Icelandic Names

Here's some cool info from Wikipedia and the web about the interesting naming conventions of Icelanders.

"Icelandic names differ from most Western family name systems by being patronymic (and sometimes matronymic) in that they reflect the immediate father (or mother) of the child and not the historic family lineage.

"For example, a man named Jón Stefánsson has a son named Fjalar. Fjalar's last name will not be Stefánsson like his father's; it will become Jónsson, literally indicating that Fjalar is the son of Jón (Jóns + son).

"The same practice is used for daughters. Jón Stefánsson's daughter Katrín would not have the last name Stefánsson; she would have the name Jónsdóttir. Again, the last name literally means "Jón's daughter" (Jóns + dóttir).

"In some cases, an individual's surname is derived from his/her parent's middle name instead of the given name. For example, if Jón is the son of Hjálmar Arnar Vilhjálmsson he may either be named Jón Hjálmarsson (Jón, son of Hjálmar) or Jón Arnarsson (Jón, son of Arnar). The reason for this may be that the parent prefers to be called by his/her middle name instead of first, which is fairly common, or that the parent's middle name seems to fit the child's given name better.

"In some cases where two people in the same social circle bear the same given name and the same father's name they are socially distinguished by their paternal grandfather's name. E.g. Jón Þórsson Bjarnarsonar (Jón, son of Þór, son of Bjarni) and Jón Þórsson Hallssonar (Jón, son of Þór, son of Hallur). This method is not common (as middle names are more commonly used), but such tracing of lineages can easily be seen in the Sagas."

Our tour arranger, Hjördís Erlingsdóttir's father was most likely named Erling.

So, my name would be Marisa Johnsdóttir. Derek would be Derek Jamesson. Or, I could be Marisa Cathysdottir. Derek could be Derek Janicesson.

Have fun thinking about the names in your own family. Feel free to post your Icelandic Name here in the comments.