WARNING: As the title indicates, this article is a work in progress: I am slowly adding more place-names as I find time, and from time to time I revise some of the conclusions as I learn more.
In 1948 Einar Arnórsson published an edition of Landnámabók, the Icelandic Book of Settlement, containing all of the four major variants, Sturlubók, Hauksbók, Þórðarbók, and Melabók, as well as several useful indices, including indices of place-names and of burial mounds and sepulchral cairns.[1] I have combined these indices into a single list, to which I have added some etymological and other explanatory notes.
Although he shows all of the variant wordings, Einar Arnórsson chose to normalize the spellings of the original manuscripts. His normalization is a somewhat idiosyncratic combination of normalized Old Icelandic (OIc) and modern Icelandic (Ic). For instance, he writes OIc maðr 'a human being' instead of Ic maður, but Ic tótt 'a toft' instead of OIc topt. I have therefore changed some of his spellings to suit my own normalization preferences. A typical entry consists of a place-name and the county in which the place is situated, if that is known; places not in Iceland are identified only as being in Norway, Greenland, Sweden, the Faeroe Islands, etc. Etymological and other notes follow in a separate paragraph.
A few words of caution are in order concerning the etymological notes. Most of the Icelandic farm-names mentioned in Landnámabók appear to have transparent etymologies. Arnbjargarlœkr, for example, is clearly 'Arnbjo˛rg’s brook'. Most of these obvious etymologies can very probably be taken at face value, but it’s not impossible that some early names that did not fit the naming patterns that developed during the settlement period were subsequently distorted into or replaced by more familiar, understandable forms. Landnámabók explains some of these names as references to specific incidents; an example is the name Dúfunefsskeið. I have no idea how many of these explanations record historical fact and how many are later explanations of the place-names in question, so I have been careful to offer them only with such qualifications as ‘According to Landnámabók’, ‘is said to have’, and the like. Not all of the place-names are quite so straightforward, however, even on the surface. There are also a few names that can be interpreted in more than one way, and even some that are quite opaque, at least to me: I am far from being a specialist in Icelandic place-names, and in particular I lack the detailed knowledge of Icelandic topography and literature required for a serious study.
Many entries conclude with at least one grammatically correct locative byname based on the place-name in question. Although other types of OIc locative bynames are known, these are all prepositional bynames: they consist of a preposition expressing location or origin, and a place-name in the appropriate grammatical case, almost always the dative case. The hard part is choosing an idiomatically correct preposition. Typically this choice depends on the final element of the place-name. For instance, place-names in -staðir 'places, steads' (but used in Icelandic place-names as if it were singular) usually take the preposition á. Some variation is possible, however; for example, one manuscript has at Einarssto˛ðum instead of the expected á Einarssto˛dum that occurs elsewhere. In such cases I have given all of the variants; if there is any reason to think that one preposition is preferred with a particular place-name or its final element, that version is listed first, but otherwise there is little significance to the order in which the variants are listed. (I should note that since locative bynames as such are fairly rare in this source, I have included variants drawn from syntactically comparable constructions, e.g., at Berghyl from Bro˛ndólfr bjó at Berghyl 'Bro˛ndólf settled at Berghyl'.)
A Brief Note on Prepositions. The most common prepositions in these bynames are at, á, and í, all of which imply residence at the named place. Prepositions are notoriously hard to translate, and their correct usage is often a matter of idiom, but some rough generalizations are possible. For example, the basic sense of í is 'in', so it tends to be used with place-names denoting woods, holts, dales, islands, fjords, and other topographical features conceived as having an interior. In reference to the place where someone lives, at is quite similar in sense to the identically spelled English word, but it further suggests the notion 'by the side of' and is therefore commonly used with place-names denoting hills, rocks, rivers, streams, and the like. With farm-names suggesting open, slightly elevated settings, on the other hand, the usual preposition is á, which is actually cognate with English on and whose most straightforward locational sense is 'on, in'. If a farm lies at the base of a hill, peak, or slope for which it is named, the preposition undir 'under, below' may be used (cf. the English surname Underhill).
The prepositions frá and úr (or ór) are also moderately common in locative bynames, but to indicate place of origin rather than place of residence: both can generally be translated 'from' in this context. Indeed, frá is cognate with English from. The difference between them is that while frá simply denotes origin, úr often has the more specific sense 'out of' and therefore tends to be used with the same place-names with which í is used to indicate residence. Thus, for instance, we find both í Hrísey 'at Brushwood Island' and úr Hrísey 'from Brushwood Island'.
All of these prepositions take the dative case when used in locative bynames. So far I have seen only one locative construction using a preposition governing the accusative case: við Grímsgil, where við is 'near, by', and Grímsgil is 'Grím’s ravine with a stream at the bottom'. Had one of the usual locative prepositions been used here, it would most probably have been at, making at Grímsgili (with the place-name in the dative case).
Finally, a word about the counties is in order. The Icelandic word is actually sýsla 'district; county', plural sýslur. As of 1945 the sýslur were as follows, starting in the northwest corner and going across the northern coast of the island ([2], frontispiece):
[1] Einar Arnórsson (1948). Landnámabók Íslands. Reykjavík: Helgafell.
[2] Stefán Einarsson (1945). Icelandic. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins Press.
Cleasby, Richard, Gudbrand Vigfusson, & William A. Craigie (1957). An Icelandic-English Dictionary. 2nd edn. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Gordon, E.V. (1957). Introduction to Old Norse. 2nd edn. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Köbler, Gerhard (2003). Altnordisches Wörterbuch. 2nd edn. WWW: http://www.koeblergerhard.de/anwbhinw.html.
Lind, E.H. (1905-1915). Norsk-Isländska Dopnamn ock Fingerade Namn från Medeltiden. Uppsala & Leipzig.
Lind, E.H. (1905-1915). Norsk-Isländska Dopnamn ock Fingerade Namn från Medeltiden. Supplement. Oslo, Uppsala, & København.
Lind, E.H. (1920-1921). Norsk-Isländska Personbinamn från Medeltiden. Uppsala.
Sandnes, Jørn, & Ola Stemshaug (1997). Norsk Stadnamnleksikon. 4th edn. Oslo: Det Norske Samlaget. (Abbreviated NSL in the notes.)
De Vries, Jan (2000). Altnordisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch. 2nd edn. Boston: Brill.
Zoëga, Geir T. (1910). A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic. Oxford: At the Clarendon Press.
Á (Árbœr), Rang.
–– Skaft.
OIc á 'a river'; Árbœr is from á,
genitive singular ár, and bœr 'a farmhouse, a farmstead':
'river's farmstead'.
Locative Byname: at Á
Aðalvík, Ísafj.
From OIc aðal- 'chief, head, principal' and vík
'a bay, an inlet': 'chief bay', 'chief inlet'.
Locative Byname: í Aðalvík
Afvaldznes: see O˛gvaldznes.
Agðanes, Norway.
OIc nes is 'ness, headland'; Agðanes is a large headland
on the south side of the mouth of Trondheimsfjord. For the first element see the
next entry, for Agðir. (NSL s.n. Agdenes)
Locative Byname:
Agðir, Norway.
A district in Norway; its inhabitants are called Egðir
in OIc. The etymology is uncertain, but the name is likely to be from a PIE root
meaning 'sharp', perhaps signifying the way that the region sticks out into the
sea. (NSL s.n. Agder)
Locative Byname:
Akrafell (Akrafjall), Borg.
OIc akr is 'arable land, field', and fell
is 'an isolated hill', but it's possible that in this case Akra- refers
to its location in Akranes (see the next entry). In the variant, fjall
is 'a fell, a mountain'.
Locative Byname:
Akranes, Borg.
From OIc akr 'arable land, field' and nes 'ness,
headland'; presumably this was an unusually fertile area.
Locative Byname:
Akrar, Mýr.
–– Skag.
The plural of OIc akr 'arable land, field'.
Locative Byname: at O˛krum,
á O˛krum
Álfgeirsvellir, Skag.
From the masculine name Álfgeirr, genitive Álfgeirs,
and OIc vo˛llr 'a field',
with no implication of cultivation; vellir
is the plural, so the name is 'Álfgeir’s fields'.
Locative Byname: á Álfgeirsvo˛llum
Álfsnes, Kjós.
OIc nes is 'ness, headland'. The first element is
ambiguous: it could be the personal name Álfr, genitive Álfs,
making the name 'Álf’s point', or it could be OIc álfr 'an elf',
genitive singular álfs, making the name 'elf’s point', though the personal
name is considerably more likely.
Locative Byname: í Álfsnesi
Álfsóss, Árn.
From the masculine name Álfr, genitive Álfs, and
OIc óss 'mouth or outlet of a river or lake': 'Álf’s river-mouth'.
This one is named after Álfr inn egðski (whose byname means 'the one from
Agðir').
Locative Byname:
Álftá, Mýr.
'Swan River', from OIc álft 'a swan' and á 'a river'.
Locative Byname:
Álftafjo˛rðr, Greenland.
–– Ísafj.
–– Snæf.
–– inn nyrðri (Hamrasfjo˛rðr), S.-Múl.
–– inn syðri, S.-Múl.
From OIc álft 'a swan', genitive plural álfta, and
fjo˛rðr 'a fjord, a firth, an inlet': 'swans’ fjord'. The modifers
inn nyrðri and inn syðri are 'the more northerly' and 'the more southerly',
respectively.
Locative Byname: í Álftafirði
Álftanes, Gullbr.
–– Mýr.
From OIc álft 'a swan', genitive plural álfta, and
nes 'a ness, a headland': 'swans’ point'. The one in Mýrasýsla is explicitly
said to have been so named because Skallagrímr Kveldúlfs son and his companions saw
swans there.
Locative Byname: á Álftanesi
Álftaver, Skaft.
OIc ver is 'a station for catching fish, taking eggs,
etc.'; álftaver is both 'the taking of swans' and 'the place where swans
are caught', its sense in the place-name. The place is explicitly noted to have
álftaveiðr 'swan-hunting'.
Locative Byname:
Áll, Norway.
Now Ål. OIc áll is 'a deep, narrow channel in sea or
river; a stripe on the back of an animal'; the place-name may refer to a narrow river-valley.
It may also be an old farm-name, however, in which case the underlying element may be related
to Gothic alhs 'a temple'. (NSL s.n. Ål)
Locative Byname: í Ál
Almannafljót, Skaft.
The OIc prefix almanna- has the senses 'public, common, general,
universal', as in almannaleið 'a public road', almannastofa 'the common hall',
almannalof 'universal praise', almannaskript 'general confession'; the
associated adjective is almennligr 'general, common'. OIc fljót is 'a river,
a lake', but usually only as a proper noun. The smaller, slower-moving upper reaches of the
river were called Raftalœkr or, in one source, Toptalœkr; here lœkr
(later lækr) is 'a rivulet, a brook'. Etymologically fljótr connotes a fast-moving
stream, lœkr a slow-moving brook.
Locative Byname:
Almannagjá (Not in Arnórsson.)
For almanna- see Almannafljót above. OIc gjá is 'a
rift, a cleft, a chasm'; this is the famous 'Gorge of the Commons' in Þingvellir.
Locative Byname:
Álmdalir, Norway.
From OIc álmr 'an elm' and dalir, plural of dalr 'a
valley, a dale', so 'elm dales'. I have not been able to identify the region.
Locative Byname: í Álmdo˛lum
Almenningar inir vestri, Ísafj.
Almenningar is the plural of OIc almenningr 'common land,
common or public pasture'; in full the name is 'the western common lands'. It was one of the
farms built by Geirmundr heljarskinn Hjo˛rs son (see Aðalvík),
in the custody of his thrall Bjo˛rn; after Geirmund’s death, Bjo˛rn
was convicted of sheep-stealing, and his confiscated goods became common lands.
Locative Byname: á Almenningum inum vestrum
Alviðra, Ísafj.
–– Norway.
OIc viðra is 'to blow, to be such and such (of the weather)', related to
veðr 'weather; wind'; the prefix al- has the sense 'all, entirely'. Here the sense
is that the winds and weather come from all quarters. The Norwegian place is now Alvera.
(NSL s.n. Alvera)
Locative Byname: í Alviðru
Alo˛st, Norway.
Described as Alo˛st á Sandnesi; I haven’t been able to identify Alo˛st,
but Sandnes is probably modern Sandnes in Rogaland.
Locative Byname:
Ambáttará, Húnv.
From OIc ambátt 'a bondswoman; a concubine', genitive singular
ámbáttar, and á 'a river': 'bondswoman’s river'.
Locative Byname:
Ánabrekka, Mýr.
From the masculine name Áni, genitive Ána, and OIc brekka
'a slope': 'Áni’s slope'. A man named Áni was given the land by
Skallagrímr Kveldúlfs son.
Locative Byname: at Ánabrekku
Andakílsá, Borg.
From OIc o˛nd 'a duck', genitive plural anda, kíll 'a
narrow inlet, a canal', genitive singular kíls, and á 'a river'; the name is 'ducks’
inlet’s river'.
Locative Byname:
Andarkelda, Dal.
From OIc o˛nd 'a duck', genitive singular andar, and kelda
'a well, a spring; a bog, a quagmire', here probably in the latter sense: 'ducks’ bog'.
Locative Byname:
Ár, Sweden.
The name is the plural of á 'a river'.
Locative Byname: frá Ám
Arastaðir; see Orrastaðir.
Arnallzstaðir, S.-Múl.
From the masculine name Arnaldr and OIc staðr 'a place, a stead';
staðir is actually the plural. (The name also occurs as Arnnhallzstaðir, but this
is a scribal attempt to make the unfamiliar masculine name, a borrowing of Continental Germanic
Arn(w)ald, look less unfamiliar by giving it a fairly common OIc second element.)
Locative Byname: á Arnallzsto˛ðum
Arnarbœli, Mýr.
From OIc o˛rn 'an eagle', genitive arnar, and bœli 'a
den, a lair; a farm, a dwelling', hence 'eagle’s lair'. In principle the name could also
mean 'O˛rn’s farm', from the masculine name O˛rn, genitive Arnar,
and it was in fact at one edge of the land taken by O˛rn inn gamli; however, he lived at
Háreksstaðir, so 'eagle’s lair' seems the likelier etymology.
Locative Byname:
Arnarfell, (?)
From the masculine name O˛rn, genitive Arnar, and OIc fell
'an isolated hill': 'O˛rn’s hill'. According to Landnámabók, O˛rn landshornamaðr
lost a sizable bet and was so upset at the loss of money that he killed himself at Arnarfell; the location is
apparently unknown.
Locative Byname:
Arnarfjo˛rðr, Barð.
Apparently named after O˛rn, who took all of the land around it, in which case
the meaning is 'O˛rn’s fjord'; the alternative is 'eagle’s fjord', as the common noun
o˛rn 'an eagle', genitive singular arnar, is indistinguishable from the masculine name
O˛rn (genitive Arnar).
Locative Byname:
Arnarholt, Mýr.
The second element is OIc holt 'a wood, a copse; a rough, stony hill or ridge';
the first is either the genitive singular of o˛rn 'an eagle' or the genitive of the masculine name
O˛rn. The fact that Þorbjo˛rn settled there suggests that holt here is 'a wood,
a copse', but one would have to know the terrain to decide safely. The fact that the farm was originally
settled by someone not named O˛rn suggests that the first element is the common noun, but the place
could have been renamed after a later tenant between its original settlement and the writing of
Landnámabók.
Locative Byname: í Arnarholti
Arnarhváll, Eyfj.
–– Reykjavík
The second element is hváll 'a hill, a hillock, a knoll'; the name is either
'eagle’s knoll' or 'O˛rn’s knoll' (see Arnarfjo˛rðr).
The name also appears simply as Hváll.
Locative Byname:
Arnarnes, Eyfj.
See Arnarfjo˛rðr for the first element; the second
is OIc fjo˛rðr 'a fjord, a firth, an inlet'. The name is probably 'O˛rn’s fjord', but
in principle it could be 'eagle’s fjord'.
Locative Byname: í Arnarnesi
Arnarþúfa, Þing.
From OIc o˛rn 'an eagle', genitive singular arnar, and þúfa 'a mound,
a knoll': 'eagle’s mound'.
Locative Byname:
Arnbjargarlœkr, Mýr.
From the feminine name Arnbjo˛rg, genitive Arnbjargar, and OIc lœkr
(later lækr) 'a rivulet, a brook': 'Arnbjo˛rg’s brook'.
Locative Byname: at Arnbjargarlœk
Arneiðarstaðir, N.-Múl.
From the feminine name Arneiðr, genitive Arneiðar, and OIc staðr
'a place, a stead', here in the plural staðir: 'Arneið’s stead(s)'.
Locative Byname: á Arneiðarsto˛ðum
Arnlaugsfjo˛rðr, Greenland.
From the masculine name Arnlaugr, genitive Arnlaugs, and OIc fjo˛rðr
'a fjord, a firth, an inlet': 'Arnlaug’s fjord'.
Locative Byname:
Ásar, Skaft.
The plural of OIc áss 'a rocky ridge', a metaphorical extension of áss
'a thick pole, a main beam of a house; a yard of a sail': 'rocky ridges'. See also
Áss.
Locative Byname: í Ásum
Ásbjarnarnes, Húnv.
From the masculine name Ásbjo˛rn, genitive Ásbjarnar, and OIc nes
'a ness, a headland': 'Ásbjo˛rn’s point'.
Locative Byname: í Ásbjarnarnesi
Ásbjarnarstaðir, Mýr.
From the masculine name Ásbjo˛rn, genitive Ásbjarnar, and OIc staðr
'a place, a stead', here in the plural staðir: 'Ásbjo˛rn’s stead(s)'.
Locative Byname: á Ásbjarnarsto˛ðum
Ásbjarnarvík, (?)
From the masculine name Ásbjo˛rn, genitive Ásbjarnar, and OIc vík
'a bay, an inlet': 'Ásbjo˛rn’s inlet'.
Locative Byname:
Ásgautzstaðir, Árn.
From the masculine name Ásgautr, genitive Ásgauts, and OIc staðr
'a place, a stead', here in the plural staðir: 'Ásgaut’s stead(s)'.
Locative Byname:
Ásgeirsá, Húnv.
From the masculine name Ásgeirr, genitive Ásgeirs, and OIc á
'a river': 'Ásgeir’s river'.
Locative Byname: at Ásgeirsá
Áshildarmýrr, Árn.
From the feminine name Áshildr, genitive Áshildar, and OIc mýrr
'a moor, a bog, a swamp': 'Áshild’s moor or bog'.
Locative Byname:
Áskelsho˛fði, Rang.
From the masculine name Áskell, genitive Áskels, and OIc ho˛fði
'a headland': 'Áskel’s headland'.
Locative Byname: í Áskelsho˛fða
Ásmundarleiði, Snæf.
From the masculine name Ásmundr, genitive Ásmundar, and OIc leiði
'a tomb', here probably a burial mound: 'Ásmund’s tomb'. Ásmundr Atla son was buried
there in a ship with his thrall beside him.
Locative Byname:
Ásólfsleiði, Borg.
From the masculine name Ásólfr, genitive Ásólfs, and OIc leiði
'a tomb', here probably a burial mound: 'Ásólf’s tomb'.
Locative Byname:
Ásólfsskáli, Rang.
From the masculine name Ásólfr, genitive Ásólfs, and OIc skáli
'a shieling: a hut or shed put up for temporary use': 'Ásólf’s hut'. There were actually three,
all put up by Ásólfr alskikk Konáls son: Ásólfsskáli inn Austasti 'the easternmost',
Ásólfsskáli inn Vestasti 'the westernmost', and Miðskáli 'mid-hut'.
Locative Byname: at Ásólfsskála
Áss, Borg.
–– Rang.
–– Skaft.
–– (Oddsáss), Húnv.
–– Þing.
