Iceland’s Personal Names Committee has added six new names to its approved list. From the list of female monikers, parents can now choose to name their child Föld, Magnína, Nift, Pomóna or Vanja. Parents looking for a male name now have the option of Náttfari.
If this is the first you’re hearing of it, yes, Iceland has an official list of approved name from which all expectant parents have to choose. If both registered parents of a child are Icelandic, then they are limited to the approved name list for their child’s first and middle names. Unless there is historic precedent for a family name, the child gets a patronymic or matronymic surname.
However, if one parent is Icelandic and another is of foreign origin, they have the option of bestowing their new womb fruit with an international name of their choosing, as well as an approved Icelandic name. Such a parental combination also has the option of giving their child the foreign parent’s family name.
If both parents are of foreign origin, well then it’s a free-for-all. Go wild, friends! Dweezil? You got it. Apple? Sure. X Æ A-Xii? Honestly, the committee might have an issue with that one no matter the parents’ backgrounds.
You can search the list of approved (an unapproved — spicy!) Icelandic names here. Just click “sía niðurstöður” beside the search bar to open the filters and run through names alphabetically in the “upphafsstafur” option. “Drengir” means boy, “stúlkur” is girl and “kynhlutlaust” is gender neutral. “Millinafn” means middle name, because of course a middle name can’t be used as a first name, that would be insane.
Buy subscriptions, t-shirts and more from our shop right here!
