Our Icelander name database contains 498 Icelander surnames and 2.337 Icelander first names categorized by gender and frequency. After payment you can download the Icelander name database in CSV, SQL or JSON format and use it freely in your projects. The Icelander names are validated using official governmental databases we received in other countries which contained Icelander names as well. To create the Icelander name database we used 7.320 validated Icelander social media profiles. We have a detailed explanation of our methodology and illustrate our approach with several examples.
Popular Icelander surnames
This table show popular Icelander surnames. In Iceland, surnames are based on the father's first name. For example, if a man named "Jón" has a son, the son's surname would be "Jónsson" (son of Jón). If the man has a daughter, her surname would be "Jónsdóttir" (daughter of Jón). Women do not change their surname upon marriage. Additionally, Icelanders use the patronymic system rather than the surname system.
Surname | Percentage*1 | Alternative countries*2 |
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Jónsson | 1.4% |
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ólafsson | 1.3% |
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Jónsdóttir | 0.8% |
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Gunnarsson | 0.8% |
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Magnusson | 0.7% |
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Einarsson | 0.6% |
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Már | 0.6% |
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Bjarnason | 0.6% |
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Björk | 0.6% |
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örn | 0.6% |
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- *1 The Frequency and Percentage are based on 7.320 Icelander social media profiles.
- *2 Alternative countries are countries where this surname also is used. They are sorted on popularity.
Icelander first names
In Iceland, parents typically choose a first name for their child by consulting a government-approved list of names. This list includes traditional Icelandic names as well as names from other cultures that have been approved for use in Iceland. Parents may also choose to create a unique name that has not yet been approved, but it must be submitted to the Icelandic Naming Committee for approval before it can be officially used. The name must also conform to Icelandic grammar rules.
Popular Icelander male names
First name | Percentage*1 | Alternative countries*2 | |
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ólafur | 1.5% |
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Gunnar | 1.4% |
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Jon | 1.3% |
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Stefán | 1.2% |
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Magnús | 1.2% |
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Einar | 1.2% |
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Kristján | 1.1% |
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Guðmundur | 1.1% |
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Johann | 1.1% |
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Daníel | 1.0% |
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- *1 The Frequency and Percentage are based on 7.320 Icelander social media profiles from which 4.445 (61%) is male.
- *2 Alternative countries are countries where this first name also is used. They are sorted on popularity.
Popular Icelander female names
First name | Percentage*1 | Alternative countries*2 | |
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Anna | 1.7% |
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Margrét | 1.3% |
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Kristín | 1.2% |
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Guðrún | 1.2% |
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Hildur | 1.0% |
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Helga | 1.0% |
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Sigrun | 1.0% |
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Maria | 1.0% |
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Eva | 0.8% |
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Sara | 0.7% |
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- *1 The Frequency and Percentage are based on 7.320 Icelander social media profiles from which 2.875 (39%) is female.
- *2 Alternative countries are countries where this first name also is used. They are sorted on popularity.