OIc áss 'a rocky ridge', a metaphorical extension of áss 'a thick pole,
a main beam of a house; a yard of a sail': 'rocky ridges'. See also Ásar;
it's possible that the Áss in Skaftafellssýsla is identical with Ásar, as both are said to have been settled by
Hróarr Tungugoði Una son. Áss in Húnavatnssýsla is also called Oddsáss, from the masculine
name Oddr, genitive Odds.
Locative Byname: í Ási
Atlahaugr, Árn.
From the masculine name Atli, genitive Atla, and OIc haugr 'a burial
mound, a cairn': 'Atli’s burial mound', here for Atli Hásteins son. See
Haugavað.
Locative Byname:
Atley, Norway.
From the masculine name Atli and OIc ey 'an island': 'Atli’s island'.
(NSL s.n. Atløy) See Fjalir.
Locative Byname:
Auðartoptir, Dal.
From the feminine name Auðr, genitive Auðar, and OIc topt 'a toft,
a homestead; a place marked out for a house or building; a square plot of ground with walls but no roof', here
in the plural toptir: 'Auð’s tofts'.
Locative Byname:
Auðbrekka, Eyfj.
The second element is OIc brekka 'a slope'; the first might be from OIc auðr
'empty, desolate'. The text has í Auðbrekku, but the index of persons gives it as í Auðarbrekku;
if this emendation is correct, the first element is Auðar, the genitive of the feminine name Auðr,
making the place-name 'Auð’s slope', but I've found no other evidence for such a form.
Locative Byname: í Auðbrekku
Auðkúlustaðir, Húnv.
The second element is the plural of OIc staðr 'a place, a stead'. The original settler
was Eyvindr auðkúla; auðkúlu is the genitive of his byname. The byname combines OIc auðr
'riches, wealth' and kúla 'a knob, a boss, a ball', here in the sense 'a hump' as in kúlabak
'humpback'. An alternative suggestion is that kúla should be understood in the sense 'a hill, a mound',
the byname signifying a very rich man.
Locative Byname: á Auðkúlusto˛ðum
Auðnar, Rang.
From OIc auðn 'a wilderness, a desert; an uninhabited and uncultivated tract of land, a waste; a deserted farm or habitation'; the nominative plural is now auðnir, but according to Ko˛bler this is an original ō-stem, which would have had nominative plural auðnar. Evidently this is one of the many original ō-stems that subsequently changed the nominative and accusative plural ending -ar to -ir. Thus, the name is simply '[the] Wastes'.
The text actually says that Ásgeirr ... bjó þar er nú heitir at Auðnum 'settled at the place
that is now called at Auðnum'; the preposition at takes the dative, and auðnum is the
dative plural of auðn, so at Auðnum is simply 'at [the] Wastes'. This inclusion of the preposition
as part of the place-name is not uncommon.
Locative Byname: at Auðnum
Auðólfsstaðir, Húnv.
From the masculine name Auðólfr, genitive Auðólfs, and OIc staðr
'a place, a stead', here in the plural staðir: 'Auðólf’s stead(s)'. Auðólfr
was one of the crewmen of Ævarr inn gamli Ketils son helluflaga, who took a considerable holding and
divided some of it among his crew.
Locative Byname: á Auðólfssto˛ðum
Auðsstaðir, Borg.
From the masculine name Auðr, genitive Auðs, and OIc staðr 'a place,
a stead', here in the plural staðir: 'Auð’s stead(s)'.
Locative Byname: á Auðssto˛ðum
Auðunarstaðir, Húnv.
From the masculine name Auðun, genitive Auðunar, and OIc staðr
'a place, a stead', here in the plural staðir: 'Auðun’s stead(s)'.
Locative Byname: á Auðunarsto˛ðum, at Auðunarsto˛ðum
Augastaðir, Borg.
The second element is OIc staðr 'a place, a stead', here in the plural staðir.
The original tenant was Þorgils auga á Augasto˛ðum; Auga- in the place-name is the genitive
singular of OIc auga 'an eye', making the name 'Eye’s stead(s)'.
Locative Byname: á Augasto˛ðum
Aurriðaá, Borg.
From OIc aurriði 'a salmon-trout, a brown trout', genitive singular and genitive plural
aurriða, and á 'a river'.
Locative Byname:
Aurriðaáróss, Dal.
From Aurriðaá, genitive Aurriðaár (see Aurriðaá)
and OIc óss 'mouth or outlet of a river or lake'.
Locative Byname:
One of the four Quarters into which Iceland was divided, the others being Vestfirðingafjórðungr,
Norðlendingafjórðungr, and Sunnlendingafjórðungr; Austfirðingafjórðungr was the first
to be settled. Austfirðinga is the genitive plural of Austfirðingr 'man of the Austfirðir',
i.e., 'man of the eastern fjords of Iceland'; fjórðungr is 'the fourth part, a quarter'. The name is literally
'the quarter of the men of the eastern fjords'.
Locative Byname:
Austfirðir.
From OIc austr 'the east' and firðir, the plural of fjo˛rðr 'a fjord,
a firth, an inlet': '[the] eastern fjords (of Iceland)'.
Locative Byname:
Austrvegr.
Literally 'east way', from OIc austr 'the east' and vegr 'a way, a road', it
refers to the eastern Baltic Sea and the lands neighboring it; fara í Austrveg 'to travel the East Way'
was a common expression for trading or piratical expeditions in the Baltic.
Locative Byname:
Axlarhagi, Skag.
From OIc o˛xl 'a shoulder-joint, a shoulder', genitive singular axlar, here in
the metaphorical sense 'shoulder of a mountain', and hagi 'a pasture, a field for grazing': literally
'mountain-shoulder’s pasture', i.e., a pasture on the shoulder of a mountain.
Locative Byname: í Axlarhaga, á Axlarhaga
Bakkarholt, Skaft.
From OIc bakki 'a bank (of a river, lake, chasm, etc.); a ridge', nominative
plural bakkar, and holt 'a wood, a copse; a rough, stony hill or ridge'. The apparent
sense 'wood on a bank' or 'wood on a ridge', but the construction is odd: one would expect Bakkaholt,
with the genitive (singular and plural) of bakki.
Locative Byname: í Bakkarholti
Balkastaðir, Húnv.
From the masculine name Balki, genitive Balka, and OIc staðr
'a place, a stead', here in the plural staðir: 'Balki’s stead(s)'.
Locative Byname: á Balkasto˛ðum
Ballará, Dal.
From OIc bo˛llr, genitive singular ballar, normally 'a ball, a globe' but
here apparently 'a (rounded?) peak', and á 'a river'.
Locative Byname: at Ballará
Barð, Barð.
–– Skag.
OIc barð 'the verge or edge of a hill' (and other senses).
Locative Byname: frá Barði
Bárðardalr, Þing.
From the masculine name Bárðr, genitive Bárðar, and OIc dalr
'a valley, a dale': 'Bárð’s dale'.
Locative Byname:
Bárðargata, Skaft.
From the masculine name Bárðr, genitive Bárðar, and OIc gata
'a path, a way, a road': 'Bárð’s way'. It seems to have been a (path through) a mountain pass
and was so named because Gnúpa-Bárðr Heyangrs-Bjarnar son travelled it; its name had been
Vánarskarð.
Locative Byname:
Barðastro˛nd, Barð.
From OIc barði 'a kind of ship; baleen whale', genitive singular and genitive
plural barða, and stro˛nd 'strand, coast, shore'; possibly this stretch of coast was
frequented by whales.
Locative Byname:
Barðsnes, S.-Múl.
From OIc barð 'the verge or edge of a hill', genitive singular barðs,
and nes 'a ness, a headland'.
Locative Byname: á Barðsnesi
Barðsvík, Ísafj.
From OIc barð 'the verge or edge of a hill', genitive singular barðs,
and vík 'an inlet, a small bay'.
Locative Byname: í Barðsvík, á Barðsvík
Baugsstaðir, Árn.
From the masculine name Baugr, genitive Baugs, and OIc staðr
'a place, a stead', here in the plural staðir: 'Baug’s stead(s)'.
Locative Byname: á Baugssto˛ðum
Beigaðarhváll, Húnv.
From Beigaðr, genitive Beigaðar, the name of a boar, and OIc hváll
'a hill, a hillock, a knoll': 'Beigað’s knoll'. Beigaðr is supposed to have died on the knoll.
Locative Byname:
Beigaldi, Mýr.
Þórðr beigaldi, also called Þórir, is said to have lived á Beigalda
'at Beigaldi', which took its name from his byname. Beigaldi is otherwise unattested but must
correspond to Nynorsk beigall 'sickly, ailing' and is apparently related to OIc beigla 'to walk
clumsily', found in poetry.
Locative Byname: á Beigalda
Bekansstaðir, Borg.
From the masculine name Bekan, genitive Bekans, and OIc staðr
'a place, a stead', here in the plural staðir: 'Bekan’s stead(s)'. In
Sturlubók he is called Beigan, and his steading Beigansstaðir.
Locative Byname: á Bekanssto˛ðum
Belgsdalr, Dal.
From OIc belgr 'the skin of a quadruped, taken off whole, often used as a bag; a bellows',
genitive belgs, and dalr 'a valley, a dale'. The original settler here was Óláfr belgr;
as his byname the word belgr probably had the sense 'belly, paunch', making the place-name 'Belly’s valley'.
Locative Byname:
Belgsstaðir, Dal.
From OIc belgr 'the skin of a quadruped, taken off whole, often used as a bag; a bellows',
genitive belgs, and staðr 'a place, a stead', here in the plural staðir. The original
settler here was Óláfr belgr; as his byname the word belgr probably had the sense 'belly, paunch',
making the place-name 'Belly’s stead(s)'.
Locative Byname: á Belgssto˛ðum
Berg, Norway.
OIc berg 'elevated rocky ground; a rock, a boulder; a cliff, a precipice'.
Locative Byname:
Berghlíðir, Barð.
From OIc berg 'elevated rocky ground; a rock, a boulder; a cliff, a precipice' and
hlíð 'a mountainside, a slope', plural hlíðir (now hlíðar).
Locative Byname:
Berghylr, Árn.
From OIc berg 'elevated rocky ground; a rock, a boulder; a cliff, a precipice' and
hylr 'a pool or deep place in a river'.
Locative Byname: at Berghyl
Bergþórshváll, Rang.
From the masculine name Bergþórr, genitive Bergþórs, and hváll
'a hill, a hillock, a knoll': 'Bergþór’s knoll'.
Locative Byname: at Bergþórshváli
Berjadalsá, Borg.
From OIc ber 'a berry', genitive plural berja, dalr 'a valley, a dale',
genitive singular dals, and á 'a river': 'berries’-dale’s-river'.
Locative Byname:
Bersastaðir, Húnv.
–– N.-Múl.
From the masculine name Bersi, genitive Bersa, and OIc staðr
'a place, a stead', here in the plural staðir: 'Bersi’s stead(s)'.
Locative Byname: á Bersasto˛ðum
Berserkseyrr (Borðeyrr), Snæf.
From OIc berserkr 'a berserker', genitive singular berserks, and eyrr
'a sandbank, a gravel-bank; a spit of land running into the sea': 'berserker’s sandspit' or the like.
The place is also called Borðeyrr, whose first element appears to be borð 'edge, side, rim,
esp. the side of a ship; a board, a plank; a table'. The sense here is probably 'edge', as in 'the edge of the land':
de Vries s.v. borð (1) reports a Shetland bord(ek) 'a cape, a headland, a promontory'.
Locative Byname:
Berufell: see Búrfell.
Berufjo˛rðr, Barð.
–– S.-Múl.
From OIc bera 'a she-bear', genitive singular beru, and fjo˛rðr
'a fjord, a firth, an inlet': 'she-bear’s fjord'.
Locative Byname: í Berufirði
Beruvík, Snæf.
From OIc bera 'a she-bear', genitive singular beru, and vík
'an inlet, a small bay': 'she-bear’s inlet'.
Locative Byname:
Beruvíkrhraun, Snæf.
From the place-name Beruvík above, genitive Beruvíkr, and OIc hraun
'a burnt-out lava field', originally 'a rough place, a wilderness': 'Beruvík’s lava field'.
Locative Byname:
Bíldsá, Eyfj.
From OIc bíldr 'an instrument for letting blood, a lancet', genitives singular
bílds, and á 'a river'. Bíldr is recorded as the nickname of O˛nundr bíldr Hróars
son [or Hróaldz son] and his half-brother Þorgrímr bíldr Úlfs son, after whom
Bíldsfell was named; it is possible that Bíldsá got its name in similar
fashion. (Bíldr, genitive Bílds, also occurs as the name of a dwarf and as the name of one or
two apparently fictional persons.)
Locative Byname: at Bildsá
Bíldsfell, Árn.
From OIc bíldr 'an instrument for letting blood, a lancet', genitives singular
bílds, genitive bílds, and fell 'an isolated hill'. The original settler here
was Þorgrímr bíldr; the exact significance of his byname is uncertain, but the basic idea is
'sharp point'; compare Swedish isbill 'icepick' and plogbill 'plowshare-point'.
Locative Byname: at Bíldsfelli
Biskupstunga, Árn.
From OIc biskup 'a bishop', genitive singular biskups, and tunga
'a tongue of land' (also, as in English, used of the body part and in the sense 'a language'): 'bishop’s
tongue of land'.
Locative Byname:
Bitra (Bitrufjo˛rðr), Strand.
OIc bitra is attested only in this place-name and the byname of its original settler,
Þorbjo˛rn bitra. It is apparently a noun derived from bitr 'biting, snapping; cutting, sharp;
painful, bitter' in the same way that beiska 'bitterness, sourness' is derived from beiskr
'bitter, acrid'; the sense must be 'bitterness, bitingness'. Note that Þorbjo˛rn is described as
illmenni 'a wicked (cruel) man'. Bitra appears in the genitive singular in the longer name
Bitrufjo˛rðr, whose second element is fjo˛rðr 'a ford, a firth, an inlet'.
Locative Byname:
Bjallabrekka, Rang.
The second element is OIc brekka 'a slope'; the first is difficult. There is an
OIc bjalla 'a bell', a borrowing of Old English belle, but in composition one would
expect to find the genitive singular, bjallu. On the whole it seems likelier that bjalla
here is the genitive plural of bjo˛llr 'a ball', though the genitive singular bjo˛lls would
be more satisfactory. Bjo˛llr is an unexplained variant of bo˛llr 'a ball', which is seen in
the genitive singular in the place-name Ballará in the apparent sense
'a (rounded?) peak'.
Locative Byname: á Ballabrekku
Bjargaóss (Bragaóss), Húnv.
From OIc bjarg 'a boulder, a (large) rock; a precipice or cliff, especially by the sea',
genitive plural bjarga, and óss 'mouth or outlet of a river or lake'; the sense is probably
'river-mouth with precipices'. Possibly the name was a puzzle to the authors of the versions that substitute
Bragaóss, which can readily be interpreted as 'Bragi’s river-mouth', from the masculine
name Bragi, genitive Braga.
Locative Byname: í Bjargaósi
Bjarkey, Norway.
Shortened from Bjarkarey, from OIc bjo˛rk 'a birch-tree', genitive singular
bjarkar, and ey 'an island': 'birch island', for an island with a birch wood. (NSL s.n.
Bjarkøy(a))
Locative Byname: úr Bjarkey(ju)
Bjarmaland.
From OIc Bjarmar 'Perms' and land 'land (as opposed to sea); a country':
'land of the Perms'. The Perms were a people in Russia.
Locative Byname:
Bjarnardalr, Mýr.
From the masculine name Bjo˛rn,
genitive Bjarnar, and OIc dalr 'a valley, a dale': 'Bjo˛rn’s dale'. Rauða-Bjo˛rn, the original settler here, is said to have got his nickname
because he was the first man to smelt rauði 'bog iron ore' in Iceland.
Locative Byname:
Bjarnarfjo˛rðr, (1) Strand.
–– (2) Strand.
From the masculine name Bjo˛rn, genitive Bjarnar, and OIc fjo˛rðr
'a fjord, a firth, an inlet': 'Bjo˛rn’s fjord'.
Locative Byname:
Bjarnarho˛fn, Snæf.
From the masculine name Bjo˛rn, genitive Bjarnar, and OIc ho˛fn
'a harbor, a haven': 'Bjo˛rn’s harbor', named after the first settler there.
Locative Byname: í Bjarnarho˛fn
Bjarnarnes, Ísafj.
From the masculine name Bjo˛rn, genitive Bjarnar, and OIc nes
'a ness, a headland': 'Bjo˛rn’s headland', named for the original settler.
Locative Byname: á Bjarnarnesi, í Bjarnarnesi
Bjarnastaðir, Mýr.
From the masculine name Bjarni, genitive Bjarna, and OIc staðr
'a place, a stead', here in the plural staðir: 'Bjarni’s stead(s)'.
Locative Byname: á Bjarnasto˛ðum
Bjarneyjaflói, Barð.
From OIc bjo˛rn 'a bear', whose underlying root is bjarn-, ey
'an island', genitive plural eyja, and flói 'a marshy moor; a bay, a large firth', but
here 'deep water in a bay' as opposed to shallow coastal water; the sense is 'deep water around the Bear
Islands'.
Locative Byname:
Bjo˛rgyn, Norway.
Apparently what is now Bergen, but the form is unexpected: the name is from Bergvin
and its variant Bjo˛rgvin, from OIc berg 'elevated rocky ground; a rock, a boulder; a cliff,
a precipice' or bjarg 'a boulder, a (large) rock', plural bjo˛rg 'precipices, especially by the
sea', and vin 'a meadow'. The sense is 'meadow by the precipices by the sea'. (NSL s.n.
Bergen)
Locative Byname:
Blanda, Blo˛nduóss, Húnv.
OIc blanda, genitive singular blo˛ndu, is 'a mixture of two fluids, especially a beverage made
of sour whey mixed with water'; the Blanda is a stream of glacier water, presumably so
called for its color. The second element of Blo˛nduóss is óss 'mouth or outlet of a river or lake',
making the name 'Blanda’s mouth'. See Blo˛ndudalr, Blo˛nduhlíð, and Blo˛ndukvíslir.
Locative Byname:
Bláserkr, Greenland.
From OIc blár 'blue, livid; black' and serkr 'a sark, a shirt': 'blue shirt'.
The text indicates that the place is at a glacier, so the name may refer to the appearance of the glacier.
Locative Byname:
Bláskeggsá (Bláskógsá), Borg.
From OIc blár 'blue, livid; black', skegg 'a beard', genitive singular
skeggs, and á 'a river': 'blue-beard’s river'. The variant Bláskógsá has as
its middle element OIc skógr 'a wood, a forest', genitive singular skógs: 'blue-wood’s
river', probably with the sense 'dark-wood’s river'.
Locative Byname:
Bláskógar, Árn.
From OIc blár 'blue, livid; black', skógr 'a wood, a forest', here in the plural
skógar: 'blue woods', probably with the sense 'dark woods'.
Locative Byname: í Bláskógum
Blesastaðir, Mýr.
The second element is OIc staðr 'a place, a stead', here in the plural staðir.
The original settler here was Þorbjo˛rn blesi; blesa is the genitive singular of his byname. The
byname, which is otherwise unattested, is related to OIc blesóttr 'having a blaze or white mark on the
forehead' and Swedish bläs 'a blaze' and means 'a white spot on the forehead of an animal': 'Blaze’s
stead(s)'.
Locative Byname: á Blesasto˛ðum
Blundsvatn, Borg.
From OIc blundr 'sleep, dozing, slumber', genitive singular blunds, and OIc
vatn 'water, fresh water; a lake'; the original settler here was Ketill blundr, and the sense
is 'Sleepy’s lake'.
Locative Byname:
Blo˛ndudalr, Húnv.
From OIc blanda 'a mixture of two fluids, especially a beverage made of sour whey mixed
with water', genitive singular blo˛ndu, here the name of a stream of glacier water, and dalr
'a valley, a dale': 'Blanda’s valley'. See Blanda,
Blo˛nduhlíð, and Blo˛ndukvíslir.
