Nordic Names Blog - New Icelandic Names 2021-08

9 September 2021
In August 2021, 22 names were submitted to the Icelandic naming committee for approval. 21 of them were approved and one rejected:

Female Names

• Eileif: This name has been used in Norway as a male name. It is a younger form of the Old Norse name ÆilæifR. In Iceland it was now approved as a female name.
• Eleana: This variant variant form of Eliana or combination of Elena and Eleanor was approved.
• Kona: 'Woman', 'wife' is the meaning of this Old Norse word, which has been used in Greenland as a given name. Now it was approved in Iceland, too.
• Kvika: The Icelandic word kvika means 'magma', but this name could also be related to the male Old Norse name KvikR ('living, lively') and it was approved.
• Lissie: This pet form of several different names was approved.
• May: Either an English pet form of Mary or a creative spelling of Maj, this name was first in use in Iceland in 1950 and was now officially approved.
• Saara: Usually known as a Finnish spelling variant, Saara was approved to use in Iceland now as well.
• Sarah: This international spelling was first documented in Iceland in the census of 1909 but was still not an acceptable variant in July 2009, when it was rejected. Now the decision was corrected and the name approved.
• Skylar: This American name with Dutch roots was approved for both female and male usage.
• Thalia: Although this international spelling was rejected in 2010 (only the Icelandic form Þalía was allowed to use), it was approved this August.

Male Names

• Annþór: This new combination of ANN and ÞOR has been used in Iceland for a few years already and was now officially approved
• António: This Icelandic spelling of the Italian name Antonio was approved.
• Apollo: A variant form of Apollon, which is the name of the Greek god of light, poetry, healing, music and prophecy. It was approved.
• Blár: A new colour name in Iceland: blár means 'blue' in Icelandic and it was approved now as a given name.
• Bond: A younger form of Bóandi meaning 'farmer'. It was approved
• Charlie: This English pet form of Charles was approved.
• Eljar: This Norwegian name of uncertain meaning had been used as a horse name in Iceland before and was now approved also as a human given name.
• Foss: This Nordic surname meaning 'waterfall' was rejected as a middle name but approved as a given name.
• Gunnarson: This patronym was rejected as a given name.
• Octavius: 'The eighth' is the meaning of this Roman nomen which was approved in Iceland now.
• Rói: An Old Norse variant spelling of Hrói, which has been used in the Faroe Islands, was approved in Iceland now as well.
• Skylar: This American name with Dutch roots was approved for both female and male usage.
• Svarthöfði: 'Black head' is the meaning of this name. It is a younger form of the Old Norse name Svarthǫfði and it was approved now.

See also

For more information and new Icelandic names of other months see Icelandic Approved Names.