ICELANDIC NAMES - COME IN DEAREST

I have just been reading a novel by an Icelandic writer called YRSA Sigardarsdottir. Apart from the fact that it was a good book I was intrigued by some of the names. As you are our regular Scndinavian expert, would you be able to tell us a bit about how some of the names are pronounced - YRSA is one, then the heroine is Thora with an acute accent on the o. There is a little girl called GUDNY (which reminded me of my Norwegian penpal's name, Oddny).

Also can you explain the system where women are called "dottir" and men "son"? If Yrsa Sigardsdottir is the daughter of Sigard, does she take her husband's surname on marriage?

How are you doing Dearest?

xx

I second Ailsa's call for Dearest! I LOVE Icelandic names! I have an Icelandic friend who used to work with me, before she married and moved back to Iceland, and I always though she had the coolest name. It was Hrafnhildur, and I believe it meant raven-something. I'm eagerly awaiting Dearest's Scandinavian expertise!

-- Nephele

Well, Dearest , I have been doing a bit of research, and have found a great site on Icelandic forenames. (I will tell you details if anyone is interested). I have emailed them to ask them for some hints on pronounciation!

Hope you are well?

*POOF* She's here ^^

I come when I am needed.... XD
Yrsa is lovely Ailsa!! Even in Norwegian (and not all Norwegian names are, like Ingrid), but she looks very odd, like there should be another vowel in there or something... I'll try to explain the pronunciations, but expect directions on how to shape your mouth, because that's what it takes to get the vowels right!

Yrsa is two syllables, the 'r' is harsh like in French or the 'j' in Spanish, and the 'Y' (prepare yourselves) is like EE only mixed with an A... If you say EE out loud, your lips will move back into a smile. You need to move your lips together as if you were saying YOU and then a tiny bit more. (your upper lip should feel like it's pursed or forced to form a straight angle) This will make it easier for you to get the sound right so you can hear it, and you can find an easier way to replicate the sound later on. The 'a' is like the French, think Armande perhaps (I'm not sure if French is easier for you, but here's hoping ^^) It's like a mix of an O and an A, think Olivia/Alivia and it's not too hard to imagine... the stress is on the 'Yr' part (which is actually the Norwegian word for light drizzle XD )
Thora is also hard to explain, the 'o' being another vowel you just don't have in the English language... The 'r' is French/Spanish again, the 'Th' is said as if the 'h' wasn't there (Tora), the 'a' is like in Yrsa again, and the 'o'... Let's see... Make the same formation with your lips like you do when you whistle, bend your lips upwards a bit so that when you try to whistle, only the air and not the sound comes out (unless your try very hard, or you're really good at whistling), then say 'o' or maybe a mix of and 'o' and a 'u'? It's a very, very deep sound... the stress is on the first syllable which includes the 'o' ...
Gudny is GOOD-nee only the 'ee' is like in Yrsa (being the Scandinavian Y)... Good is luckily very similar in sound to 'Gud', but I think it will vary slightly depending on your accent.... If you say it in a "standardised" way, it will be as close to accurate as you can get...

The 'dottir' and 'son' thing is only used in Iceland by rule these days, but I see a few young Norwegian parents using it in addition to an inherited last name, think Oddny Larsdotter Hansen (dotter/datter being the Norwegian word for daughter, depending on your preferred written language. Dottir is Icelandic, naturally)... I kind of love that they're doing it, it's a fantastic tradition IMHO ^^ I would be Olavsdotter like that, which would be fantastic!
Women who marry keep their last names, but I don't know the reasoning behind that... The obvious would be because their father is still their father even though they've married, and will stay so for all eternity something the husband might not do. Also, she's not her father in law's daughter... ^^

Hrafnhildur is 'raven-something' yes! Hrafn is Raven, Ravn in Norwegian (and a pretty boys' name!), and Hildur is Hilde/Hilda which means "battle/war"... The initial 'H' is silent, the 'r' being the first letter and again, think French! the 'l' as well is slightly different, if you smile more as you say it, and make it harder, or more curt, less like you have a potato in your mouth when you say it, it will sound more like the Norwegian L.. The 'u' is also a problem, think Julie, and isolate the 'u' sound. Pay attention as you say it to make not of how the mouth is shaped and how the tongue is positioned... The last 'r' is like the last one, only almost silent... It'ss there, but a LOT softer than the "French" I instructed you to say earlier... The sound is still the same, but not as harsh...

