Many other names come from Old Norse, a North Germanic language spoken from the 9th to the 13th century. If you`re already feeling a little confused, don`t worry. In this guide, we`ll explain everything you need to know about Icelandic names in simple English. On 31 January 2013, the Reykjavík District Court ruled in favour of the family and annulled the Names Committee, stating that Blær could indeed be the name of both a man and a woman and that Blær had a constitutional right to his own name, and rejected the government`s assertions that it was necessary to reject his claim. to protect the Icelandic language. [19] Following the court`s decision, Iceland`s interior minister confirmed that the government would accept the verdict and not appeal the case to the country`s Supreme Court. [20] [21] The chairman of the names committee and spokesperson for the Ministry of Interior said the verdict in the Blær case could prompt the government to reconsider existing personal name laws. [1] Some Icelandic names originating from Old Norse are: Jón has been by far the most popular Icelandic male given name for some time. Icelanders can also be named after things.
Bolli is a fun example, it means cup or cup, it`s not very popular. Other Icelanders have names that are synonymous with concepts, such as eternal (Eilífur/Eilíf) or peace (Friður). Men can be called male (Karl) or boy (Sveinn/Drengur), but woman and girl are not used as names. A child can be given a name in the following way: First, delete all C, Q, W or Z. If your name is Jean or Jacques, it is now Jón or Jóhann. If your name is Mary or Mary, it is now María. Replace all Christ suffixes with Krist-. Some land mammals also receive human namesakes. The most popular are probably the names that refer to bears. This may seem strange, as Iceland has no native bears and polar bears rarely arrive here from neighboring Greenland. The name Björn was brought here by the Norwegians and is still popular today; Other names for the word bear are Bjarni, Birnir and Birna. There are three letters of this alphabet with which no Icelandic name begins, these are: É, Ð and X.
In fact, no word in the whole language begins with the letters X and Ð. If a word seems to start with Ð (has a th sound at the beginning), listen to the letter Þ. An Icelandic person can have up to three names in addition to their surname, but only one of them can be a middle name. Giving your child more than one name is quite common in Iceland today, but it`s a relatively new tradition. Very few people mentioned in the sagas have more than one name. Naming traditions in Iceland are fascinating and can seem complicated to the outside eye. Icelanders often receive questions from foreigners about their names. Below are answers to some of the most common questions about Icelandic names. I hope this gives you a good insight into how Icelanders choose their children`s names.
For example, a man whose father is named Jón will have the surname Jónsson, and if he has a sister, his surname will be Jónsdóttir. Unless they choose to be known as their mother, adoptive father or stepfather. Some choose to be known by both their mother`s and father`s names. Another common question about Icelandic names is how surnames work. A foreign citizen marrying Iceland may retain his surname or take his partner`s surname, whether it is a surname or a patronymic. You can also choose to include a surname based on the name of your partner`s parents. Another unique part of the Icelandic naming system is that parents have 6 months to name their child. If you have not chosen a name for your child within 6 months, you will be fined! Although these old names still appear, it is interesting to note that most of them do not have true Icelandic roots. The first settlers came from Scandinavia, and so their names were spread throughout Iceland. As I mentioned earlier, if you have a child in Iceland, you can`t tell them anything. If you want to make sure your baby`s name can enjoy international protection and recognition, I highly recommend Kelly`s great contribution to the ban on baby names in New Zealand. The consent of both guardians is always required when a child`s name is changed.
If there has been a change of custody since the child`s name, the consent of the guardian at the time of the child`s original name is also required. The child`s consent is also required for children 12 years of age and older. The Names Committee was established in 1991[2] to determine whether new names not previously used in Iceland can be incorporated into the country`s language and culture. You could even call your son Worm or the plural Worms; Ormur and Ormar. Bird names are very common. Lóa (golden plover), Svala (swallow), Ugla (owl), Þröstur (robin), Örn (eagle), Haukur (falcon), to name just a few of the beautiful bird names. As you can see, Icelandic surnames are actually very easy to understand. An Icelandic citizen cannot take his partner`s surname, but he can take his partner`s surname as a middle name. In 2020, we started listing the decisions of the Icelandic Naming Committee and giving you more detailed information about the names and outcome of the decisions: There are still relatively few Icelanders whose surnames end in “bur”, as this was only approved in 2019 when the Naming Committee decided that there should be a neutral option. One of the most famous cases that led the naming committee to become more lenient in its naming rules was the case of a girl named Blær Bjarkardóttir.
The requirements include that given names “must be capable of having Icelandic grammatical endings”, must not “conflict with the linguistic structure of Iceland” and must be “written in accordance with the ordinary rules of Icelandic spelling”. A name that is not already on the official list of approved names must be submitted to the Names Committee for approval. A new name is being considered because of its compatibility with Icelandic tradition[4] and because of the likelihood that it could embarrass the wearer. [5] According to section 5 of the Personal Names Act,[5] nouns must be compatible with Icelandic grammar (in which all nouns, including proper nouns, have a grammatical gender and change form in an orderly manner according to the case system of the language). Names can also contain only letters that appear in the Icelandic alphabet, and with a few exceptions, the grammatical gender of a noun previously had to correspond to the gender of the person bearing the name. [6] If you look at the names of Icelandic servers, you will quickly notice that all surnames end in “-dóttir”, “-son” or “-bur”. It turns out that`s why you can`t be called Harriet in Iceland, even though it`s a perfectly acceptable name for any other Scandinavian country. Harriet cannot be conjugated. The Icelandic Names Committee maintains a list of approved names, and anything that does not exist must be reviewed by the Names Committee before you can name your child. Parents must fill out a form and request it officially.
If the new name is approved, it will be added to the personal name registry and will be available to others in the future. There are many more names that start with the letter C, among the most common are: Carl, Christian, Camilla and Charlotte. No female name in Iceland starts with W, but there are 7 male names, the most popular are: William, Wilhelm and Walter. A child must be given a name before the age of six months. The register of personal names contains all Icelandic names that have been approved. A special law applies to the name. Icelanders whose legal residence is outside Iceland must change their name in the country where they reside. If a name has been changed abroad, a confirmation must be sent to Registers Iceland. A confirmation may take the form of a certificate from a foreign authority or a legal identification containing the new name. A copy of the official identification documents must be attached. Some changes have been made in recent years and the committee`s decisions are not as strict as they used to be.
Since the Icelandic parliament passed a law on gender autonomy in June 2019, the grammatical gender of a noun no longer has to correspond to the gender of the person who bears the name.