzhalmer - the helmet.
• Larus is a seagull.
• Pal is small.
• Schneibjorn is a polar bear.
• Winner is a wave.
• Fritrika is a peaceful ruler.
• The Hraphon is a raven.
• Katla and Hekla - came from the name of the volcanoes.

At birth, children are often given more than one name, and two or three. This helps to identify each other, creating fewer coincidences by name and patronymic. Many Icelanders in their daily lives prefer to use abbreviated versions of their names. For example, Guvrun - Gunn, Stefan - Steppi and so on.

Who has names

In the country, you can still meet real, in the understanding of Europeans, Icelandic names. However, they have a small number of residents. Most often the names are saved as a legacy from parents with a foreign background. Those few who have names supplement their full name with a middle name, inserting it in the middle in a reduced form.

There are names of such famous Icelanders as:

• Eidur Gudjohnsen is a football player.
• Baltazar Kormakur is the director.
• Anita Brimer is an actress.

At the legislative level, the issue of naming was settled only in 1925. Before that time, it was possible to go through a legal procedure and obtain an arbitrary name. For example, Halldor Kilian Laxness, a writer and Nobel Prize winner, used this opportunity in his time. At birth, he was given the name of Haltoor Gwudjunsson.