I hope this makes sense to you both! Don't hesitate to let me know if something is unclear, I love to help out as best I can :D

And I'm doing fantastic Ailsa, thank you for asking ^^ We're having our usual autumnal rains, and I just had to get my winter coat out for my walk to work today, so I can feel the seasons changing, which is always lovely! I have a very uneventful life this year, mostly by choice, so I'm just enjoying the time well spent on things I love :)

Many thanks, Dearest, for clearing up Hrafnhildur for me. I'd always pronounced my friend's name with a preceding "h" sound, and I guess she was too polite to correct me! Hahaha! Next time we meet, I am going to impress her by pronouncing her name correctly!

-- Nephele

Thanks Dearest!

My favorite Icelandic name right now has to be Sumarlina.

Thanks Dearest - I would like you to do a blog please. You tell us such interesting things, and it is such a specialised area. I did hear back from that statistics site, but they could not help me with pronounciation. Some of the names on the lists were REALLY interesting, so I am going to make a list and ask you about them, if I may!

Glad you are well and still with us.

I love the way you are called Dearest - it makes me smile. Did you ever see the Blackadder comedy programmes, with that man whose surname was Darling? It reminds me of that.

xxxxx

Yes, days are getting shorter, leaves are falling, conkers are here. I wore my boots for the first time since April, today
x

@ Nephele - You're welcome! But keep in mind that although Norwegian and Icelandic are very similar, I might be slightly off as I'm not a native speaker... As far as I know, I explained it right, but a native Icelandic speaker might argue on tidbits. ^^ The silent h's and often d's are very common, I have both in my name, pronounced something like AU-sill but spelled Ashild (the A being that funky Scandinavian vowel that looks like an A with a tiny circle above it)...

@ Shaymin - I'm glad you found it interesting as well ^^ Sumarlina is very nice, as well as Sumarlidi... Sumarlina is SOO-mahr-LEE-nah, very simple for your English tongue, which actually makes it usable outside of Scandinavia! :)

@ Ailsa - I'm happy to help in every way I can, so go right ahead with your list, I'll be happy to explain the pronunciation nuances to you along with some history perhaps ^^
And I'm happy you like my username, I quite love it myself! I haven't seen all of Blackadder, it's too stressful to be my kind of humour... I started at the beginning once, but didn't get very far before I gave up... ^^

I find this very interesting. Thanks for all the info Dearest, and thanks Ailsa for invoking it with your questions! It's not one of the usual nationalities that inspire name-givers in the US (unless they have heritage to go by), but it should be! Such fantastic naming.

I find the surnames in the Scandinavian tradition fairly intriguing, with the -sen/sons and drs (I found all names were like Johannsdr, not spelled out like dotter) but also frustrating. A while back, I tried to discover my Norwegian roots and got stumped by a cluster of Olys and Johanns. Since the father may name his son after himself, or his father or brother, it just goes round and round with the common names, and it's difficult to be sure if they are my own relation. It's been a few years, maybe there are more records online now, so this post nudge me to give it a new look.

I don't know any other people with this background or who lives in this region of the world, so I appreciate the subject, even if I'm not from Iceland.

Thanks again Dearest. Did you say you have children, and if you have (or even if you don't yet) do you think you would use Norwegian names, and if so, which ones?

I agree with Karen that this is a huge untapped source of naming traditions, and I hope we can take it a bit further, with Dearest's help! I wonder if there are any other people out there with Scandinavian roots to help Dearest with the load?!

When I lived in Scotland, I had a very good friend whose father was Icelandic and was very well known in the UK (Magnus Magnussen). I am still in touch with her, although she is very busy with TV work etc, and living on a huge farm, and having five children. So I must ask her more next time I write! I will let you all know any further interesting bits. Sally called two of her boys Sigi and Magnus, and her daughter is Anna-Lisa.

Off to compile that list for you now, Dearest! (Can you give us some hints about your own name or do you prefer total anonymity?)

Ailsa
xxxxxx