Locative Byname: í Blo˛ndudal, older í Blo˛ndudali
Blo˛nduhlíð, Skag.
From OIc blanda 'a mixture of two fluids, especially a beverage made of sour whey mixed
with water', genitive singular blo˛ndu, here the name of a stream of glacier water, and hlíð
'a mountainside, a slope': 'Blanda’s slope'. See Blanda,
Blo˛ndudalr, and Blo˛ndukvíslir.
Locative Byname:
Blo˛ndukvíslir 209
From OIc blanda 'a mixture of two fluids, especially a beverage made of sour whey mixed
with water', genitive singular blo˛ndu, here the name of a stream of glacier water, and kvísl
'a fork of a river' (and other meanings), here in the plural kvíslar: 'branches of the Blanda'. See
Blanda, Blo˛ndudalr, and
Blo˛nduhlíð.
Locative Byname:
Bólstaðará, Skag.
From OIc bólstaðr 'a homestead, a farm; an abode', genitive singular bólstaðar,
and á 'a river': 'homestead’s river'.
Locative Byname:
Bólstaðr, Rang.
OIc bólstaðr 'a homestead, a farm; an abode'.
Locative Byname: í Bólstað
Bolungavík, Ísafj.
From OIc bulungr (variant bolungr) 'a pile of logs, firewood', genitive plural
bulunga, and vík 'an inlet, a small bay'; the sense is 'firewood inlet'.
Locative Byname:
Borðeyrr, Strand.
The second element is eyrr 'a sandbank, a gravel-bank; a spit of land running into the sea'.
The first element appears to be OIc borð 'edge, side, rim, esp. the side of a ship; a board, a plank; a table'.
The sense here is probably 'edge', as in 'the edge of the land': de Vries s.v. borð (1) reports a Shetland
bord(ek) 'a cape, a headland, a promontory'. See Berserkseyrr.
Locative Byname:
Borg, Mýr.
–– (Stóra-Borg) Húnv.
OIc borg 'a small, dome-shaped hill' (and other senses). OIc stórr, here in the
feminine nominative singular, is 'big, great'.
Locative Byname: at Borg
Borgardalr, Snæf.
From OIc borg 'a small, dome-shaped hill' (and other senses), genitive singular borgar,
and dalr 'a valley, a dale'.
Locative Byname:
Borgarfjo˛rðr, Borg.
–– N.-Múl.
From OIc borg 'a small, dome-shaped hill' (and other senses), genitive singular borgar,
and fjo˛rðr 'a fjord,a firth, an inlet'. The first one listed is said to have been named after
Borg by Skallagrímr Kveld-Úlfs son, who settled there and took
much of the surrounding land.
Locative Byname:
Borgarholt, (1) Snæf.
–– (2) Snæf.
From OIc borg 'a small, dome-shaped hill' (and other senses), genitive singular borgar,
and holt 'a wood, a copse; a rough, stony hill or ridge'.
Locative Byname: í Borgarholti
Borgarhraun, Snæf.
From OIc borg 'a small, dome-shaped hill' (and other senses), genitive singular borgar,
and hraun 'a burnt-out lava field', originally 'a rough place, a wilderness'.
Locative Byname:
Borgarho˛fn, Skaft.
From OIc borg 'a small, dome-shaped hill' (and other senses), genitive singular borgar,
and ho˛fn 'a harbor, a haven'.
Locative Byname: í Borgarho˛fn
Borgarlœkr, Snæf.
From OIc borg 'a small, dome-shaped hill' (and other senses), genitive singular borgar,
and lœkr (later lækr) 'a rivulet, a brook'.
Locative Byname:
Borgarsandr, Skag.
From OIc borg 'a small, dome-shaped hill' (and other senses), genitive singular borgar,
and sandr 'sand; the seashore'.
Locative Byname:
Borgund, Norway.
Borgund in the municipality of Ålesund, in the county of Møre og
Romsdal in Western Norway. The name is from OIc borg 'a small, dome-shaped
hill' and a suffix -und that is very common in Norwegian island names
and seems to have meant something like 'well provided with whatever is named by
the first element'. (NSL s.n. Borgund)
Locative Byname:
Bótarskarð (Bótarskál), Árn.
From the feminine name Bót, genitive Bótar, and OIc skarð 'a mountain pass;
a notch': 'Bót’s pass'. It is said to have been named after Bót, a bondwoman of Ketilbjo˛rn
inn gamli Ketils son, who killed her here for stealing an ox laden with silver. However, according to the May 2003
instalment of the Örnefni Mánaðarins (Place-Name of the Month) feature of
Örnefnastofnun Íslands (Place-Name Institute of the National Museum of
Iceland), bót is found as a place-name element throughout Iceland, though with somewhat different meanings in
different regions. Since no other instance of the feminine name Bót seems to be known, it’s likely that
the explanation is a fiction and that Bótarskárð actually contains the place-name element, probably in the sense
'grassy hollow, small vale. Indeed, in the alternative name skál is 'a bowl', used as a topographical term meaning
'a hollow'.
Locative Byname:
Botn, Borg.
OIc botn 'the head of a bay, firth, lake, or valley'.
Locative Byname: í Botni
Botnsá, Borg.
From OIc botn 'the head of a bay, firth, lake, or valley', genitive singular botns,
and á 'a river'.
Locative Byname:
Bragaóss: see Bjargaóss.
Bramslœkr, Barð.: see Briánslœkr.
Brattahlíð, Greenland.
From OIc brattr 'steep' and hlíð 'a mountainside, a slope': 'steep mountainside,
steep slope'.
Locative Byname:
Brattsholt, Árn.
From the masculine name Brattr, genitive Bratts, and OIc holt 'a wood,
a copse; a rough, stony hill or ridge'; in an early place-name the sense 'copse' is perhaps more likely.
Locative Byname: í Brattsholti
Brautarholt, Kjós.
From OIc braut 'a road', genitive singular brautar, and holt 'a wood,
a copse; a rough, stony hill or ridge': 'road’s wood', presumably a copse on a roadway.
Locative Byname: í Brautarholti
Brávo˛llr
From OIc brá 'eyelash' and vo˛llr 'a field' (with no implication of cultivation);
the sense of the compound is not clear.
Locative Byname:
Breiðá, Skaft.
From OIc breiðr 'broad' and á 'a river': 'broad river'.
Locative Byname: at Breiðá
Breiðabólstaðr, Borg.
–– Dal.
–– Húnv.
–– Rang.
–– (1) Skaft.
–– (2) Skaft.
–– Snæf.
From OIc breið 'broad' and bólstaðr 'a homestead, a farm; an abode': 'broad homestead'.
Locative Byname: á Breiðabólstað
From OIc breið 'broad' and fjo˛rðr 'a fjord, a firth, an inlet': 'broad fjord'.
Locative Byname:
Breiðamýrr in eystri, Árn.
–– Þing.
From OIc breið 'broad' and mýrr 'a moor, a bog, a swamp'; probably 'broad moor'.
The modifier in eystri is 'the more eastern'.
Locative Byname: á Breiðamýri
Breiðársandr, Skaft.
From the river-name Breiðá, genitive Breiðár, and
OIc sandr 'sand, the seashore': 'Breiðá’s sands'.
Locative Byname:
Breiðavað, Húnv.
From OIc breiðr 'broad' and vað 'a ford, a wading-place across a stream': 'broad ford'.
Locative Byname: á Breiðavaði
Breiðavík, N.-Múl.
–– Snæf.
From OIc breiðr 'broad' and vík 'an inlet, a small bay': 'broad inlet'.
Locative Byname:
Breiðdalr, S.-Múl.
From OIc breiðr 'broad' and dalr 'a valley, a dale': 'broad dale'.
Locative Byname: í Breiðdal
Brekka (Fagrabrekka), Strand.
–– Ísafj.
OIc brekka 'a slope'. The first element of the alternative name Fagrabrekka
is from OIc fagr 'fair, fine, beautiful'.
Locative Byname: at Brekku, á Brekku
Brekkur (Sumarliðabœr), Rang.
Brekkur is the plural of OIc brekka 'a slope'. Sumarliðabœr is the older
name, from the masculine name Sumarliði, genitive sumarliða, and OIc bœr 'a farmhouse,
a farmstead'. The text says the place heitir nú undir Brekkum 'is now called undir Brekkum';
undir Brekkum is 'under Brekkur', literally 'under or below the slopes'.
Locative Byname: undir Brekkum, í Sumarliðabœ
Brenna, Borg.
OIc brenna 'the burning of a house or person'. Landnámabók says that in the
course of a feud Þjóðólfr Karls son burned Kári Kýlans son in his own house here; the farm,
which had been called Kýlanshólar or Kýlanshólmar, was thereafter
called á Brennu 'at the burning in'. (Brennu is the dative singular of brenna; the
preposition á takes the dative case.) For the more usual meaning of brenna in place-names see
Brenningr.
Locative Byname: á Brennu
Brenningr, Snæf.
According to the February 2005 instalment of the Örnefni Mánaðarins
(Place-Name of the Month) feature of the Örnefnastofnun Íslands (Place-Name Institute
of the National Museum of Iceland), the name signifies a place where vegetation (woods, brush, dry grass, etc.) had been burned
off, deliberately or otherwise; this was probably also the usual sense of brenna in place-names.
Locative Byname: í Brenningi
Bretland.
Britain, especially Wales.
Locative Byname:
Briánslœkr (Bramslœkr), Barð.
From the masculine name Briánn, genitive Briáns, and OIc lœkr (later lækr)
'a rivulet, a brook': 'Brián’s brook'. The alternative version appears to be the result of scribal error.
Locative Byname:
Brimilsvellir, Snæf.
From OIc brimill 'a kind of large seal', genitive singular brimils, and vo˛llr
'a field', with no implication of cultivation, here in the plural: 'seal’s fields'. However, brimill was
also used as a nickname: the father of one of the settlers was Ketill brimill O˛rnólfs son, and it’s possible
that the place is named for him (or even for someone else with the same nickname).
Locative Byname: á Brimilsvo˛llum
Brimnesskógar, Skag.
From OIc brim 'the surf', nes 'a ness, a headland', and skógr 'a wood, a forest',
here in the plural skógar: 'surf point woods'.
Locative Byname:
Brokey, Snæf.
The meaning of brok is uncertain; Cleasby takes it to be 'bad, black grass'. The second element
is OIc ey 'an island'.
Locative Byname:
Brúnahaugr.
From the masculine name Brúni, genitive Brúna, and OIc haugr 'a burial mound,
a cairn': 'Brúni’s burial mound'.
Locative Byname:
Brúnastaðir, Skag.
From the masculine name Brúni, genitive Brúna, and OIc staðr 'a place, a stead',
here in the plural staðir: 'Brúni’s stead(s)'.
Locative Byname: á Brúnasto˛ðum
Brynjudalr, Kjós.
Apparently from OIc brynja 'a coat of mail', genitive singular brynju, and
dalr 'a valley, a dale'. However, some versions say that the valley got its name from a particularly
valuable cow called Brynja (genitive Brynju) over whom two men quarreled.
Locative Byname: í Brynjudal
Brynjudalsá, Kjós.
The genitive of the place-name Brynjudalr and OIc
á 'a river': 'Brynjudal’s river'.
Locative Byname:
Búðardalr, Dal.
From OIc búð 'a temporary dwelling, a booth', genitive singular búðar, and
dalr 'a valley, a dale'. The settler Geirmundr heljarskinn Hjo˛rs son spent his first winter in
Iceland there.
Locative Byname:
Búðardalsá, Dal.
The genitive of the place-name Búðardalr and OIc á
'a river': 'Búðardal’s river'.
Locative Byname:
Búland, Skaft.
OIc búland is glossed 'home land' by Cleasby and Zoëga, but the exact sense is not clear.
The word is a compound of bú 'a household, a farming household; a farm, an estate; the stock of a farmstead;
a home, a house' and 'land (as opposed to sea); a country; estate, land of an estate'; this suggests that it may refer
to the lands of one or more estates, or to a settled region, i.e., the land or lands of one or more bú.
Locative Byname: á Búlandi, í Búlandi
Búlandsho˛fði, Snæf.
From the genitive of búland (see Búland) and OIc
ho˛fði 'a headland'.
Locative Byname:
Búlandsnes, S.-Múl.
From the genitive of búland (see Búland) and OIc
nes 'a ness, a headland'.
Locative Byname:
Búrfell (Berufell), Árn.
The second element is OIc fell 'an isolated hill', but the first is uncertain. There is an
OIc búr 'pantry; storehouse; women’s apartment', but the August 2002 instalment of the
Örnefni Mánaðarins (Place-Name of the Month) feature of the
Örnefnastofnun Íslands (Place-Name Institute of the National Museum of
Iceland) notes the existence of some 47 places named Búrfell and seems to suggest that the name is especially
associated with isolated steeple-shaped peaks, in which case Búr- may have had topographical significance. The first
element of the alternative version appears to be the genitive singular of bera 'a she-bear'.
Locative Byname: at Búrfelli
Byrgisvík, Strand.
From OIc byrgi 'an enclosure, a fence, an enclosed place', genitive singular byrgis,
and vík 'an inlet, a small bay'.
Locative Byname:
Bægisá, Eyfj.
–– in syðri, Eyfj.
The name is a compound of bægis and OIc á 'a river'. The first element appears to be
the genitive singular of an unattested noun *bægir (if masculine) or *bægi (if neuter), making the name
'Bægi(r)’s river'. If this is correct, bægi(r) is probably a nickname related to the verb
bægja 'to make one give way, to push; to hinder', the noun bæging 'a thwarting', the adjective
bæginn 'cross-grained', and the first element of the nickname bægifótr 'lame-foot', and a little more
distantly to the adjective bágr 'uneasy, awkward'. The modifier in syðri is 'the more southern'.
Locative Byname: at Bægisá inni syðri
Bœjarsker, Gullbr.
From OIc bœr 'a farmhouse, a farmstead', genitive singular bœjar, and sker
'a rock in the sea, a skerry': 'farmstead’s skerry'.
Locative Byname:
Bœr, Borg.
–– Skaft.
–– Strand.
OIc bœr 'a farmhouse, a farmstead'.
Locative Byname: í Bœ
Bo˛ðmóðshorn (Bo˛ðmóðshraun), Skaft.
From the masculine name Bo˛ðmóðr and OIc horn 'a corner, a nook, an angle' (extended
from the original meaning 'an animal's horn'): 'Bo˛ðmóð’s horn of land'. The second element of the
alternative name is OIc hraun 'a burnt-out lava field', originally 'a rough place, a wilderness'.
Locative Byname:
Bo˛ðmóðstunga, Skaft.
From the masculine name Bo˛ðmóðr and OIc tungu 'a tongue of land' (also, as in English,
used of the body part and in the sense 'a language'): 'Bo˛ðmóð’s tongue of land'.
Locative Byname: í Bo˛ðmóðstungu
Bo˛ðólfs skytja, Þing.
From the masculine name Bo˛ðólfr, genitive Bo˛ðólfs, and OIc skytja 'a little
nook, a piece of land in an angle between two others' (and other very different meanings).
Locative Byname: at Bo˛ðólfs skytju
Bo˛ðvarsdalr, N.-Múl.
From the masculine name Bo˛ðvarr, genitive Bo˛ðvars, and OIc dalr 'a valley,
a dale': 'Bo˛ðvar’s dale'.
Locative Byname:
Bo˛ðvarshólar, Húnv.
From the masculine name Bo˛ðvarr, genitive Bo˛ðvars, and OIc hóll 'a hill,
a hillock, a knoll', here in the plural hólar: 'Bo˛ðvar’s knolls'.
Locative Byname: úr Bo˛dvarshólum
Bo˛ðvarsholt, Skaft.
From the masculine name Bo˛ðvarr, genitive Bo˛ðvars, and OIc holt 'a wood,
a copse; a rough, stony hill or ridge', here probably 'Bo˛ðvar’s wood'.
Locative Byname: í Bo˛ðvarsholti
Bo˛ðvarstoptir, Árn.
From the masculine name Bo˛ðvarr, genitive Bo˛ðvars, and OIc topt 'a toft,
a homestead; a place marked out for a house or building; a square plot of ground with walls but no roof', here in the
plural as toptir: 'Bo˛ðvar’s tofts'.
Locative Byname: at Bo˛ðvarstoptum, í Bo˛ðvarstoptum
Dalalo˛nd, Dal.
From OIc dalr 'a valley, a dale', genitive plural dala, and land 'land
(as opposed to sea); a country', nominative plural lo˛nd: 'dale-lands'.
Locative Byname:
Dalir, Barð.
–– Dal.
–– (?): (Þorbrandr í Do˛lum)
From OIc dalr 'a valley, a dale', nominative plural dalir: 'dales'.
Locative Byname: í Do˛lum
Dalsfjo˛rðr, Norway.
From OIc dalr 'a valley, a dale', genitive singular dals, and fjo˛rðr
'a fjord, a firth, an inlet': 'dale’s fjord'. This appears to be modern Dalsfjorden in Sunnfjord. (NSL s.n.
Dalsfjorden)
Locative Byname:
Dalsmynni, Borg.
From OIc dalr 'a valley, a dale', genitive singular dals, and mynni
'a mouth (as of a river or fjord)': 'dale’s-mouth'.
Locative Byname: at Dalsmynni
Danmo˛rk.
Denmark.
Locative Byname:
Deildará (two rivers) Rang.
–– Skag.
From OIc deild 'a dole, a share', genitive singular deildar, used in place-names
referring to rivers and other boundary features, and á 'a river'.
Locative Byname:
Deildarey, Dal.
From OIc deild 'a dole, a share', genitive singular deildar, used in place-names
referring to rivers and other boundary features, and ey 'an island'.
Locative Byname:
Deildargil, Borg.
From OIc deild 'a dole, a share', genitive singular deildar, used in place-names
referring to rivers and other boundary markers, and gil 'a ravine or gully with a stream at the bottom'.
Locative Byname:
Deildarhjalli, Húnv.
From OIc deild 'a dole, a share', genitive singular deildar, used in place-names
referring to rivers and other boundary markers, and hjalli 'a ledge in a mountainside'.
Locative Byname:
Digranes, N.-Múl.
From OIc digr 'big, stout, thick' and nes 'a ness, a headland'.
Locative Byname:
Dímunarvágr, Dal.
According to the May 2004 instalment of the Örnefni Mánaðarins
(Place-Name of the Month) feature of the Örnefnastofnun Íslands (Place-Name Institute
of the National Museum of Iceland), dímun signifies 'two hills, two eminences' and is a borrowing from the Celtic
languages, specifically from something like OIr dí muin 'two upper backs'. (Muin is 'the upper part of the
back between the shoulders and below the neck'.) The second element is OIc vágr 'a creek, a bay'.
Locative Byname:
Djúpá, Skag.
From OIc djúpr 'deep' and á 'a river': 'deep river'.
Locative Byname:
Djúpadalr, Djúpadalslo˛nd, Eyfj.
From OIc djúpr 'deep' and dalr 'a valley, a dale', genitive singular dals:
'deep-dale'. Djúpadalslo˛nd is 'deep-dale’s lands', from land 'land (as opposed to sea);
a country', nominative plural lo˛nd.
Locative Byname: í Djúpadal
Djúpafjo˛rðr, Barð.
From OIc djúpr 'deep' and fjo˛rðr 'a fjord, a firth, an inlet': 'deep-ford'.
Locative Byname:
Dofrar, Norway.
The word is a plural noun, but the meaning is uncertain. It is thought to be related to djúpr
'deep' and to signify something like 'valleys, clefts, fissures'. (NSL s.n. Dovre)
Locative Byname:
Drangaland, Strand.
From OIc drangr 'a detached pillar of rock', genitive plural dranga, and land
'land (as opposed to sea); a country': 'land of isolated basalt pillars'.
Locative Byname:
Drangar, Eyfj.
