Icelandic girl names can be quite unique, not just in their meanings but also in their spellings. Some of them even contain letters that don’t exist in English.
The names Guðrún and Sigríður, for example, have the letter ‘ð,’ Þóra and Þórdís contain the letter ‘Þ,’ and the names Æsa and Sædís use the letter ‘æ.’
To understand Icelandic female names, it helps to organize them into two groups: those derived from Old Norse (the ancient language of the Vikings from which Icelandic evolved) and those borrowed from other languages then adapted to Icelandic.
Icelandic names derived from Old Norse include Guðrún, Sigríður, Sigrún, and Bryndís (and plenty more that we shall see in this article). Those borrowed from other languages and adapted to Icelandic include Kristín, Elín, and Lilja (among others).
Icelandic and Old Norse are Germanic languages, and Germanic names are often dithematic (formed by combining two elements).
So, Icelandic girl names from the first group often combine two roots, while those in the second group usually have a single root.
Take the name Bryndís, for example. It combines the root “Bryn-” (which means “armored”) with the root “-dís” (which means “goddess” or “fairy”).
Some Icelandic names like María, Elísabet, and Katrín are almost the same as their English versions. This article focuses on Icelandic girl names that come from Old Norse and are, as a result, very different from English names (it will focus less on Icelandic names that come from Ancient Greek, Latin, or Hebrew).
The Icelandic word “ást” means “love.” It appears on our list of the thousand most frequently-used Icelandic words and is also a common Icelandic term of endearment.
The word “ást” is the root of the Icelandic name Ásta, and it is also paired with additional roots to create dithematic names with more complex meanings, such as 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 word for “beautiful” —which is “fríður” in Icelandic.
On its own, the word “fríður”, becomes a female name when capitalized as Fríður.
The word “fríður” is also combined with other terms to form the following Icelandic female 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 |
Icelandic is a difficult language to learn and Icelandic girl names can be somewhat complicated as well. But if you are looking for names that are unique or that have a connection to Norse mythology, Icelandic girl names offer plenty of interesting choices.
We have also published an article on Icelandic boy names.