Hello friend!
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First of all and before I go further, I want to send a heartfelt thanks to those of you who have become paid subscribers or who have bought me a coffee. Your support means so much to me. As some of you know, about 18 years ago I had a blog about Iceland, which became quite popular. Yet since it was all done on a volunteer basis and I wanted to provide my readers with excellent content, I had to make the difficult decision to stop because it was literally costing me too much in terms of time and energy. So having financial support for this “reboot” and being compensated for my work is truly appreciated. Indeed, it is a basis for allowing me to continue writing in this space, which I love to do. So thank you again.
Some content creators have a policy where they give shout-outs to their supporters and mention them by name. I personally hate when that happens to me as I feel too exposed, so I’m going to refrain from posting names. You know who you are. 🫶
Anyway, “on with the butter” as the Icelanders say …
Okay, so last week we had a post about naming conventions in Iceland—specifically how we Icelanders make use of patronyms, matronyms, and the suffix -bur.
However, quite a number of people in Iceland are not –son or –dóttir but rather have family names. Examples: Thorarensen, Blöndal, Hansen, Olsen and Möller—currently the five most common family names in Iceland.
What’s up with that?
Glad you asked. Yes indeed, family names do exist in Iceland. You may note that the five mentioned above have a decidedly Danish slant, and indeed most of them are leftovers from the past, when Iceland was a colony of Denmark. Many hail from the Danish aristocracy, and as such still carry a vaguely elitist air. In fact, in the early 20th century, as Iceland was sloughing off its colonial past, family names became very fashionable in Iceland and people were making up their own names willy-nilly. Think names like Halldór Laxness, Stefán Íslandi, or names relating to places, such as Vatnsdal (from Vatnsdalur valley), Vestfjörð (from the West Fjords), Austfjörð (from the East Fjords), etcetera.
After a while it all became a bit too much, so a law was passed to ban family names in order to preserve the old tradition. Those who had them already could, however, keep them. But in true Icelandic fashion (Icelanders are the most irreverent people I know) folks did not pay much attention to the law and just carried on being creative with the ol’ family names. This went on right up until 1991, when family names were declared absolutely, unequivocally illegal, on punishment of being drowned in a bubbling hot spring. (Just kidding. About the drowning.)
Today, family names are inherited—for example the daughter of Jón Thorarensen will be Jensína Thorarensen, and her children will be, say, Karl and Katrín Thorarensen—that is, if Jensína’s children decide not to go with patronyms or matronyms (yes, some people do eschew family names for more proletarian traditions).
Today, the only way for a new family name to be officially registered is if a foreign citizen moves to Iceland and/or has a child with an Icelandic partner. That child can then adopt the foreign parent’s family name.
Also, if a woman marries a man with a family name, she can—by law—adopt her husband’s name. But women rarely do, probably because the whole concept of changing your name when you marry is so alien to Icelandic women.
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Interested in learning more about the Icelanders? Check out my Little Book of the Icelanders, available via Amazon, or other online retailers, and in shops throughout Iceland.
did not see the churn; do not know an Icelandic traditional dress; but I did notice her hands. Is there a story behind them. A granddaughter was born with only 7 fingers including thumbs so perhaps I am more cognizant of peoples' hands