–– Snæf.
–– Strand.
–– (Lóndrangar), Snæf.
The nominative plural of OIc drangr 'a detached pillar of rock'. The first element of
Lóndrangar is lón 'a lagoon, an inlet'; however, this appears to derive from the byname of
Lón-Einarr, who is said to have seen a troll there, and not to the location of the place. The byname
itself, however, is from Lónland.
Locative Byname: at Dro˛ngum
Drangavík, Strand.
From OIc drangr 'a detached pillar of rock', genitive plural dranga, and vík
'an inlet, a small bay'.
Locative Byname:
Drangshlíð, Rang.
From OIc drangr 'a detached pillar of rock', genitive singular drangs, and hlíð
'a mountainside, a slope'.
Locative Byname:
Drápuhlíð, Snæf.
Apparently from OIc drápa 'a heroic, laudatory poem', genitive singular drápu, and
hlíð 'a mountainside, a slope'; possibly the slope in question figured in such a poem.
Locative Byname: í Drápuhlíð
Drífandi, Skaft.
The present participle of the verb drífa 'to drift, to drive', so literally 'drifting, driving',
like sand or snow; here it may refer to a waterfall or a rapidly flowing brook.
Locative Byname:
Dritsker, Snæf.
From OIc drit 'excrement, especially of birds; dirt', and sker 'a rock in the sea,
a skerry'.
Locative Byname:
Drumboddzstaðir, Árn.
From the masculine name Oddr, genitive Oddz, and OIc staðr 'a place, a stead',
nominative plural staðir; Drumb- is a byname from OIc drumbr 'log of wood', probably for a
thick, lumpish person. Drumb-Oddr was in the company of one of the original settlers.
Locative Byname: á Drumboddzsto˛ðum
Dufansdalr, Barð.
From the masculine name Dufan, a borrowing of OIr Dubán, genitive Dufans, and
OIc dalr 'a valley, a dale': 'Dufan’s dale'. Dufan was a thrall to Án rauðfeldar Gríms
son, who freed him and gave him the land.
Locative Byname: í Dufansdal
From OIc dúfa 'a dove, a pigeon', genitive singular dúfu; nef 'a nose; a bird's
beak or bill', genitive singular nefs; and skeið 'a race, a run; a race-course' (and other meanings):
'Dove’s-nose's race-course'. It is said to be named after Þórir (or Þórðr) dúfunef
('dove’s-nose'), who is supposed to have won a horse race here.
Locative Byname:
Dufþaksholt, Rang.
From the masculine name Dufþakr, genitive Dufþaks, a borrowing of OIr Dubthach,
and OIc holt 'a wood, a copse; a rough, stony hill or ridge': 'Dufþak’s copse or stony ridge'.
Locative Byname: í Dufþaksholti
Dufþaksskor, Vestmannaeyjar.
From the masculine name Dufþakr, genitive Dufþaks, a borrowing of OIr Dubthach,
and OIc skor 'a rift in a rock or precipice; more generally, a notch, a score'. A thrall named Dufþakr
is said to have incited his fellow thralls to kill their master Hjo˛rleifr Hróðmars son; Hjo˛rleif’s
foster brother Ingólfr Arnar son (or Bjo˛rnólfs son) is said to have killed all of them here.
Locative Byname:
Dumbshaf, (?)
The second element is OIc haf 'the sea, especially the high sea, the ocean'; the first is ostensibly
from a masculine name Dumbr, genitive Dumbs, the name of a fictitious king after whom the sea is supposed
to have been named. The name Dumbr is formally identical to OIc dumbr 'dumb, mute'.
Locative Byname:
Dyflinn, Ireland.
This is the OIc adaptation of OIr Duiblinn 'Dublin'.
Locative Byname:
Dyflinnarskíri, Ireland.
From Dyflinn 'Dublin' (see above), genitive Dyflinnar, and OIc skíri 'a district,
a province'; apparently the region around Dublin that was under Norse control.
Locative Byname:
Dynskógar, Skaft.
The second element OIc skógr 'a wood, a forest', here in the nominative plural skógar.
The first appears to be related to dynr 'din, noise', dynja 'to boom, to resound', duna
'to boom, to roar', and duna 'a rushing, thundering noise'; the sense would then be something like 'noisy woods'.
Locative Byname: í Dynskógum
Dýrafjo˛rðr, Ísafj.
From the masculine name Dýri, genitive Dýra, and OIc fjo˛rðr 'a fjord, a firth,
an inlet': 'Dýri’s firth'.
Locative Byname: í Dýrafirði
Do˛gurðará, Dal.
From OIc do˛gurðr 'day-meal', genitive singular do˛gurðar, and á 'a river'.
The day-meal, taken in the morning about 9 a.m., was the main meal of the day; this is one of several places whose names
commemorate the first day-meal taken in Iceland by a settler.
Locative Byname:
Do˛gurðarnes, Dal.
From OIc do˛gurðr 'day-meal', genitive singular do˛gurðar, and nes 'a ness, a headland'.
The day-meal, taken in the morning about 9 a.m., was the main meal of the day; this is one of several places whose names
commemorate the first day-meal taken in Iceland by a settler.
Locative Byname:
Egilsstaðir, N.-Múl.
From the masculine name Egill, genitive Egils, and OIc staðr 'a place, a stead',
nominative plural staðir: 'Egil’s stead(s)'.
Locative Byname: á Egilssto˛ðum
Eið, Vestmannaeyjar.
OIc eið 'an isthmus, a neck of land'. (See Vestmannaeyjar.)
Locative Byname:
Eilífsdalsá, Kjós.
From the masculine name Eilífr, genitive Eilífs, and OIc dalr 'a valley, a dale',
genitive singular dals, and á 'a river': 'Eilíf’s dale’s river'.
Locative Byname:
Einarsfjo˛rðr, Greenland.
From the masculine name Einarr, genitive Einars, and OIc fjo˛rðr 'a fjord,
a firth, an inlet': 'Einar’s fjord'.
Locative Byname:
Einarsho˛fn, Árn.
From the masculine name Einarr, genitive Einars, and OIc ho˛fn 'a harbor, a haven':
'Einar’s harbor'.
Locative Byname:
Einarssker, Dal.
From the masculine name Einarr, genitive Einars, and OIc sker 'a rock in the sea,
a skerry': 'Einar’s skerry'. Einarr skálaglamm Helga son is said to have drowned there.
Locative Byname:
Einarsstaðir, Þing.
From the masculine name Einarr, genitive Einars, and OIc staðr 'a place, a stead',
nominative plural staðir: 'Einar’s stead(s)'.
Locative Byname: á Einarssto˛ðum, at Einarssto˛ðum
Einhyrningsmo˛rk, Rang.
From OIc einhyrningr 'unicorn', genitive singular einhyrnings, and mo˛rk 'a forest':
'unicorn’s forest'.
Locative Byname:
Eiríksey, Greenland.
From the masculine name Eiríkr, genitive Eiríks, and OIc ey 'an island':
'Eirík’s island'. There appear to have been two of them, one near the Eastern and one near the Western
Settlement. The reference is to Eiríkr inn rauði.
Locative Byname: í Eiríksey
Eiríksfjo˛rðr, Greenland.
From the masculine name Eiríkr, genitive Eiríks, and OIc fjo˛rðr 'a fjord, a firth,
an inlet': 'Eirík’s fjord'. The reference is to Eiríkr inn rauði.
Locative Byname:
Eiríkshólmar, Greenland.
From the masculine name Eiríkr, genitive Eiríks, and OIc hólmr 'a holm, an islet',
here in the plural hólmar: 'Eirík’s islets'. The reference is to Eiríkr inn rauði.
Locative Byname: í Eiríksholmum
Eiríksstaðir, Dal.
–– á O˛xney, Snæf.
From the masculine name Eiríkr, genitive Eiríks, and OIc staðr 'a place, a stead',
nominative plural staðir: 'Eirík’s stead(s)'. In both cases the reference is apparently to
Eiríkr inn rauði. (See O˛xney.)
Locative Byname: á Eiríkssto˛ðum
Eiríksvágr, Snæf.
From the masculine name Eiríkr, genitive Eiríks, and OIc vágr 'a creek, a bay':
'Eirík’s bay'. The reference is to Eiríkr inn rauði.
Locative Byname:
Eldgrímsstaðir, Mýr.
From the masculine name Eldgrímr, genitive Eldgríms, and OIc staðr 'a place, a stead',
nominative plural staðir: 'Eldgrím’s stead(s)'.
Locative Byname: á Eldgrímssto˛ðum
Eldueið, Norway.
From the settlement name Elda and ON eið 'an isthmus, a neck of land'; Elda
was originally a river-name. The place is now Namdalseid. (NSL s.n. Eldueid)
Locative Byname:
Elliðaáróss, Kjós.
The first element is OIc elliði 'a kind of ship with a high poop', genitive elliða,
but here it is said to have been the name of the ship in which the settler Ketilbjo˛rn inn gamli Ketils son
came to Iceland. The other elements are á 'a river', genitive singular ár, and óss
'mouth or outlet of a river or lake': 'mouth of Elliði’s river'. This is said to have been
Ketilbjo˛rn’s first landfall.
Locative Byname:
Elliðaey, Snæf.
From OIc elliði 'a kind of ship with a high poop', genitive singular elliða, and
ey 'an island'; the island was named for its resemblance to this kind of ship.
Locative Byname:
Engá, Rang.
The second element is OIc á 'a river'. The first is uncertain, perhaps OIc eng 'a meadow',
but it is suggested here (PDF) that the name is an error for Rangá.
Locative Byname:
Engihlíð, Húnv.
From OIc engi 'a meadow and hlíð 'a mountainside, a slope'.
Locative Byname: í Engihlíð
Engines, Strand.
From OIc engi 'a meadow and nes 'a ness, a headland'.
Locative Byname:
England.
England.
Locative Byname:
Enni, Snæf.
OIc enni 'forehead', but in the metaphorical sense 'a steep crag, a precipice'.
Locative Byname:
Esjuberg, Kjós.
The second element is OIc berg 'elevated rocky ground; a rock, a boulder; a cliff, a precipice';
the first is ultimately from OIc esja, genitive singular esju, variously glossed 'a kind of clay' and
'a kind of slate', but in this case the proximate source may be Esja, genitive Esju, the name of a
mountain.
Locative Byname: at Esjubergi
Eskifjo˛rðr, S.-Múl.
From OIc eski 'a place growing with ash trees' and fjo˛rðr 'a fjord, a firth, an
inlet'.
Locative Byname: í Eskifirði
Eskiholt, Mýr.
From OIc eski 'a place growing with ash trees' or the prefix eski- 'ashen-' and holt
'a wood, a copse; a rough, stony hill or ridge': 'ash-wood'.
Locative Byname:
Espihóll inn syðri, Eyfj.
–– inn nyrðri, Eyfj.
From OIc espi 'an aspen wood' and hóll 'a hill, a hillock, a knoll'; inn syðri is
'the southern', inn nyrðri 'the northern'.
Locative Byname: á Espihóli
Ey, Húnv.
OIc ey 'an island'.
Locative Byname: at Eyju
Eyjafjarðará, Eyfj.
From the place-name Eyjafjo˛rðr, genitive Eyjafjarðar, and OIc á 'a river':
'Eyjafjo˛rð’s river, river emptying into the fjord Eyjafjo˛rð'. See
Eyjafjo˛rðr.
Locative Byname:
Eyjafjarðarstro˛nd in eystri, Eyjafj.
From the place-name Eyjafjo˛rðr, genitive Eyjafjarðar, and OIc stro˛nd 'strand,
coast, shore'; in eystri is 'the eastern'. (Another version makes it in nyrðri 'the northern'; the fjord
opens into the northern coast of Iceland and runs slightly east of due south, so the eastern shore is just barely the
northern shore as well.)
Locative Byname:
Eyjafjo˛ll, Rang.
From OIc ey 'an island', genitive plural eyja, and fjall 'a fell, a mountain',
nominative plural fjo˛ll; they are roughly opposite the Vestmannaeyjar, but I
don’t know whether this is the reason for the name.
Locative Byname:
Eyjafjo˛rðr, Eyfj.
From OIc ey 'an island', genitive plural eyja, and fjo˛rðr 'a fjord, a firth, an
inlet': 'islands’ fjord'.
Locative Byname:
Eyjará, Skaft.
From OIc ey 'an island', genitive singular eyjar, and á 'a river'.
Locative Byname:
Eyjardalsá, Þing.
From OIc ey 'an island', genitive singular eyjar, dalr 'a valley, a dale',
genitive singular dals, and á 'a river'.
Locative Byname:
Eyjasandr.
From OIc ey 'an island', genitive plural eyja, and sandr 'sand; the seashore'.
The location isn’t specified, but context suggests the Vestmannaeyjar.
Locative Byname:
Eyjasund.
From OIc ey 'an island', genitive plural eyja, and sund 'a sound, a strait, a channel'.
Context puts it somewhere in Breiðafjo˛rðr, off the coast of Dalasýsla.
Locative Byname:
Eyjasveit (Landeyjar).
From OIc ey 'an island', genitive plural eyja, and sveit 'a community, a district'.
(The text actually has Eyrasveit and Eyjarsveit; Eyjasveit is the editor's index entry.) The region
in question is apparently now called Landeyjar; it’s a district in the south of Iceland roughly opposite the
Vestmannaeyjar.
Locative Byname:
Eyrar, Árn.
OIc eyrr 'a sandbank, a gravel-bank; a spit of land running into the sea', nominative plural
eyrar: 'sandbanks' or 'sandspits'.
Locative Byname:
Eyrarbakki, Árn.
From OIc eyrr 'a sandbank, a gravel-bank; a spit of land running into the sea', genitive singular
eyrar, and bakki 'bank of a river, lake, or chasm; a ridge, a bank'.
Locative Byname:
Eyrarfell, Snæf.
From OIc eyrr 'a sandbank, a gravel-bank; a spit of land running into the sea', genitive singular
eyrar, and fell 'an isolated hill'.
Locative Byname:
Eyrarland, Snæf.
From OIc eyrr 'a sandbank, a gravel-bank; a spit of land running into the sea', genitive singular
eyrar, and land 'land (as opposed to sea); a country'. (At least one version has Eyjarland, with
first element as in Eyjará above, but this is an error.)
Locative Byname:
Eyrr, Kjós.
–– (Hrafnseyri), Ísafj.
–– (Flateyri), Ísafj.
–– (Narfeyri), Snæf.
–– (O˛ndverðareyri), Snæf.
OIc eyrr 'a sandbank, a gravel-bank; a spit of land running into the sea'; in modern Icelandic it has
been replaced by eyri, originally the dative and accusative singular. In the modern place-names Hrafns is
the genitive of the masculine name Hrafn, and Flat- is from OIc flatr 'flat, level'. Narf-
is from the masculine name Narfi, genitive Narfa; the -a of Narfa has been absorbed into
the initial vowel of -eyri. Finally, O˛ndverðar is from OIc o˛ndverðr 'fronting, in front of'.
Locative Byname: á Eyri
Eystribyggð, Greenland.
From OIc eystri 'more eastern' and byggð 'habitation; settlement, inhabited land': 'Eastern
Settlement'.
Locative Byname:
Eystridalr, Skag.
From OIc eystri 'more eastern' and dalr 'a valley, a dale': 'eastern dale'.
Locative Byname:
Eyvindará, S.-Múl.
From the masculine name Eyvindr, genitive Eyvindar, and OIc á 'a river':
'Eyvind’s river'.
Locative Byname:
Eyvindardalr, S.-Múl.
From the masculine name Eyvindr, genitive Eyvindar, and OIc dalr 'a valley, a dale':
'Eyvind’s dale'.
Locative Byname:
Eyvindarfjo˛rðr, Strand.
From the masculine name Eyvindr, genitive Eyvindar, and OIc fjo˛rðr 'a fjord, a firth,
an inlet': 'Eyvind’s fjord'.
Locative Byname:
Eyvindarhólar, Rang.
From the masculine name Eyvindr, genitive Eyvindar, and OIc hóll 'a hill, a hillock,
a knoll', nominative plural hólar: 'Eyvind’s hills'.
Locative Byname:
Eyvindarmúli, Rang.
From the masculine name Eyvindr, genitive Eyvindar, and OIc múli 'a projecting mountain,
a jutting crag (between two fjords, valleys, or the like)', whence the Scottish topographical term mull:
'Eyvind’s mull, Eyvind’s crag'.
Locative Byname: at Eyvindarmúla
Fábeinsá, Dal.
The last element is OIc á 'a river'. The first, fábeins, appears to be the genitive
singular of a word fábeinn, apparently a compound of fá- and beinn, but according to the November
2004 instalment of the Örnefni Mánaðarins (Place-Name of the Month) feature
of the Örnefnastofnun Íslands (Place-Name Institute of the National Museum of
Iceland), Ásgeir Blo˛ndal Magnússon says in his Icelandic etymological dictionary that the origin of the name is unclear.
He suggests that fábeinn should probably be interpreted as 'white-footed, white-legged', either a man's byname or a
reference to some domestic animal. If so, the first element is from the ON adjective fár 'multi-colored, dyed, shining'
(cf. Nynorsk få 'pale, whitish, bleached').
Locative Byname:
Fagrabrekka (Brekka), Strand.
From OIc fagr 'fair, fine, beautiful' and brekka 'a slope'.
Locative Byname: at Fagrabrekku
Fagradalr, Dal.
–– N.-Múl.
–– Skaft.
From OIc fagr 'fair, fine, beautiful' and dalr 'a valley, a dale'.
Locative Byname: í Fagradal
Fagradalsá, N.-Múl.
From OIc fagr 'fair, fine, beautiful', dalr 'a valley, a dale', genitive singular
dals, and á 'a river': 'fair-dale’s river' (idiomatically, 'Fairdale River').
Locative Byname:
Fagradalsáróss, Dal.
From OIc fagr 'fair, fine, beautiful', dalr 'a valley, a dale', genitive singular
dals, á 'a river', genitive singular ár, and óss 'mouth or outlet of a river or
lake': 'mouth of fair-dale’s river'.
Locative Byname:
Fagraskógr, Snæf.
From OIc fagr 'fair, fine, beautiful' and skógr 'a wood, a forest'.
Locative Byname: í Fagraskógi
Fagravík, Þing.
From OIc fagr 'fair, fine, beautiful' and vík 'an inlet, a small bay'.
Locative Byname: í Fagravík
Fáskrúðsfjo˛rðr, S.-Múl.
The second element is OIc fjo˛rðr 'a fjord, a firth, an inlet'. The first, fáskrúðs,
appears to be the genitive singular of a word fáskrúð, apparently a compound of fá- and skrúð
'tackle, gear, appendages; an ornament; costly stuff', but the etymology is uncertain. The fjord may be named for the
island Skrúð, which according to the Örnefnastofnun Íslands (Place-Name
Institute of the National Museum of Iceland) (in the entry for 22. janúar 2005) was once called Fáskrúð or
the like; in that case the element fá- may be connected with the noun fá 'glitter, gleam', referring
to the sea foam around the island. Alternatively, fáskrúð may be related to OIc fáskrúðligr 'meagre, poor'
(in which fá- is from the adjective fár 'few').
Locative Byname:
Faxaóss, Gullbr.
From the masculine name Faxi, genitive Faxa, and OIc óss 'mouth or outlet of a
river or lake'. This Faxi is supposed to have been a Hebridean follower of Hrafna-Flóki Vilgerðar son,
the man who is said to have given Iceland its name.
Locative Byname:
Feldarhólmr, Snæf.
From OIc feldr 'a cloak', genitive singular feldar, and hólmr 'a holm, an islet'.
It is said that when Einarr skálaglamm Helga son drowned at Einarssker,
his cloak washed up here.
Locative Byname:
Fell (undir Felli), Dal.
–– (undir Felli), Skaft.
–– (undir Felli), Strand.
