Icelandic girl names can be better understood when grouped into two categories. The first group consists of names borrowed from other languages and adapted to the Icelandic spelling. Examples of these include girl names like Kristín, Elín, and Lilja.
In the second group are names derived from Old Norse, the language from which Icelandic evolved (and the language spoken by the Vikings). Icelandic girl names in this group include Guðrún, Sigríður, Sigrún, and Bryndís.
Icelandic (and Old Norse) are Germanic languages; Germanic names are often dithematic, meaning formed by combining two elements. So, while names in the first category usually have a single root, those in the second category often combine two roots.
The name Bryndís, for example, is formed by combining the root “bryn-” (meaning “armored”) with the root “-dís” (meaning “goddess” or “fairy”).
The Icelandic word for “love” is “ást”. This word is the root of the Icelandic name Ásta; this word is also paired with additional elements to create Icelandic dithematic names with complex meanings. Examples of these include Ástheiður, Ástdís, Ástrós, and Ástrún.
| Name | Root Components | Possible Meaning of the Name |
|---|---|---|
| Ásta | Ást (love) | Love |
| Ástheiður | Ást (love) + Heiður (honor) | Love and honor |
| Ástdís | Ást (love) + Dís (goddess) | Love goddess |
| Ástrós | Ást (love) + Rós (rose) | Love rose |
| Ástrún | Ást (love) + Rún (rune) | Love rune |
Icelandic girl names can be beautiful, and they can even contain the Icelandic word for “beautiful” —which is “fríður”.
On its own, the Icelandic word “fríður”, becomes a female name when capitalized as Fríður. The word is paired with a second component in the following Icelandic dithematic names:
| Name | Root Components | Possible Meaning of the Name |
|---|---|---|
| Hólmfríður | Hólm (islet) + Fríður (beautiful, fair) | Beautiful islet |
| Arnfríður | Arn (eagle) + Fríður (beautiful, fair) | Beautiful eagle |
| Snæfríður | Snær (snow) + Fríður (beautiful, fair) | Beautiful snow |
| Sigfríður | Sigr (victory) + Fríður (beautiful, fair) | Beautiful victory |
In Icelandic (and in Old Norse), the word “dís” means “goddess” or “fairy”. The lovely meaning of this word makes it very well suited to be a component of Icelandic dithematic girl names. No wonder it’s one of the most common components in the formation of these names.
| Name | Root Components | Possible Meaning of the Name |
|---|---|---|
| Bryndís | Bryn (armor) + Dís (goddess) | Armored goddess |
| Ásdís | Ás (god) + Dís (goddess) | Goddess of the gods |
| Hafdís | Haf (ocean) + Dís (goddess) | Goddess of the ocean |
| Vigdís | Víg (war) + Dís (goddess) | Warrior goddess |
| Sædís | Sæ (sea) + Dís (goddess) | Goddess of the sea |
| Svandís | Svan (swan) + Dís (goddess) | Swan goddess |
| Arndís | Arn (eagle) + Dís (goddess) | Eagle goddess |
| Aldís | Ald (wave) + Dís (goddess) | Wave goddess |
| Eydís | Ey (island) + Dís (goddess) | Island goddess |
| Valdís | Val (the dead, the slain) + Dís (goddess) | Goddess of the slain |
| Bergdís | Berg (mountain) + Dís (goddess) | Mountain goddess |
| Sóldís | Sól (sun) + Dís (goddess) | Sun goddess |
| Hrafndís | Hrafn (raven) + Dís (goddess) | Raven goddess |
| Ástdís | Ást (love) + Dís (goddess) | Goddess of love |
The Icelandic word “heiður” means “honor”. The concept of honor has perhaps shifted from what it was during the Vikings era —but honor in the form of personal integrity is still held in high regard.
When capitalized, the Icelandic word “heiður” becomes a girl’s name. It also serves as the second component in the Icelandic dithematic girl names listed below.
| Name | Root Components | Possible Meaning of the Name |
|---|---|---|
| Ragnheiður | Ragn (counsel, advice) + Heiður (honor) | Honorable counsel |
| Aðalheiður | Aðal (noble) + Heiður (honor) | Noble honor |
| Álfheiður | Álf (elf) + Heiður (honor) | Elf’s honor |
| Arnheiður | Arn (eagle) + Heiður (honor) | Eagle’s honor |
| Heiður | Heiður (honor) | honor |
| Bjarnheiður | Bjarn (bear) + Heiður (honor) | Bear’s honor |
Victory is a theme that has inspired names across many languages. For instance, the names Victoria and Victor used in English come from the Latin word “victoria”, meaning “victory”.
Victory is also a popular theme in Icelandic names. But in contrast to Latin names constructed from a single theme, in Icelandic girl names, the theme of victory is usually paired with another theme to form names with more complex meanings.
The Icelandic word “sigur” —and the Old Norse word “sigr” from which it is derived— both mean “victory”. Both these forms of the word appear as the first component of a number of Icelandic girl names.
| Name | Root Components | Possible Meaning of the Name |
|---|---|---|
| Sigríður | Sigr (victory) + Friður (beautiful, fair) | Beautiful victory |
| Sigrún | Sigr (victory) + Rún (rune) | Victory rune |
| Sigurbjörg | Sigur (victory) + Björg (protection, help) | Victorious protection |
| Sigurlaug | Sigur (victory) + Laug (pool) | Victory pool |
| Sigurlína | Sigur (victory) + Lína (line) | Victory line |
| Sigþrúður | Sig (victory) + Þrúður (strength) | Victorious strength |
| Sigurdís | Sigur (victory) + Dís (goddess) | Victorious goddess |
| Sigfríður | Sig (victory) + Friður (beautiful, fair) | Beautiful victory |
| Name | Root Components | Possible Meaning of the Name |
|---|---|---|
| Guðbjörg | Guð (god) + Björg (protection, help) | God’s protection |
| Björg | Björg (protection, help) | Protection, help |
| Sigurbjörg | Sigur (victory) + Björg (protection, help) | Victorious protection |
| Ásbjörg | Ás (god) + Björg (protection, help) | God’s protection |
| Aðalbjörg | Aðal (noble) + Björg (protection, help) | Noble protection |
| Arnbjörg | Arn (eagle) + Björg (protection, help) | Eagle’s protection |
| Sæbjörg | Sæ (sea) + Björg (protection, help) | Sea protection |
| Salbjörg | Sal (hall) + Björg (protection, help) | Hall protection |
| Name | Root Components | Possible Meaning of the Name |
|---|---|---|
| Þórunn | Þór (Thor, the Norse god of thunder) + Unn (wave) | Thor’s wave |
| Þóra | Þór (Thor, the Norse god of thunder) | Thor |
| Þóranna | Þór (Thor) + Anna (grace) | Thor’s grace |
| Þórdís | Þór (Thor) + Dís (goddess) | Thor’s goddess |
| Þórey | Þór (Thor) + Ey (island) | Thor’s island |
| Þórlaug | Þór (Thor) + Laug (pool) | Thor’s pool |
| Þorbjörg | Þór (Thor) + Björg (protection, help) | Thor’s protection |