Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Icelandic Attitudes
Centuries of isolation and hardship have instilled particular character traits in
the small, homogenous Icelandic population. Their connection to their home-
land, history and countrymen is deeply felt, even if the land reciprocates that
love with some sharp edges (volcanic eruptions and earthquakes, for a start).
The nation's 325,000 souls tend to respond to life's challenges with a compel-
ling mix of courage, candour and creativity, edged with a dark, dry humour.
WHAT'S IN A NAME?
Icelanders' names are constructed from a combination of their first name and their fath-
er's (or, more rarely, mother's) first name. Girls add the suffix dóttir(daughter) to the pat-
ronymic and boys add son. Therefore, Jón, the son of Einar, would be Jón Einarsson.
Guðrun, the daughter of Einar, would be Guðrun Einarsdóttir.
Because Icelandic surnames only usually tell people what your dad's called, Icelanders
don't bother with 'Mr Einarsson' or 'Mrs Einarsdóttir'. Instead they use first names, even
when addressing strangers. It makes for a wonderfully democratic society when you're ex-
pected to address your president or top police commissioner by their first name. And yes,
trivia buffs, the telephone directory is alphabetised by first name.
About 10% of Icelanders have family names (most dating back to early settlement
times), but they're rarely used. In an attempt to homogenise the system, government le-
gislation forbids anyone to take on a new family name or adopt the family name of their
spouse.
There's also an official list of names that Icelanders are permitted to call their children,
and any additions to this list have to be approved by the Icelandic Naming Committee. For
the 5000 or so children born in Iceland each year, the committee reportedly receives
about 100 applications and rejects about half. Among its requirements are that given
names must be 'capable of having Icelandic grammatical endings', and may not 'conflict
with the linguistic structure of Iceland'.