OIc fell 'an isolated hill', dative singular felli; undir is 'under, below'.
Locative Byname: undir Felli
Fellshverfi, Skaft.
From OIc fell 'an isolated hill', genitive singular fells, and hverfi 'a cluster
of farms'.
Locative Byname:
Fellsmúli, Þing.
From OIc fell 'an isolated hill', genitive singular fells, and múli 'a projecting
mountain, a jutting crag (between two fjords, valleys, or the like)'.
Locative Byname: í Fellsmúla
Fellsskógar, Dal.
From OIc fell 'an isolated hill', genitive singular fells, and skógr 'a wood,
a forest', nominative plural skógar.
Locative Byname:
Ferstikla, Borg.
The first element is OIc fer- 'in fours'; the second is closely related to OIc stikill
'the point of a horn', plural stiklar, referring to something pointed or projecting. This farm may have been
named for a cross-shaped protective fence or perhaps a square enclosure; see
„To˛lur í o˛rnefnum“ (‘Numbers in place-names’), by Jónína Hafsteinsdóttir, on the site of the
Örnefnastofnun Íslands (Place-Name Institute of the National Museum of
Iceland).
Locative Byname: á Ferstiklu, at Ferstiklu
Fíflavellir, Norway.
From OIc fífill 'a dandelion', genitive plural fífla, and vo˛llr 'a field',
with no implication of cultivation, nominative plural vellir: 'dandelions’ fields'.
Locative Byname: á Fíflavo˛llum
Finnafjo˛rðr, N.-Múl.
From the masculine name Finni, genitive Finna, and OIc fjo˛rðr 'a fjord, a firth,
an inlet': 'Finni’s fjord'.
Locative Byname:
Finnmo˛rk.
From ON Finnar 'Saami' and mo˛rk 'a forest'. The modern Norwegian is Finnmark, the
name of a district in northern Norway, but the ON term was applied more generally to unsettled tracts of mountain and forest
inhabited by Saami. (NSL s.n. Finnmark)
Locative Byname:
Firðafylki, Norway.
From OIc fjo˛rðr 'a fjord, a firth, an inlet', genitive plural firða, and fylki
'district, county, shire (in Norway)'. According to NSL s.n. Firdafylke, however, firðir, literally 'fjords',
is here the name of a people and has the sense 'fjord-dwellers', making the name 'fjord-dwellers’ district' rather than
'district of fjords'.
Locative Byname:
Firðir, Norway.
OIc fjo˛rðr 'a fjord, a firth, an inlet', nominative plural firðir; Firðir was a 'county' in
Norway.
Locative Byname: í Fjo˛rðum
Fiská, Rang.
From OIc fiskr 'a fish' and á 'a river': 'fish river'.
Locative Byname:
Fiskilœkr, Eyfj.
From OIc fiskr 'a fish' and lœkr (later lækr) 'a rivulet, a brook', but the
compound fiskilœkr exists as an independent word, 'brook full of fish, fish-brook'.
Locative Byname: at Fiskilœk
Fitjar, Norway.
OIc fit 'meadow land on the banks of a fjord, lake, or river', nominative plural fitjar;
the name is unchanged in modern Norwegian. (NSL s.n. Fitjar)
Locative Byname:
Fjalafylki, Norway.
From OIc fjo˛l 'a board, a plank', genitive plural fjala, and fylki 'district,
county, shire (in Norway)'.
Locative Byname:
Fjalir, Norway.
OIc fjo˛l 'a board, a plank', nominative plural fjalir; the exact region denoted by the term
is uncertain. The modern Norwegian place-name Fjaler resurrects the defunct ON name but dates only to 1912. (NSL s.n.
Fjaler)
Locative Byname:
Fjall (Alpafjo˛ll).
OIc fjall 'a fell, a mountain'. The reference is to the Alps, Alpafjo˛ll in modern
Icelandic.
Locative Byname:
Fjarðará (Fjaðrá, Fjarðrá), Skaft.
From OIc fjo˛rðr 'a fjord, a firth, an inlet', genitive singular fjarðar, and á
'a river'.
Locative Byname:
Fjarðarhorn, Snæf.
OIc fjarðarhorn 'a creek at the head of a firth', a compound of fjo˛rðr 'a fjord, a firth,
an inlet', genitive singular fjarðar, and horn 'a corner, a nook, and angle'.
Locative Byname:
Fjo˛ll (Eyjafjo˛ll), Rang.
OIc fjall 'a fell, a mountain', nominative plural fjo˛ll. (The first element of the modern
name is eyja, the genitive plural of ey 'an island'.)
Locative Byname:
Flangastaðir, Skaft.
From OIc flangi 'a lout', genitive singular flanga, here probably someone’s byname,
and staðr 'a place, a stead', nominative plural staðir: 'Lout’s stead(s)'. (There is some
disagreement as to the exact sense of flangi, Cleasby glossing it 'a coaxer, a fawner', but it’s evidently
pejorative.)
Locative Byname:
Flatatunga, Skag.
From OIc flatr 'flat, level' and tunga 'a tongue of land': 'flat tongue'. The place gave
Kári, the original settler, his byname: subsequently he was known as Tungu-Kári.
Locative Byname: í Flatatungu
Flatey, Barð.
From OIc flatr 'flat, level' and ey 'an island': 'flat island'.
Locative Byname: í Flateyju, í Flatey
Flateyjardalr, Þing.
From OIc flatr 'flat, level', ey 'an island', genitive singular eyjar, and
dalr 'a valley, a dale': 'flat-islands’ dale'.
Locative Byname:
Fljót, Ísafj.
–– (Lagarfljót).
–– (Markarfljót), Rang.
–– (Skjálfandafljót), Þing.
OIc fljót 'a river'. The first element of Lagarfljót is lo˛gr 'still or running water',
genitive singular lagar; that of Markarfljót is mo˛rk 'a forest', genitive singular markar;
and that of Skjálfandafljót is skjálfandi 'shivering, quivering', the present participle of the intransitive
verb skjálfa 'to shiver, to shake, to quiver'.
Locative Byname: í Fljóti
Fljót (plural), Borg.
–– (plural), Skag.
OIc fljót 'a river', nominative plural identical.
Locative Byname: í Fljótum
Fljótsá (= Lagarfljót).
From OIc fljót 'a river', genitive singular fljóts, and á 'a river'.
Locative Byname:
Fljótsdalr, Mýr.
–– N.-Múl.
From OIc fljót 'a river', genitive singular fljóts, and dalr 'a valley, a dale'.
Locative Byname:
Fljótshlíð, Rang.
–– Þing.
From OIc fljót 'a river', genitive singular fljóts, and hlíð 'a mountainside, a
slope'.
Locative Byname:
Fljótshverfi, Skaft.
From OIc fljót 'a river', genitive singular fljóts, and hverfi 'a cluster of farms'.
Locative Byname:
Flói, Árn.
OIc flói 'a marshy moor; a bay, a large firth'; here the first sense is intended.
Locative Byname: í Flóa
Flókadalr, Borg.
–– Skag.
From the masculine name Flóki, genitive Flóka, and dalr 'a valley, a dale':
'Flóki’s dale'. Flóki, an Irish thrall of Ketill gufa O˛rlygs son, is supposed to have
taken the one in Borgarfjarðarsýsla and been killed there.
Locative Byname:
Flókadalsá, Borg.
–– Skag.
From the place-name Flókadalr, genitive Flókadals, and OIc á 'a river'; see
Flókadalr.
Locative Byname:
Flókavarði, Norway.
From the masculine name Flóki, genitive Flóka, and OIc varði 'a cairn':
'Flóki’s cairn'.
Locative Byname:
Flugumýrr, Skag.
Þórir dúfunef, the original settler, is said to have had a horse named Fluga
(genitive Flugu) that died here; the second element is OIc mýrr 'a moor, a bog, a swamp', so
the name is 'Fluga’s swamp'.
Locative Byname: á Flugumýri
Fnjóskadalr, Þing.
From OIc fnjóskr 'touchwood', now hnjóskr, genitive plural fnjóska, and dalr
'a valley, a dale'.
Locative Byname:
Fnjóskadalsá (Fnjóská), Þing.
From the place-name Fnjóskadalr, genitive Fnjóskadals, and á 'a river', also
shortened to Fnjóská 'touchwood-river'; see Fnjóskadalr.
Locative Byname:
Folafótr, Ísafj.
From OIc foli 'a foal', genitive singular fola, and fótr 'a foot': 'foal’s
foot'.
Locative Byname:
Fors, Mýr.
–– Rang.
–– Skaft.
–– Snæf.
OIc fors 'a waterfall'.
Locative Byname: at Forsi
Forsá, Borg.
–– Húnv.
–– Kjós.
–– Rang.
From OIc fors 'a waterfall' and á 'a river'.
Locative Byname:
Forsfjo˛rðr, Barð.
From OIc fors 'a waterfall' and fjo˛rðr 'a fjord, a firth, an inlet': 'waterfall fjord'.
Locative Byname:
Forsvo˛llr, N.-Múl.
From OIc fors 'a waterfall' and vo˛llr 'a field (with no implication of cultivation)'
Locative Byname: á Forsvelli.
Forsœludalr, Húnv.
From OIc forsœla 'shade from the sun', genitive singular forsœlu, and dalr 'a valley,
a dale'; effectively 'shady valley'.
Locative Byname:
Framnes, Árn.
From OIc fram, a preposition with the general sense 'forward' (as opposed to 'backward'), and
nes 'a ness, a headland'; the sense is either 'headland that juts out' or 'frontmost headland'.
Locative Byname: á Framnesi
Friðleifsdalr, Skag.
From the masculine name Friðleifr, genitive Friðleifs, and dalr 'a valley, a dale':
'Friðleif’s dale'. The name Friðleifr is unusual in West Norse; this man is said to have had a father
from Gautland (approx. western Sweden) and a Flemish mother.
Locative Byname:
Friðleifsdalsá, Skag.
From the place-name Friðleifsdalr, genitive Friðleifsdals, and á 'a river': 'the
river running through Friðleifsdalr'. See Friðleifsdalr.
Locative Byname:
Friðmundará, Húnv.
From the masculine name Friðmundr, genitive Friðmundar, and á 'a river':
'Friðmund’s river'. From the context it seems likely that it takes its name from the Friðmundr
who was a thrall of Ingimundr inn gamli Þorsteins son; he may have been of Swedish origin, as his name is
otherwise found only in Sweden.
Locative Byname:
Fróðá, Snæf.
The final element is OIc á 'a river'; the first is obscure to me. The adjective fróðr is
'learned, well-informed', and fróð- in compounds normally has a closely related sense, but this seems clearly
inappropriate here. The long vowel is a problem, but perhaps the first element is related to OIc froða and
frauð, both 'foam, froth'.
Locative Byname: at Fróðá
Fróðáróss, Snæf.
From the place-name Fróðá and OIc óss 'mouth or outlet of a river or lake': 'mouth of the
river Fróðá'. See Fróðá.
Locative Byname:
Fúlalœkr, Skaft.
–– (Fyllarlœkr), Árn.
From OIc fúll 'foul, stinking' and lœkr 'a rivulet,
a brook'. The one in Skaftafellssýsla had come to be known as Jo˛kulsá
á Sólheimasandi by the time the texts were written. The other also appears as
Fyllarlœkr.
Locative Byname:
Fura, Snæf.
OIc fura 'a fir-tree'.
Locative Byname:
Fyllarlœkr, Árn.
The second element is lœkr 'a rivulet, a brook'; the first is unclear to me, though it may be related
to OIc fullr 'full' and fylla 'to fill'. See Fúlalœkr.
Locative Byname:
Færeyjar.
From OIc fær 'a sheep' and ey 'an island', nominative plural eyjar: 'Sheep Islands'.
These are the Faeroe Islands.
Locative Byname:
Galmastro˛nd (Galmansstro˛nd, Galmarstro˛nd, Gamlastro˛nd), Eyfj.
The second element is OIc stro˛nd 'strand, coast, shore'. The first element appears variously as
Galma-, Galmar-, Galmans-, and Gamla- in the several manuscripts; the modern name is
Galmastro˛nd, possibly with a variant form Gálmastro˛nd arising from lengthening of the first vowel.
(Lengthening of stressed /a/ before /lm/ is actually the regular development; Galmastro˛nd retains an older form.)
The etymology of Galma- isn't entirely clear, but the element is probably related to a family of gálm-
words with such senses as 'a knot in thread' and 'to bend, to make uneven', and the sense of the place-name is perhaps
something like 'irregularly bent and bowed strand'. The element and various place-names containing it are discussed in the
October 2003 instalment of the Örnefni Mánaðarins (Place-Name of the Month)
feature of the Örnefnastofnun Íslands (Place-Name Institute of the National Museum
of Iceland) and in the Institute’s broadcast of 13 December 2004, a transcript of which is available
here.
Locative Byname: á Galmastro˛nd
Galtarhamarr, Eyfj.
From OIc go˛ltr 'a boar, a hog', genitive singular galtar, and hamarr, literally
'a hammer', but as a topographical term 'a hammer-shaped crag, a steep rock, a precipice': 'boar’s crag'. Helgi
inn magri is said to have shot two swine there, a boar called So˛lvi and a sow.
Locative Byname:
Garðar.
Garðar is the nominative plural of OIc garðr 'an enclosure, a yard; a courtyard, a court;
a house; a stronghold', here in the sense 'stronghold'. This was one of the names of the Scandinavian-Russian kingdom of the
10th and 11th centuries.
Locative Byname:
Garðar (Jo˛rundarholt), Borg.
Garðar is the nominative plural of OIc garðr 'an enclosure, a yard; a courtyard, a court; a house;
a stronghold'. Apparently the place was originally named after Jo˛rundr inn kristni Ketils son, who settled there,
and only later received its present name, after it had become a substantial settlement. See
Jo˛rundarholt.
Locative Byname: í Go˛rðum
Garðarshólmr.
From the masculine name Garðarr and OIc hólmr 'a holm, an islet': 'Garðar’s
holm'. A very early name of Iceland: Garðarr Svafars son ins svenska is said to have circumnavigated Iceland and
wintered there a few years before the first Scandinavian settlers arrived, speaking very favorably of the island on his
return to Norway.
Locative Byname:
Garpsdalr, Barð.
From the masculine name Garpr, genitive Garps, in this case borne by an ox, and OIc
dalr 'a valley, a dale': Garp’s dale. The name is from OIc garpr 'a bold and warlike
man; a bravo', which is found as a byname.
Locative Byname: í Garpsdal
Gata, Faeroe Islands.
OIc gata 'a path, a way, a road'.
Locative Byname: í Go˛tu
Gaular, an old district in Norway.
The plural of Gaula, a river-name.
Locative Byname:
Gaulverjabœr, Árn.
From OIc Gaulverjar 'men of Gaular', genitive plural Gaulverja, and bœr 'a farmhouse,
a farmstead': 'farm of the men from Gaular'. The original settler was Loptr Orms son, who came to Iceland from Gaular.
Locative Byname: í Gaulverjarbœ
Gautland, Sweden.
The land of the Gautar, generally identified with the Geats of Beowulf. Modern Go˛taland,
comprising the historical Swedish provinces of Västergo˛tland and O˛stergo˛tland.
Locative Byname:
Gautsdalr, Húnv.
From the masculine name Gautr, genitive Gauts, and OIc dalr 'a valley, a dale':
'Gaut’s dale'.
Locative Byname:
Geiradalr, Barð.
From the masculine name Geiri, genitive Geira, and OIc dalr 'a valley, a dale':
'Geiri’s dale'.
Locative Byname: í Geiradal
Geirastaðir, Barð.
–– Húnv.
–– Þing.
From the masculine name Geiri, genitive Geira, and OIc staðr 'a place, a stead',
nominative plural staðir: Geiri’s stead(s)'.
Locative Byname: á Geirasto˛ðum, í Geirasto˛ðum
Geirhildarvatn, Shetland.
From the feminine name Geirhildr, genitive Geirhildar, and OIc vatn 'water, fresh
water; a lake': 'Geirhild’s lake'. Geirhildr Flóka dóttir is said to have perished in this body of
water.
Locative Byname:
Geirland, Skaft.
The second element is OIc land 'land (as opposed to sea); a country'; the first seems likely to be
akin to geiri 'a gore, a triangular strip', in Orkney 'a triangular piece of land', and geirr 'a spear'.
Cf. Geirvo˛r.
Locative Byname: í Geirlandi, á Geirlandi
Geirlandsá, Skaft.
From the place-name Geirland, genitive Geirlands, and OIc
á 'a river'.
Locative Byname:
Geirmundarstaðir, Dal.
–– (Sæmundarstaðir), Skag.
–– Strand.
From the masculine name Geirmundr, genitive Geirmundar, and OIc staðr 'a place,
a stead', nominative plural staðir: Geirmund’s stead(s)'.
Locative Byname: á Geirmundarsto˛ðum
Geirmundarvágr, Dal.
From the masculine name Geirmundr, genitive Geirmundar, and OIc vágr 'a creek,
a bay': 'Geirmund’s bay'.
Locative Byname:
Geirólfsgnúpr, Strand.
From the masculine name Geirólfr, genitive Geirólfs, and OIc gnúpr 'a peak,
an overhanging peak': 'Geirólf’s peak'.
Locative Byname: undir Geirólfsgnúpi
Geirsá, Borg.
From the masculine name Geirr, genitive Geirs, and OIc á 'a river':
'Geir’s river'. The river may be named for Geirr inn auðgi Ketils son blunds
Locative Byname:
Geirshlíð, Borg.
From the masculine name Geirr, genitive Geirs, and OIc hlíð 'a mountainside, a slope':
'Geir’s slope'.
Locative Byname: í Geirshlíð
Geirshólmr, Borg.
From the masculine name Geirr, genitive Geirs, and OIc hólmr 'a holm, an islet':
'Geir’s holm'.
Locative Byname:
Geirvo˛r, Snæf.
The second element appears to be OIc vo˛r 'a fenced-in landing place'; the first seems likely to be
akin to geiri 'a gore, a triangular strip', in Orkney 'a triangular piece of land', and geirr 'a spear'.
Cf. Geirland.
Locative Byname:
Geirþjófsfjo˛rðr, Ísafj.
From the masculine name Geirþjófr, genitive Geirþjófs, and OIc fjo˛rðr 'a fjord,
a firth, an inlet': 'Geirþjóf’s fjord'.
Locative Byname: í Geirþjófsfirði
Geitland, Borg.
Apparently from OIc geit 'a goat' and land 'land (as opposed to sea)'.
Locative Byname: í Geitlandi
Gerpir, S.-Múl.
Formally identical to the byname gerpir, which is a derivative of garpr 'a bold, dauntless man';
Gerpir is the easternmost spit of Iceland, rising very steeply from the sea to a height of 661 metres.
Locative Byname:
Gil, Borg.
The plural of OIc gil 'a ravine or gully with a stream at the bottom', which is identical
to the singular.
Locative Byname:
Gilá: see Giljá.
Gilhagi, Skag.
From OIc gil 'a ravine or gully with a stream at the bottom' and hagi 'a pasture, a field for
grazing', presumably for a pasture near such a gully, or with one running through it.
Locative Byname:
Giljá, Húnv.
–– (Gilsá), S.-Múl.
–– Skag.
From OIc gil 'a ravine or gully with a stream at the bottom' and á 'a river'; gilj-
appears to be contracted from gilja, the genitive plural of gil, though it might be simply a combining form.
In the variant Gilsá, gils is the genitive singular of gil.
Locative Byname: at Giljá
Gilsá: see Giljá.
Gilsbakki, Mýr.
Apparently from OIc gil 'a ravine or gully with a stream at the bottom', genitive singular
gils, and bakki 'bank of a river, lake, or chasm; a ridge, a bank': 'gully’s bank'. The first
element could also be from the masculine name Gils, genitive also Gils, from earlier Gísl.
Locative Byname: á Gilsbakka
Gilsfjo˛rðr, Barð.
