Popular Names in Iceland
Popular names in Iceland are Emil and Aþena (Athena) at Number 1.
Along with Aþena, other top names for girls in Iceland include Embla, Emilía, Birta, and Sara. Along with Emil, other common names for boys in Iceland include Jökull, Óliver, Matthías, and Birnir.
The most popular Icelandic names are grouped together by spelling. So, for example, Emilía also includes baby girls named Emelía.
Iceland’s baby name policies are notable in that the Icelandic Naming Committee must approve all given names not previously used in the country. For the most part, these names can only contain letters within the Icelandic alphabet — meaning no Cs, Qs, Ws, or Zs. And only recently, in 2019, did Iceland’s laws change so that names would no longer be restricted to one gender.
Quintessentially Icelandic names popular currently include Hekla — the name of a volcano in Iceland, meaning "cloak" — and Freyja, the Norse goddess of love and fertility; and Ýmir, a mythological giant, and Bjarki, meaning "birch tree", for boys.
The list below includes all names given to 9 or more babies in 2024.
Source: Þjóðskrá / Registers Iceland
For popular names lists from around the world, visit our main Popular Names page. You might also want to browse Nameberry's real-time lists of Popular Girl Names and Popular Boy Names.
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