From the masculine name Gils, genitive also Gils, and OIc fjo˛rðr 'a fjord, a firth, an inlet':
'Gils’s fjord'. Gils is a later variant of the name Gísl.
Locative Byname:
Gíslavo˛tn (Gíslavatn), Mýr.
From the masculine name Gísli, genitive Gísla, and OIc vatn 'water, fresh water;
a lake', nominative plural vo˛tn: 'Gísli’s lake(s)', said to be named after Gísli Þorbjarnar son
at Melum.
Locative Byname:
Glaumsteinn, Sweden.
The second element is OIc steinn 'a stone, a boulder, a rock'; the first is perhaps related to
OIc glaumr 'noisy merriment' and glymja 'to dash noisily, to splash, to clatter, to rattle'.
Locative Byname:
Glerá nyrðri and Glerá syðri, Eyfj.
Apparently from OIc gler 'glass' and á 'a river': 'Glass River'. The affixes
nyrðri and syðri are '(the) more northern' and '(the) more southern', respectively.
Locative Byname: at Glerá inni syðri, at Glerá inni nyrðri
Gljúfrá, Mýr.
–– Skag.
From OIc gljúfr 'rocky (sides of a) ravine' and á 'a river': 'river in a ravine or chasm'.
Locative Byname:
Glóðafeykisá, Skag.
From Glóðafeykir, genitive Glóðafeykis, the name of a mountain, and OIc á 'a river':
'Glóðafeykir’s river'. Glóðafeykir is from OIc glóð 'red-hot embers', genitive plural glóða,
and *feykir, a nomen agentis from feykja 'to blow, to toss'; the sense is 'the one that casts hot embers'.
The ONorw cognate Glóðaføykir is the source of the Norwegian place-name Gloføykje. (NSL s.n.
Gloføykje)
Locative Byname:
Gnúpá, Snæf.
From OIc gnúpr 'a peak, an overhanging peak' and á 'a river': 'peak river'.
Locative Byname:
Gnúpar, Árn.
–– Skaft.
This is the nominative plural of OIc gnúpr 'a peak, an overhanging peak. Gnúpa-Barðr
Heyangrs-Bjarnar son is said to have got his byname because he settled at Gnúpar in Skaftafellssýsla.
Locative Byname: at Gnúpum, á Gnúpum
Gnúpr (undir Gnúpi), Húnv.
–– Rang.
–– S.-Múl.
OIc gnúpr 'a peak, an overhanging peak'.
Locative Byname: undir Gnúpi
Gnúpudalr, Snæf.
From the OIc byname gnúpa 'stooping', genitive singular gnúpu, and dalr 'a valley,
a dale': 'Gnúpa’s valley'. The valley apparently takes its name from the original settler, Þórðr gnúpa
Oddz son, but using his byname instead of his forename.
Locative Byname:
Gnúpufell, Eyfj.
The second element is OIc fell 'an isolated hill'; the first appears to be the genitive singular of
the byname gnúpa 'stooping', as in the case of Gnúpudalr, but I have no
information connecting any bearer of that byname with the place.
Locative Byname: í Gnúpufelli
Gnúpverjahreppr, Árn.
OIc hreppr is 'a poor-law district', and Gnúpverja is the genitive of Gnúpverjar; this is literally '(the) Gnúpverjar’s poor-law district'. Gnúpverjar itself is a compound; Gnúp- is from gnúpr 'a peak, an overhanging peak', and verjar is from verr 'a husband', nominative plural verar 'men'. The variant nominative plural -verjar is found as the second element of such compounds as Rómverjar 'Romans', Víkverjar 'men of the district Vík in Norway', and Manverjar 'the Manxmen'; in general the X-verjar are 'the men of X', and in particular, the Gnúpverjar are the 'men of the peak'.
Note that this sense of hreppr postdates the introduction
of Christianity; either the name is an anachronism in Landnámabók, or the
word originally had a somewhat different sense.
Locative Byname:
Goðdalir (Guðdalir), Skag.
The second element is the plural of OIc dalr 'a valley, a dale'. On the face of it the first element
is OIc goð 'a god', later (and especially in reference to the Christian god) guð, making the compound
'god valleys', but the significance is unclear, and this obvious interpretation may be incorrect.
Locative Byname: í Goðdo˛lum
Gotalækr, Snæf.
From the masculine name Goti, genitive Gota, and OIc lœkr (later lækr)
'a rivulet, a brook': 'Goti’s brook'.
Locative Byname: at Gotalœk
Grenitrésnes, Barð.
From OIc greni 'pine', tré 'a tree', genitive singular trés, and nes
'a ness, a headland': 'pine-tree’s point'. Landnámabók says that Hallsteinn Þórólfs son mostrarskeggs
sacrificed to Thor, desiring that the god send him high-seat pillars; in due course a tree large enough to provide high-seat
pillars for nearly every farm in Þverfirðir drifted ashore here.
Locative Byname:
Grenivík, Þing.
From OIc greni 'pine' and vík 'an inlet, a small bay'.
Locative Byname:
Grenjaðarstaðir, Þing.
From the masculine name Grenjaðr, genitive Grenjaðar, and OIc staðr
'a place, a stead', here in the plural staðir: Grenjaðr’s stead(s)'.
Locative Byname: á Grenjaðarsto˛ðum
Grenmarr, Norway.
An old name for Langesundsfjorden in Telemark. The second element is OIc marr 'the sea'; the first is
from an ethnonym for a people called grannii by Jordanes ca. 550. (NSL s.n. Grenmar)
Locative Byname:
Grettisgeil, Árn.
From the masculine name Grettir, genitive Grettis, and OIc geil
'a narrow glen': 'Grettir’s narrow glen'.
Locative Byname:
Grímsá, Árn.
–– Borg.
–– Skaft.
From the masculine name Grímr, genitive Gríms, and OIc á 'a river':
Grímr’s river'.
Locative Byname:
Grímsáróss, Borg.
From the river-name Grímsá and OIc óss
'mouth or outlet of a river or lake': 'mouth of the river Grímsá'.
Locative Byname:
Grímsdalr, Myr.
From the masculine name Grímr, genitive Gríms, and OIc dalr
'a valley, a dale': Grím’s valley'.
Locative Byname:
Grímsey, Strand.
From the masculine name Grímr, genitive Gríms, and OIc ey
'an island': Grím’s island'.
Locative Byname:
Grímsgil, Borg.
From the masculine name Grímr, genitive Gríms, and OIc gil
'a ravine or gully with a stream at the bottom': 'Grím’s ravine with a stream at the
bottom'.
Locative Byname: við Grímsgil. Note that the preposition
við takes the accusative case.
Grímsnes, Árn.
From the masculine name Grímr, genitive Gríms, and OIc nes
'a ness, a headland': Grím’s point'.
Locative Byname: í Grímsnesi
Grímúlfsvo˛tn, Ísafj.
From the masculine name Grímólfr ~ Grímúlfr and OIc vatn
'water, fresh water; a lake', here in the plural vo˛tn '(large) streams, waters':
Grímúlf’s waters'. Grímúlfr í Unaðsdal was killed near here.
Locative Byname:
Grindalœkr, Húnv.
The second element is OIc lœkr (later lækr) 'a rivulet, a brook';
the first is the genitive plural and combining form of grind 'a gate made of spars or
bars; a fence; a lattice', in place-names also 'hedge, fence; gate; cliff face, craggy fence',
here probably identifying the brook by reference to a local topographical feature.
Locative Byname:
Grindavík, Gullbr.
The second element is OIc vík 'an inlet, a small bay'; the first is
the genitive plural and combining form of grind 'a gate made of spars or bars; a fence;
a lattice', in place-names also 'hedge, fence; gate; cliff face, craggy fence', but its
precise significance here is uncertain.
Locative Byname:
Grindill (Grillir), Skag.
In some manuscripts the name appears as Grilli, and there
are examples of this form from the 15th century, and Grillir has for some
time been the most common spoken form, but it is likely that Grindill
represents the original form. The dative case, used after many common locative
prepositions, is Grindli, and a development (á) Grindli >
*Grinli > Grilli would be very natural. The original significance
is uncertain; the name may refer to sandy or gravelly soil (cf. Low German
grind 'gravel'). See Svavar Sigmundsson,
„Hvað þýðir orðið Grindill og hvaðan
kemur það?“ (‘What does the word Grindill signify, and where does it come
from?’).
Locative Byname: á Grindli
Grindr, Borg.
Obscure. Its appearance in the prepositional phrase um Grindr
shows that Grindr is the accusative as well as the nominative case and hence
that the final -r is part of the root, not an inflectional suffix; the name
is therefore distinct from grind 'a gate made of spars or bars; a fence; a lattice',
in place-names also 'hedge, fence; gate; cliff face, craggy fence', but it may be related
somehow.
Locative Byname:
Grísartunga, Mýr.
From the masculine name Gríss, genitive Grísar, and
OIc tunga 'a tongue of land': 'Grís’s tongue of land'.
Locative Byname: í Grísartungu
Grjótá, Mýr.
–– Skag.
From OIc grjót 'stones' and á 'a river'; the sense
is 'rocky river'.
Locative Byname:
Grjótvallarmúli, Dal.
From OIc grjót 'stones', vo˛llr 'a field, (level) ground',
genitive singular vallar, and múli 'a projecting mountain or headland,
a jutting crag (between two fjords, valleys, or the like)'; the sense is something like
'stony field’s headland'.
Locative Byname:
Grónes, Barð.
The second element is OIc nes 'a ness, a headland'; I am
inclined to think that the first is a reduced form of Gróu, the genitive
of the feminine name Gróa, making the name 'Gróa’s point',
especially since one version of does give the name as Gróunes. This
spelling is also found in an 1816
census of Barðastrandarsýsla (PDF).
Locative Byname:
Gróustaðir, Húnv.
From the feminine name Gróa, genitive Gróu, and OIc staðr
'a place, a stead', here in the plural staðir: 'Gróa’s stead(s)'.
Locative Byname: á Gróusto˛ðum
Grund, Eyfj.
–– Húnv.
OIc grund 'green field, grassy plain'.
Locative Byname: á Grund
Grunnafjo˛rðr, Borg.
From OIc grunnr 'shallow' and fjo˛rðr 'a fjord,
a firth, an inlet': 'shallow fjord'.
Locative Byname:
Grœn(a)land, i.e., Greenland.
From OIc grœnn 'green; fresh' and land 'land
(as opposed to sea); a country': 'green land'. Eiríkr inn rauði Þorvaldz son
is said to have given it the name, saying that people would be more eager to go there
if the land had an attractive name.
Locative Byname:
Grœnavatn, Þing.
From OIc grœnn 'green; fresh' and vatn 'water,
fresh water; a lake': 'green water'.
Locative Byname: at Grœnavatni
Grœningr, Norway.
From OIc grœnn 'green; fresh' and a derivational suffix
-ing- that can be added to a noun or adjective X to form a place-name meaning
something like 'place characterized by X'. The place-name does not actually occur
in Landnámabók; rather, it is inferred from the byname of Þórunn
Grœningarrjúpa 'Grœningr ptarmigan'. There are several places in Norway named
Grønningen, which derives from Grœningr either by addition of the
postposed definite article or perhaps by composition with OIc eng 'a meadow'.
(NSL s.n. Grønningen)
Locative Byname:
Gro˛f, Mýr.
OIc gro˛f 'a pit, a ditch; a grave'.
Locative Byname: í Gro˛f
Guðbrandzstaðir, Húnv.
From the masculine name Guðbrandr and OIc staðr
'a place, a stead', here in the plural staðir: 'Guðbrand’s
stead(s)'.
Locative Byname: á Guðbrandzsto˛ðum
Guðdalir: see Goddalir
Guðlaugsho˛fði, Strand.
From the masculine name Guðlaugr and OIc ho˛fði
'a headland': 'Guðlaug’s headland'.
Locative Byname:
Guf(u)á, Mýr.
The second element is OIc á 'a river'. In Landnámabók
the name is associated with a person called Gufa; this looks like a feminine
name whose genitive would be Gufu, so that Gufuá could be interpreted
as 'Gufa’s river'. (The corresponding masculine name would be Gufi,
and indeed a Gufi Ketils son is mentioned in very close proximity.) However,
this Gufa is clearly identified as male. One possible solution is suggested
by the name Ketill gufa O˛rlygs son, in which gufa appears as a byname:
perhaps the person called Gufa bore the same byname and was known by it.
Chapter 77 of
Egils saga Skall-Grímssonar says explicitly that
Gufudalr and
Gufufjo˛rðr were named after this
Ketill gufa, and the context suggests that the same is true of
Guf(u)á, Gufunes, and
Gufuskálar. It is entirely possible,
however, that the first element in all of these names is simply OIc gufa
'vapor, steam', genitive singular and combining form gufu, from the steam of
hot wells.
Locative Byname:
Gufáróss, Mýr.
From Gufá, genitive Gufár (see
Guf(u)á) and OIc óss 'mouth or
outlet of a river or lake': 'mouth of the river Gufá.
Locative Byname:
Gufudalr, Barð.
The second element is OIc dalr 'a valley, a dale'; for
the first see Guf(u)á.
Locative Byname: í Gufudal
Gufufjo˛rðr, Barð.
The second element is OIc fjo˛rðr 'a fjord, a firth, an inlet';
for the first see Guf(u)á.
Locative Byname:
Gufunes, Kjós.
The second element is OIc nes 'a ness, a headland'; for
the first see Guf(u)á.
Locative Byname: á Gufunesi
Gufuskálar
, Borg.
–– Gullbr.
–– Snæf.
The second element is the plural of OIc skáli 'a shieling:
a hut or shed put up for temporary use'; for the first see
Guf(u)á.
Locative Byname: at Gufuskálum
Gullberastaðir, Borg.
The second element is the plural of OIc staðr 'a place, a stead'.
The original settler here was Bjo˛rn gullberi; gullbera is the genitive
of his byname: 'Gullberi’s stead(s)'. The byname itself is 'gold-bearer',
a compound of OIc gull 'gold' and beri 'a bearer'.
Locative Byname: á Gullberasto˛ðum
Gunnarsholt, Rang.
From the masculine name Gunnarr, genitive Gunnars, and
OIc holt 'a wood, a copse; a rough, stony hill or ridge': 'Gunnarr’s
wood'.
Locative Byname: í Gunnarsholti
Gunnbjarnarsker
From the masculine name Gunnbjo˛rn, genitive Gunnbjarnar,
and OIc sker 'a rock in the sea, a skerry': 'Gunnbjo˛rn’s
skerry'. It is said to have been named for Gunnbjo˛rn son Úlfs kráku.
Locative Byname:
Gunnlaugsstaðir, Mýr.
From the masculine name Gunnlaugr, genitive Gunnlaugs,
and OIc staðr 'a place, a stead', here in the plural staðir:
'Gunnbjo˛rn’s stead(s)'.
Locative Byname: á Gunnlaugssto˛ðum
Gunnólfsá, Eyfj.
From the masculine name Gunnólfr, genitive Gunnólfs,
and OIc á 'a river': 'Gunnólf’s stead(s)'.
Locative Byname: at Gunnólfsá, á Gunnólfsá
Gunnólfsfell, N.-Múl.
From the masculine name Gunnólfr, genitive Gunnólfs,
and OIc fell 'an isolated hill': 'Gunnólf’s isolated hill'.
Locative Byname:
Gunnólfsvík, N.-Múl.
From the masculine name Gunnólfr, genitive Gunnólfs,
and OIc vík 'an inlet, a small bay': 'Gunnólf’s inlet'.
Locative Byname:
Gunnsteinar, Þing.
Apparently from OIc gunnr 'battle, war' and OIc steinn
'a stone, a boulder, a rock', here in the plural steinar; if so, the name is
'battle-stones'.
Locative Byname:
Gunnsteinsstaðir, Húnv.
From the masculine name Gunnsteinn, genitive Gunnsteins,
and OIc staðr 'a place, a stead', here in the plural staðir:
'Gunnstein’s stead(s)'.
Locative Byname: at Gunnsteinssto˛ðum, á Gunnsteinssto˛ðum
Gýgjarsporsá, Ísafj.
From OIc gýgr 'giantess, a hag', genitive singular gýgjar,
spor 'a track, a footprint', genitive singular spors, and á
'a river': 'hag’s track’s river'.
Locative Byname:
Gyldarhagi (Galdrahagi), Árn.
The second element is OIc hagi 'a pasture, a field for
grazing'; the first is uncertain. Galdra- is the combining form of OIc
galdrar 'witchcraft, sorcery', plural of galdr 'a magic song, a charm',
but it appears to be an error for Gyldar-; Gyldar-, unfortunately,
has no obvious etymology.
Locative Byname:
Go˛nguskarð, Skag.
From OIc ganga 'a walking', combining form go˛ngu-,
and skarð 'a mountain pass; a notch'.
Locative Byname: í Go˛nguskarði
Go˛nguskarðsá, Go˛nguskarðsáróss, Skag.
From the place-name Go˛nguskarð,
OIc á 'a river', genitive ár, and óss 'mouth or outlet of a
river or lake': 'Go˛nguskarð river' and
'mouth of the Go˛nguskarð river'.
Locative Byname:
Haddingjadalr, Norway.
The second element is OIc dalr 'a valley, a dale'. The
first is ultimately from OIc haddr 'a woman’s hair', but its
immediate source is uncertain. Haddingja may be the genitive plural of an
ethnonym Haddingjar, more or less 'the long-hairs', in which case the
place-name is 'valley of the Haddingjar'. Alternatively, it could perhaps
be the genitive singular of an unattested masculine name Haddingi, making
the place-name 'Hadding’s valley'. The modern form, with ll
for older dd, is first seen as hi Halliggadal 'in Halli(n)ggadal'
in a document,
DN X, Nr. 178, dated 1443. (NSL s.n. Hallingdal)
Locative Byname: úr Haddingjadal
Hafgrímsfjo˛rðr, Greenland.
From the masculine name Hafgrímr, genitive Hafgríms,
and OIc fjo˛rðr 'a fjord, a firth, an inlet': 'Hafgrím’s fjord'.
Locative Byname:
Hafnarfjall (Hafnarfjo˛ll), Borg.
From OIc ho˛fn 'a harbor, a haven', genitive singularhafnar,
and fjall 'a fell, a mountain' (or its plural fjo˛ll): 'harbor(’s)
mountain(s)'.
Locative Byname:
Hafnarfjo˛rðr, Gullbr.
From OIc ho˛fn 'a harbor, a haven', genitive singularhafnar,
and fjo˛rðr 'a fjord, a firth, an inlet': 'harbor(’s) fjord'.
Locative Byname:
Hafnarlo˛nd, Borg.
From OIc ho˛fn 'a harbor, a haven', genitive singularhafnar,
and land 'land (as opposed to sea)', nominative plural lo˛nd: 'harbor(’s)
lands'.
Locative Byname:
Hafnaróss (Óss), Þing.
From OIc ho˛fn 'a harbor, a haven', genitive singular hafnar,
and óss 'a mouth or outlet of a river or lake': 'harbor(’s) river-mouth'.
(Of course Óss is simply 'river-mouth'.)
Locative Byname:
Háfr, Rang.
Probably OIc háfr 'a bag-shaped net for catching fish': maps show
it as being beside a long, bag-shaped inlet. (Cf. reykháfr 'a chimney-pot', from
reykr 'smoke, steam' and háfr.) Connection with háfr 'a dogfish'
seems less likely.
Locative Byname: í Háfi
Hafrafell, Barð.
From OIc hafr 'a he-goat, a buck', genitive plural hafra,
and fell 'an isolated hill': 'goats’ hill'.
Locative Byname:
Hafragil, Dal.
From OIc hafr 'a he-goat, a buck', genitive plural hafra,
and gil 'a ravine or gully with a stream at the bottom': 'goats’ ravine'.
Locative Byname: frá Hafragili
Hafranes, S.-Múl.
From OIc hafr 'a he-goat, a buck', genitive plural hafra,
and nes 'a ness, a headland': 'goats’ point'.
Locative Byname: á Hafranesi
Hafrsá, Skaft.
From OIc hafr 'a he-goat, a buck', genitive plural hafra,
and á 'a river': 'goats’ river'.
Locative Byname:
Hafrsfjo˛rðr, Norway.
From OIc hafr 'a he-goat, a buck', genitive singular hafrs,
and fjo˛rðr 'a fjord, a firth, an inlet': literally 'goat’s fjord'. However,
hafr may in this case refer to a skerry in the narrow entrance to the fjord, or to
a dangerous shoal by one of these skerries: dangerous skerries in shipping channels were not
infrequently named for domestic animals. (NSL s.n. Hafrsfjord)
Locative Byname:
Hafsbotn
OIc hafsbotn 'a gulf', a compound of haf 'the sea,
especially the high sea, the ocean', genitive singular hafs, and botn
'the head of a bay, firth, lake, or valley'. Here it refers to the Arctic Ocean,
which was thought to be fringed by a land-bridge between Greenland and Russia.
Locative Byname:
Háfslœkr, Mýr.
The second element is OIc lœkr (later lækr) 'a rivulet,
a brook'; the first seems likely to be from háfr 'a bag-shaped net for catching
fish', genitive singular háfs, but the exact significance isn’t clear.
Connection with háfr 'a dogfish' seems unlikely: the dogfish is an ocean fish.
Locative Byname:
Hagagarðr, Árn.
From OIc hagi 'a pasture, a field for grazing', genitive
singular haga, and garðr 'an enclosure, a yard; a courtyard, a
court; a house; a stronghold'; it’s uncertain whether this is an actual
place-name or merely a common noun denoting a yard or house by a pasture.
Locative Byname:
Haganes, Skag.
From OIc hagi 'a pasture, a field for grazing', genitive
singular haga, and nes 'a ness, a headland', a ness with a pasture.
Locative Byname:
Hagbarðshólmr, Norway.
From the masculine name Hagbarðr, genitive Hagbarðs,
and OIc hólmr 'a holm, an islet': 'Hagbarð’s holm'. The islet,
now called Hagbardholmen, is on the island of Engeløya
(OIc O˛ngull) in the county of Nordland and is
associated with the legend
of Hagbard and Signy.
Locative Byname:
Hagi, Árn.
–– Barð.
–– Eyfj.
–– inn forni (Fornhagi), Eyfj.
OIc hagi 'a pasture, a field for grazing'. Hagi inn forni
is 'the old pasture', and Fornhagi is 'old-pasture'.
Locative Byname: í Haga, í Haganum forna,
úr Haga
Hakaskarð, Árn.
From the masculine name Haki, genitive Haka, and
OIc skarð 'a mountain pass, a notch': 'Haki’s notch'. A
thrall named Haki is supposed to have been slain here.
Locative Byname:
Hákonarhella, Norway.
From the masculine name Hákon, genitive Hákonar,
and OIc hella 'a flat stone, a slab of rock', often applied to a landing-place:
'Hákon’s flat rock'. Hákon Aðalsteins fóstri (Haakon I of
Norway, fosterling to King Athelstan of England) is supposed to have died here. (NSL
s.n. Håkonshella)
Locative Byname:
Hákonarstaðir, N.-Múl.
From the masculine name Hákon, genitive Hákonar,
and OIc staðr 'a place, a stead', here in the plural staðir:
'Hákon’s stead(s)'.
Locative Byname: á Hákonarsto˛ðum, at Hákonarsto˛ðum
Hallarmúli, Mýr.
From OIc ho˛ll 'a large house, a hall', genitive singular
hallar, and múli 'a projecting mountain, a jutting crag (between
two fjords, valleys, or the like)'.
Locative Byname:
Hallland, Sweden.
The second element is OIc land 'land (as opposed to sea);
a country', here referring to a region: Halland is a historical province in
southwestern Sweden. The first element is perhaps from OIc hallr 'a flat
stone'.
Locative Byname:
Hallbjarnarvo˛rður, Árn.
From the masculine name Hallbjo˛rn, genitive Hallbjarnar,
and OIc varða 'a pile of stones, a cairn', here in the plural vo˛rður;
according to Landnámabók, there were three and five cairns respectively on
two neighboring heights where Hallbjo˛rn Oddz son frá Kiðjabergi and seven
other men were killed after Hallbjo˛rn killed his wife.
Locative Byname:
Hallgeirsey, Rang.
From the masculine name Hallgeirr, genitive Hallgeirs,
and OIc ey 'an island': 'Hallgeir’s island'.
Locative Byname: í Hallgeirsey(ju)
Hallkelshólar, Árn.
From the masculine name Hallkell, genitive Hallkels,
and OIc hóll 'a hill, a hillock, a knoll', here in the plural hólar:
'Hallkel’s knolls'.
Locative Byname: undir Hallkelshólum, at Hallkelshólum
Hallkelsstaðir, Borg.
–– Mýr.
From the masculine name Hallkell, genitive Hallkels,
and OIc staðr 'a place, a stead': 'Hallkel’s stead(s)'. The
first of these also appears erroneously as Hrokkelsstaðir.
Locative Byname: á Hallkelssto˛ðum
Hallsteinsnes, Barð.
From the masculine name Hallsteinn, genitive Hallsteins,
and OIc nes 'a ness, a headland': 'Hallstein’s point'.
Locative Byname: á Hallsteinsnesi
Hálogaland, Norway.
From the (plural) ethnonym háleygir, genitive háloga,
and OIc land 'land (as opposed to sea); a country', here referring to the
part of Norway north of Trøndelag: 'land of the Háleygir'. The southern part
of the county of Nordland is still called Helgeland. The etymology of the
ethnonym is uncertain. (NSL s.nn. Hálogaland, Helgeland)
Locative Byname:
Háls inn ytri, Ísafj.
–– Eyfj.
–– Húnv.
OIc háls 'a ridge or hill, especially the low fells between
two parallel valleys' (literally 'a neck'); háls inn ytri is 'the outer
ridge'.
Locative Byname:
Hálsaland, Borg.
Apparently from OIc háls 'a ridge or hill, especially the low
fells between two parallel valleys' (literally 'a neck'), and land 'land (as
opposed to sea); a country', making this 'land of ridges'.
Locative Byname:
Hálsar, Ísafj.
OIc háls 'a ridge or hill, especially the low fells between
two parallel valleys' (literally 'a neck'), here in the plural hálsar.
Locative Byname: at Hálsum
Hálsgro˛f, Skag.
From OIc háls 'a ridge or hill, especially the low fells
between two parallel valleys' (literally 'a neck'), genitive singular háls,
and gro˛f 'a pit, a ditch; a grave', for a pit on a ridge.
Locative Byname:
Hamarr, Mýr.
–– in the Vestmannaeyjar.
–– see also So˛lvahamarr.
OIc hamarr, literally 'a hammer', but as a topographical
term 'a hammer-shaped crag, a steep rock, a precipice'.
Locative Byname: á Hamri
Hamarsá, S.-Múl.
From OIc hamarr, literally 'a hammer', but as a topographical
term 'a hammer-shaped crag, a steep rock, a precipice', and á 'a river'.
Locative Byname:
Hamrar, (1) Skaft.
–– (2) Skaft.
From OIc hamarr, literally 'a hammer', but as a topographical
term 'a hammer-shaped crag, a steep rock, a precipice', here in the plural hamrar.
Locative Byname:
Hámundarstaðir, Eyjafj.
From the masculine name Hámundr, genitive Hámundar,
and OIc staðr 'a place, a stead', here in the plural staðir:
'Hámund’s stead(s)'.
Locative Byname: á Hámundarsto˛ðum
Hanatún, Eyjafj.
From OIc hani 'a cock, a rooster', genitive singular
hana, and tún 'a hedged plot, an enclosure, a courtyard, a homestead;
a home field, a home meadow'. The exact sense of tún in this place-name
isn’t clear; perhaps 'enclosed homestead'? Hana- comes from the
byname of Eyvindr hani, the original settler: 'Cock’s tún'.
Apparently his place of residence was distinctive, as he was subsequently called
túnhani 'tún-cock'.
Locative Byname: í Hanatúni
Háreksstaðir, Mýr.
From the masculine name Hárekr, genitive Háreks,
and OIc staðr 'a place, a stead', here in the plural staðir:
'Hárek’s stead(s)'.
Locative Byname: á Hárekssto˛ðum
Hásteinssund, Árn.
From the masculine name Hásteinn, genitive Hásteins,
and OIc sund 'a sound, a strait, a channel': 'Hástein’s
sound'.
Locative Byname:
Haugar, Mýr.
OIc haugr 'a burial mound, a cairn', here in the plural
haugar.
Locative Byname: at Haugum
Haugavað, Árn.
From OIc haugr 'a burial mound, a cairn', genitive plural
hauga, and vað 'a ford, a wading-place across a stream', for a
ford by some burial mounds.
Locative Byname:
Haugr, (?)
OIc haugr 'a burial mound, a cairn'.
Locative Byname: at Haugi, af Haugi
Haukadalr, Árn.
–– Dal.
–– Ísafj.
From OIc haukr 'a hawk', genitive plural hauka, and
dalr 'a valley, a dale': 'hawks’ valley'.
Locative Byname: í Haukadal, older í Haukadali
Haukagil, Húnv.
From OIc haukr 'a hawk', genitive plural hauka, and
gil 'a ravine or gully with a stream at the bottom': 'hawks’ ravine'.
Locative Byname: frá Haukagili
Hauksgrafir (Hauksstaðir).
From the masculine name Haukr, genitive Hauks,
and OIc gro˛f 'a pit, a ditch; a grave', here in the plural grafir,
or staðr 'a place, a stead', here in the plural staðir:
'Hauk’s pits' or 'Hauk’s stead(s)'.
Locative Byname:
Hávararlón, Þing.
From the masculine name Hávarr, genitive Hávarar,
and OIc lón 'an inlet, a lagoon': 'Hávar’s inlet'.
Locative Byname:
Héðinsho˛fði, Þing.
From the masculine name Héðinn, genitive Héðins,
and OIc ho˛fði 'a headland': 'Héðin’s headland'.
Locative Byname: at Héðinsho˛fða, frá Héðinsho˛fða
Hefn, Norway.
A variant (or possibly a derivative) of OIc ho˛fn 'a harbor,
a haven'. Hefn seems to have been the original name of what is now
Hemnefjorden.
Locative Byname: í Hefni
Hegranes, Skag.
From OIc hegri 'a heron', genitive singular and genitive
plural hegra, and nes 'a ness, a headland'; formally this could
be either 'heron’s point' or 'herons’ point'. However, Hávarðr hegri
is said to have wintered there when he first came out to Iceland, so the ness could
get its name from his byname.
Locative Byname: í Hegranesi
Heggsgerðismúli, Skaft.: see Hreggsgerðismúli.
Heiðabœr, Árn.
From OIc heiðr 'a heath, a moor', genitive plural heiða,
and bœr 'a farmhouse, a farmstead'.
Locative Byname: í Heiðabœ, á Heiðabœ
Heinabergsá(r), Skaft.
The final element is OIc á 'a river' or its plural
ár. Heinabergs is the genitive of Heinaberg, so the
place-name is 'Heinaberg’s river(s)'. The farm-name Heinaberg
is itself a compound, apparently referring to a particular kind of rock: berg
is 'elevated rocky ground; a rock, a boulder; a cliff, a precipice', and heina
appears to be the genitive plural of hein 'a hone, a whetstone'.
Locative Byname:
Helgafell (Helgafjall), Snæf.
Traditionally as 'sacred fell', from OIc heilagr 'sacred,
holy; inviolate' and fell 'an isolated hill' (or fjall 'a fell, a
mountain'). (Both fell and fjall are neuter nouns, and helga
is the neuter singular of the weak declension of heilagr, which is
appropriate here.) This interpretation is supported by the tale of its naming given
in Landnámabók. However, there is evidence that in pre-Christian usage
heilagr was strictly a legal term, 'inviolate, untouchable' and hence that
the tale is anachronistic. It is entirely possible that the name is simply
'Helgi’s fell', from the masculine name Helgi, genitive
Helga. (It is in any case a rather striking formation, as can be seen
here).
Locative Byname:
Helgahraun, Árn.
From the masculine name Helgi, genitive Helga,
and OIc hraun 'a burnt-out lava field', originally 'a rough place, a wilderness':
'Helgi’s lava field'. In some versions of Landnámabók Helgi
trausti is said to have been killed here; others give the name as
Helgahváll.
Locative Byname:
Helgahváll, Árn.
From the masculine name Helgi, genitive Helga,
and OIc hváll 'a hill, a hillock, a knoll': 'Helgi’s knoll'.
In some versions of Landnámabók Helgi trausti is said to have been
killed here; others give the name as
Helgahraun.
Locative Byname:
Helgasker, Strand.
From the masculine name Helgi, genitive Helga,
and OIc sker 'a rock in the sea, a skerry': 'Helgi’s skerry'.
Locative Byname:
Helgastaðir, Þing.
From the masculine name Helgi, genitive Helga,
and OIc staðr 'a place, a stead', here in the plural staðir:
'Helgi’s stead(s)'.
Locative Byname: á Helgasto˛ðum, at Helgasto˛ðum
Helgavatn, Húnv.
–– Mýr.
From the masculine name Helgi, genitive Helga,
and OIc vatn 'water, fresh water; a lake': 'Helgi’s lake'.
The one in Mýrasýsla also appears as Hreðuvatn; here hreðu
appears to be the genitive singular of the attested byname hreða 'a
disturbance', perhaps for a quarrelsome person.
Locative Byname: at Helgavatni
Hellisdalr, Mýr.
From OIc hellir 'a cave, a cavern', genitive singular
hellis, and dalr 'a valley, a dale'.
Locative Byname:
Hellisfitjar, Mýr.
From OIc hellir 'a cave, a cavern', genitive singular
hellis, and fit 'meadow land on the banks of a fjord, lake, or
river', here in the plural fitjar.
Locative Byname:
Hellisfjo˛rðr, S.-Múl.
From OIc hellir 'a cave, a cavern', genitive singular
hellis, and fjo˛rdr 'a fjord, a firth, an inlet'.
Locative Byname:
Hellishraun, Snæf.
From OIc hellir 'a cave, a cavern', genitive singular
hellis, and hraun 'a burnt-out lava field', originally 'a rough
place, a wilderness'.
Locative Byname:
Hengiforsá, N.-Múl.
'Hanging-waterfall river', from OIc hengi- 'hanging',
fors 'a waterfall', genitive identical, and á 'a river'.
Locative Byname:
Herfurða, Saxland.
This is Herford in North Rhine - Westphalia, Germany.
Locative Byname:
Hergilsey, Barð.
From the masculine name Hergils, genitive identical, and
OIc ey 'an island': 'Hergils’s island'.
Locative Byname: í Hergilsey
Herjólfsdalr, in the Vestmannaeyjar.
From the masculine name Herjólfr, genitive Herjólfs,
and OIc dalr 'a valley, a dale': 'Herjólf’s valley'.
Locative Byname: í Herjólfsdal
Herjólfsfjo˛rðr, Greenland.
From the masculine name Herjólfr, genitive Herjólfs,
and OIc fjo˛rðr 'a fjord, a firth, an inlet': 'Herjólf’s fjord'.
Locative Byname:
Herjólfsho˛fn, Gullbr.(?)
From the masculine name Herjólfr, genitive Herjólfs,
and OIc ho˛fn 'a harbor, a haven': 'Herjólf’s harbor'.
Locative Byname:
Herjólfsnes, Greenland.
From the masculine name Herjólfr, genitive Herjólfs,
and OIc nes 'a ness, a headland': 'Herjólf’s point'.
Locative Byname: á Herjólfsnesi
Hernar, Norway.
The name is from the same root as OIc hjarsi 'the crown
of the head' and hjarni 'the brain'; a plural noun, it probably refers to
the head-like elevations at the southwestern tip of the island. (NSL s.n. Hernar)
Locative Byname:
Hestfjo˛rðr, Ísafj.
From OIc hestr 'a horse, a stallion', of which the root is
hest-, and fjo˛rðr 'a fjord, a firth, an inlet'.
Locative Byname:
Hestr, S.-Múl.
OIc hestr 'a horse, a stallion'.
Locative Byname:
Heynes, Borg.
From OIc hey 'hay' and nes 'a ness, a headland':
'hay point'.
Locative Byname: á Heynesi
Hildisey, Rang.
From the masculine name Hildir, genitive Hildis,
and OIc ey 'an island': 'Hildir’s island'.
Locative Byname: í Hildisey
Hísargafl, Norway.
From *Hís, an earlier name of the island Hisarøy,
genitive *Hísar, and OIc gafl 'a gable, a gable-end'; the sense
is 'the end of Hís island'. There are etymological grounds for thinking
that *Hís probably meant something like 'split, cloven', and in fact the
island is almost cut in two. (NSL s.nn. Hisarøy, Hisøy)
Locative Byname:
Hítá, Hítará, Mýr.
The last element is OIc á 'a river'; the first is uncertain.
The variation between Hítá and Hítará indicates that hít
was treated as a feminine noun with genitive hítar; there is such a noun,
hít 'a skin bag', but this is quite unsatisfactory semantically. In
Bárðar saga snæfellsáss,
which dates from the late fourteenth century, it is explained as the name of a
tro˛llkona 'female troll'; this suggests that the name had by then no
obvious etymology. In all likelihood the name was originally Hitá 'hot
river', with a first element related to hiti 'heat'; not far to the north
is the Kaldá 'cold river'.
Locative Byname:
Hítardalr, Mýr.
The second element is OIc dalr 'a valley, a dale'; for the
first see Hítá. If the suggestion made there
is correct, this would properly be Hitárdalr, Hitár being the
genitive of Hitá 'hot river': 'hot-river valley'.
Locative Byname: úr Hítardal, í Hítardal
Hjallaland, Húnv.
From OIc hjalli 'a ledge in a mountainside', genitive
singular hjalla, and land 'land (as opposed to sea); a country'.
Locative Byname: á Hjallalandi
Hjallanes, Ísafj.
From OIc hjalli 'a ledge in a mountainside', genitive
singular hjalla, and nes 'a ness, a headland'.
Locative Byname:
Hjalli, Árn.
–– Húnv.
OIc hjalli 'a ledge in a mountainside'.
Locative Byname: á Hjalla
Hjaltadalr, Skag.
From the masculine name Hjalti, genitive Hjalta,
and OIc dalr 'a valley, a dale': 'Hjalti’s valley'.
Locative Byname:
Hjaltaeyrr, Eyfj.
From the masculine name Hjalti, genitive Hjalta,
and OIc eyrr 'a sandbank, a gravel-bank; a spit of land running into the
sea': 'Hjalti’s sandbank'.
Locative Byname:
Hjaltdælalaut, Barð.
The last element is OIc laut 'a hollow place'. Hjaltdæla
appears to be the genitive of a plural noun *Hjaltdælir 'people of Hjaltdalr',
historically *Hjaltdœlir; here dœlir is the plural of dœll
'a dalesman'. This would make *Hjaltdalr the name of a valley, though I have
not found such a place-name. It would seem to be a compound of OIc hjalt
'the pommel of a sword; also its guard or crosspiece' and dalr 'a valley;
a dale', the first element presumably describing its shape or situation relative to
other geographical features.
Locative Byname:
Hjaltland.
Shetland, also called the Shetland Islands; Shetland is
how the name developed in English. From OIc hjalt 'the pommel of a sword;
also its guard or crosspiece' and land 'land (as opposed to sea); a country'.
Locative Byname:
Hjarðarnes (Herdísarnes), Barð.
From OIc hjo˛rð 'a herd, a flock', genitive singular
hjarðar, and nes 'a ness, a headland': 'herd’s point'.
One source gives the name as Herdísarnes, whose first element, Herdísar,
is the genitive of the feminine name Herdís, but this appears to be an
error.
Locative Byname:
Hjarðarvatn, Snæf.
From OIc hjo˛rð 'a herd, a flock', genitive singular
hjarðar, and vatn 'water, fresh water; a lake': 'herd’s
lake'.
Locative Byname:
Hjo˛rleifsho˛fði, Skaft.
From the masculine name Hjo˛rleifr, genitive Hjo˛rleifs,
and OIc ho˛fði 'a headland': 'Hjo˛rleif’s headland'.
Locative Byname:
Hlaðhamarr, Borg.
OIc hlaðhamarr, synonymous with hlaðberg 'a
projecting pier, a rock where a ship is laden'; the first element seems to be from
hlaða 'to load, especially a ship' (and other meanings). (Berg
and hamarr are respectively 'elevated rocky ground; a rock, a boulder; a
cliff, a precipice' and 'a hammer-shaped crag, a steep rock, a precipice' (literally
'a hammer'.)
Locative Byname:
Hleiðrargarðr, Eyjafj.
The second element is OIc garðr 'an enclosure, a yard; a
courtyard, a court; a house; a stronghold'. The first appears to be related to
the name of the Danish town of Lejre, whose OIc form was Hleiðra.
Specifically, it appears to be the genitive singular of a feminine noun *hleiðr
related to Gothic hleiþra 'a tent, a hut'
Locative Byname:
Hlíð in ytri, Árn.
–– Barð.
–– (Fljótshlíð), Rang.
–– (Jo˛kulsárhlíð), N.-Múl.
–– (Sæmundarhlíð), Skag.
OIc hlíð 'a mountainside, a slope'; in ytri is
'the outer', so that Hlíð in ytri is 'the outer slope'. In the long form
Jo˛kulsárhlíð, Jo˛kulsár is the genitive of the river-name
Jo˛kulsá; the long forms
Fljótshlíð and Sæmundarhlíð
are treated elsewhere.
Locative Byname: í Hlíð (inni ytri), úr Hlíð
Hlíðir, Norway.
The plural of OIc hlíð 'a mountainside, a slope'. (The
modern plural is hlíðar.) In Old Norwegian this was Líðir, which
has become Lier in the modern language. (NSL s.n. Lier)
Locative Byname: úr Hlíðum
Hlíðarendi, Rang.
From OIc hlíð 'a mountainside, a slope', genitive singular
hlíðar, and endi 'the end of an object': 'slope’s end'.
Locative Byname: at Hlíðarenda, á Hlíðarenda,
frá Hlíðarenda
Hlíðarlo˛nd, Árn.
From OIc hlíð 'a mountainside, a slope', genitive singular
hlíðar, and land 'land (as opposed to sea); a country', here in
the plural lo˛nd: 'slope’s lands'.
Locative Byname:
Hlymrek, Ireland.
An OIc adaptation of Luimnech, the Old Irish name of
Limerick.
Locative Byname: í Hlymreki
Hlo˛ðuvík, Ísafj.
Apparently from OIc hlaða 'a storehouse, a barn', genitive
(singular and plural) hlo˛ðu, and vík 'an inlet, a small bay'.
Locative Byname:
Hnjóská, Hnjóskadalsá: see Fnjóskadalsá.
Hnjóskadalr: see Fnjóskadalr.
Hof, (1) Húnv.
–– (2) Húnv.
–– Kjós.
–– N.-Múl.
–– Rang.
–– S.-Múl.
–– Skaft.
–– (1) Skag.
–– (2) Skag.
–– ?
OIc hof 'a (pre-Christian) temple'.
Locative Byname: at Hofi, á Hofi, frá Hofi
Hofgarðar, Snæf.
OIc hofgarðr 'a temple-yard', here in the plural hofgarðar;
the word is a compound of hof 'a (pre-Christian) temple' and garðr
'an enclosure, a yard; a courtyard, a court; a house; a stronghold'.
Locative Byname: í Hofgo˛rðum
Hofsá, Snæf.
From OIc hof 'a (pre-Christian) temple', genitive singular
hofs, and á 'a river'.
Locative Byname:
Hofsfell, Skaft.
From OIc hof 'a (pre-Christian) temple', genitive singular
hofs, and fell 'an isolated hill'.
Locative Byname: í Hofsfelli
Hofsland, Húnv.
From OIc hof 'a (pre-Christian) temple', genitive singular
hofs, and land 'land (as opposed to sea); a country'.
Locative Byname:
Hofslo˛nd, N.-Múl.
From OIc hof 'a (pre-Christian) temple', genitive singular
hofs, and land 'land (as opposed to sea); a country', here in the
plural lo˛nd.
Locative Byname:
Hofstaðir, Barð.
–– Borg.
–– Skag.
–– Snæf.
From OIc hof 'a (pre-Christian) temple', genitive singular
hofs, and staðr 'a place, a stead', here in the plural staðir.
Locative Byname: á Hofsto˛ðum, af Hofsto˛ðum
Hofsteigr, N.-Múl.
The first element is OIc hof 'a (pre-Christian) temple',
genitive singular hofs; the second is probably close kin to stigr
and its variant stígr, both 'a path, a way'.
Locative Byname:
Hofsvágr, Snæf.
From OIc hof 'a (pre-Christian) temple', genitive singular
hofs, and vágr 'a creek, a bay'.
Locative Byname: í Hofsvági
Hólar (Hrepphólar), (1) Árn.
–– (Klaustrhólar), (2) Árn.
–– (Reykjahólar), Barð.
–– (Vestrhópshólar), Húnv.
–– (Krumshólar), Mýr.
–– Skag.
OIc hóll 'a hill, a hillock, a knoll', here in the plural
hólar. The long forms in parentheses are OIc forms of the modern names
of these places; they are probably quite old, but I have no details. The first
elements of the first four are from OIc hreppr 'a poor-law district (in
Iceland)', klaustr 'a cloister, a convent', reykr 'smoke, steam',
genitive plural reykja, and a compound of vestr 'the west' and
hóp 'a small, land-locked bay or inlet connected with the sea'. Krums
is the genitive singular of krumr, the byname of Þorbjo˛rn krumr,
who was given land there; the byname probably refers to a stiff or crooked finger.
Locative Byname: at Hólum, í Hólum, á Hólum.
(There is also someone described as living fyrir ofan Hóla 'above Hólar',
but I’m not sure whether this expression would have been used as a byname.)
Hóll, (?)
–– Dal.
OIc hóll 'a hill, a hillock, a knoll'.
Locative Byname: frá Hóli, undir Hóli
Hólmgarðr.
Northwestern Russia, e.g., around Lake Ladoga; the name is a
compound of OIc hólmr 'a holm, an islet' and garðr 'an enclosure,
a yard; a courtyard, a court; a house; a stronghold'.
Locative Byname:
Hólmkelsá, Snæf.
From the masculine name Hólmkell, genitive Hólmkels,
and OIc á 'a river': 'Hólmkel’s river'.
Locative Byname:
Hólmr inn innri (ytri), Borg.
–– Gullbr.
OIc hólmr 'a holm, an islet'; inn innri and
inn ytri are 'the inner' and 'the outer', respectively.
Locative Byname: at Hólmi, á Hólmi;
at Hólmi inum iðra (ytra)
Hólmsá, Skaft.
From OIc hólmr 'a holm, an islet', genitive singular
hólms, and á 'a river'.
Locative Byname:
Hólmslátr, Snæf.
From OIc hólmr 'a holm, an islet', genitive singular
hólms, and látr 'the place where animals, esp. seals and whales,
lay their young'.
Locative Byname: á Hólmslátri
Hólm(s)lo˛nd, Mýr.
From OIc hólmr 'a holm, an islet', genitive singular
hólms, and land 'land (as opposed to sea); a country', here in
the plural lo˛nd.
Locative Byname:
Hólmslo˛nd, Rang.
From OIc hólmr 'a holm, an islet', genitive singular
hólms, and land 'land (as opposed to sea); a country', here in
the plural lo˛nd.
Locative Byname:
Holt, Árn.
–– (= Brautarholt?), Kjós.?
–– undir Eyjafjo˛llum, Rang.
–– Húnv.
–– Skaft.
–– Skag.
OIc holt 'a wood, a copse; a rough, stony hill or ridge';
in most cases the first sense is probably intended. The Árnessýsla place-name is
in the plural, which in the nominative case is identical to the singular; undir
Eyjafjo˛llum is 'under Eyjafjo˛ll'.
Locative Byname: í Holti (when Holt is singular)
Holtalo˛nd, Árn.
From OIc holt 'a wood, a copse; a rough, stony hill or
ridge', genitive plural holta, and land 'land (as opposed to
sea); a country', here in the plural lo˛nd.
Locative Byname:
Holtastaðir, Húnv.
From OIc holt 'a wood, a copse; a rough, stony hill or
ridge', genitive plural holta, and staðr 'a place, a stead',
here in the plural staðir.
Locative Byname: á Holtasto˛ðum
Horn it eystra, Skaft.
OIc horn 'a corner, a nook, an angle', modified by the
addition of it eystra 'the eastern': 'the eastern corner'.
Locative Byname:
Horn it vestra, Ísafj.
OIc horn 'a corner, a nook, an angle', modified by the
addition of it vestra 'the western': 'the western corner'.
Locative Byname:
Hornafjarðarstro˛nd, Skaft.
From the place-name Hornafjo˛rðr,
genitive Hornafjarðar and OIc stro˛nd 'a strand, coast, shore':
'Hornafjo˛rð’s strand'.
Locative Byname:
Hornafjo˛rðr, Skaft.
From OIc horn 'a corner, a nook, an angle', genitive plural
horna, and fjo˛rðr 'a fjord, a firth, an inlet'.
Locative Byname:
Hornstrandir, Ísafj.
From OIc horn 'a corner, a nook, an angle' and stro˛nd
'a strand, coast, shore', here in the plural strandir.
Locative Byname:
Hrafnagil, Eyfj.
From OIc hrafn 'a raven', genitive plural hrafna,
and gil 'a ravine or gully with a stream at the bottom': 'ravens’
gully'.
Locative Byname: at Hrafnagili
Hrafnagjá.
From OIc hrafn 'a raven', genitive plural hrafna,
and gjá 'a rift, a cleft, a chasm': 'ravens’ rift'.
Locative Byname:
Hrafnista, Norway.
An island name, probably from OIc hrafn 'a raven' and a
suffix -ista of unknown origin. (NSL s.n. Ramstad)
Locative Byname: úr Hrafnistu
Hrafnkelsdalr, N.-Múl.
From the masculine name Hrafnkell, genitive Hrafnkels,
and OIc dalr 'a valley, a dale': 'Hrafnkel’s valley'.
Locative Byname:
Hrafnsfjo˛rðr, Greenland.
–– Ísafj.
From the masculine name Hrafn, genitive Hrafns,
and OIc fjo˛rðr 'a fjord, a firth, an inlet': 'Hrafn’s fjord'.
Locative Byname:
Hrafnstóptir, Rang.
From the masculine name Hrafn, genitive Hrafns,
and OIc topt 'a toft, a homestead; a place marked out for a house or building;
a square plot of ground with walls but no roof', here in the plural toptir:
'Hrafn’s tofts'.
Locative Byname:
Hrokkelsstaðir: see Hallkelsstaðir, Borg.
Hranafall, Mýr.?
From the masculine name Hrani, genitive Hrana,
and OIc fall 'a fall; a death in battle' (and various other senses);
Hrani Gríms son is said to have killed Þorgestr Arnbjargar son
in battle here.
Locative Byname:
Hranastaðir, Borg.
–– Skaft.
From the masculine name Hrani, genitive Hrana,
and OIc staðr 'a place, a stead', here in the plural staðir:
'Hrani’s stead(s)'.
Locative Byname: á Hranasto˛ðum
Hraun, Borg.
–– (1) (= Berserkjahraun) Snæf.
–– (2) Snæf.
–– (3) Snæf.
OIc hraun 'a burnt-out lava field', originally 'a rough
place, a wilderness'. Berserkja is the genitive plural of berserkr
'a berserker', so Berserkjahraun is 'berserkers’ hraun';
Eyrbyggja saga,
Chapter 28, tells how two berserkers were tricked into clearing a path across the
hraun.
Locative Byname: í Hrauni, at Hrauni
Hraunaheiðr: see Kraunaheiðr.
Hraunadalr (syðri, ytri), Mýr.
From OIc hraun 'a burnt-out lava field', originally 'a
rough place, a wilderness', genitive plural hrauna, and dalr
'a valley, a dale'; there were two, one syðri 'southern', the other
ytri 'outer'.
Locative Byname: í inum syðrum Hraundal
Hraungerði, Árn.
From OIc hraun 'a burnt-out lava field', originally 'a
rough place, a wilderness', and gerði 'a fenced field'.
Locative Byname: í Hraungerði
Hraungerðingahreppr, Árn.
From OIc Hraungerðingr 'an inhabitant of
Hraungerði', genitive plural
Hraungerðinga, and hreppr 'a poor-law district (in Iceland)':
'poor-law district of the inhabitants of Hraungerði'. Note that this
sense of hreppr postdates the introduction of Christianity; either the
name is an anachronism in Landnámabók, or the word originally had a
somewhat different sense.
Locative Byname:
Hraunhafnará, Snæf.
From the place-name Hraunho˛fn,
genitive Hraunhafnar, and OIc á 'a river': 'Hraunho˛fn’s
river'.
Locative Byname:
Hraunho˛fn, Snæf.
–– Þing.
From OIc hraun 'a burnt-out lava field', originally 'a
rough place, a wilderness', and ho˛fn 'a harbor, a haven'.
Locative Byname:
Hraunsáss, Borg.
From OIc hraun 'a burnt-out lava field', originally 'a
rough place, a wilderness', genitive singular hrauns, and áss
'a rocky ridge'.
Locative Byname: í Hraunsási
Hraunsfjo˛rðr, Snæf.
From OIc hraun 'a burnt-out lava field', originally 'a
rough place, a wilderness', genitive singular hrauns, and fjo˛rðr
'a fjord, a firth, an inlet'. This is the name both of a fjord and of a farm;
the locative byname refers to the farm.
Locative Byname: í Hraunsfirði
Hraunsholtslœkr, Gullbr.
From OIc hraun 'a burnt-out lava field', originally 'a
rough place, a wilderness', genitive singular hrauns, holt
'a wood, a copse; a rough, stony hill or ridge', genitive holts, and
lœkr (later lækr) 'a rivulet, a brook'.
Locative Byname:
Hraunslœkr, Árn.
From OIc hraun 'a burnt-out lava field', originally 'a
rough place, a wilderness', genitive singular hrauns, and lœkr
(later lækr) 'a rivulet, a brook'.
Locative Byname:
Hreðuvatn, Mýr. 91: see Helgavatn.
Hreggsgerðismúli, Heggsgerðismúli, Skaft.
Both forms are found, depending on the manuscript. This is
apparently a compound of H(r)eggsgerðis, the genitive singular of
H(r)eggsgerði, and OIc múli 'a projecting mountain, a jutting
crag (between two fjords, valleys, or the like)'. H(r)eggsgerði is
itself a topographical compound, the second element being OIc gerði
'a fenced field'. If Hreggsgerðismúli is correct, the first element
would seem to be the genitive singular of OIc hregg 'a storm'. If
Heggsgerðismúli is correct, the first element is the genitive of the
masculine name Heggr, or perhaps the genitive singular of OIc heggr
'bird cherry (tree)'.
Locative Byname:
Hreiðarsgerði, Snæf.
From the masculine name Hreiðarr, genitive Hreiðars,
and OIc gerði 'a fenced field'.
Locative Byname:
Hringaríki, Norway.
From an ethnonym Hringar, genitive Hringa, both
plural, and OIc ríki 'a kingdom, a realm': 'the realm of the Hringar'.
(NSL s.n. Ringerike)
Locative Byname: af Hringaríki
Hringdalir, (?)
Apparently from OIc hringr 'a ring, a circle' and dalr
'a valley, a dale', here in the plural dalir: 'ring valleys'.
Locative Byname:
Hringsstaðir, Húnv.
From OIc hringr 'a ring, a circle', genitive singular
hrings, and staðr 'a place, a stead', here in the plural
staðir; according to Landnámabók, the original settler was
Haraldr hringr. The byname may mean that he came from
Hringaríki.
Locative Byname:
Hrip, Snæf.
Apparently OIc hrip 'a box of laths; a basket', but if so,
the sense as a place-name isn’t entirely clear, to say the least.
Locative Byname: í Hripi
Hrísar, Borg.
This is a feminine collective plural corresponding to the neuter
OIc noun hrís 'shrubs, brushwood'
Locative Byname: í Hrísum
Hrísateigr, Eyfj.
From OIc hrís 'shrubs, brushwood', genitive hrísa,
and teigr 'a strip of field or meadowland': 'brush-covered strip of field
or meadowland'.
Locative Byname:
Hrísey, Eyfj.
From OIc hrís 'shrubs, brushwood' and ey 'an
island': 'brushwood island'.
Locative Byname: í Hrísey, úr Hrísey
Hróarsholt, Árn.
From the masculine name Hróarr, genitive Hróars,
and OIc holt 'a wood, a copse; a rough, stony hill or ridge': probably
'Hróar’s copse'.
Locative Byname:
Hróarslœkr (Hróarsholtslœkr), Árn.
From the masculine name Hróarr, genitive Hróars,
and OIc lœkr (later lækr) 'a rivulet, a brook':
'Hróar’s brook'. In the variant Hróarsholtslœkr the
compound first element, Hróarsholts, is the genitive of the place-name
Hróarsholt.
Locative Byname:
Hróarslœkr, Rang.
From the masculine name Hróarr, genitive Hróars,
and OIc lœkr (later lækr) 'a rivulet, a brook':
'Hróar’s brook'.
Locative Byname:
Hróksholt, Snæf.
From the masculine name Hrókr, genitive Hróks,
and OIc holt 'a wood, a copse; a rough, stony hill or ridge': probably
'Hrók’s copse'.
Locative Byname: í Hróksholti
Hrolleifsdalr, Skag.
From the masculine name Hrolleifr, genitive Hrolleifs,
and OIc dalr 'a valley, a dale': 'Hrolleif’s valley'.
Locative Byname: í Hrolleifsdal
Hrolleifsdalsá, Skag.
From the place-name Hrolleifsdalr,
genitive Hrolleifsdals, and OIc á 'a river'.
Locative Byname:
Hrunamannahreppr, Árn.
OIc hreppr is 'a poor-law district'. Hrunamanna
is the genitive plural of Hrunamaðr, a compound whose second element is
maðr 'a human being'. I have not been able to identify the first element;
it could be the genitive of Hruni, a place-name in the region, though
this place-name does not itself occur in Landnámabók. If so, the sense
would be 'poor-law district of the people of Hruni'. The place-name
Hruni may be related to hruninn 'collapsed, fallen in', the past
participle of hrynja.
Note that this sense of hreppr postdates the introduction
of Christianity; either the name is an anachronism in Landnámabók, or the
word originally had a somewhat different sense.
Locative Byname:
Hrútafjarðardalr.
Hrútafjarðar is the genitive of the place-name
Hrútafjo˛rðr. The last element is
OIc dalr 'a valley, a dale': 'valley of the fjord Hrútafjo˛rðr'.
Locative Byname:
Hrútafjarðarstro˛nd in eystri, Húnv.
Hrútafjarðar is the genitive of the place-name
Hrútafjo˛rðr. The last element is
OIc stro˛nd 'strand, coast, shore', and the affix is 'the eastern':
'the eastern shore of Hrútafjo˛rðr'.
Locative Byname:
The second element is OIc fjo˛rðr 'a fjord, a firth, an inlet'.
On the face of it the first element is from hrútr 'a ram', genitive plural
hrúta, making the name 'rams’ fjord': according to Landnámabók
it was so called because an early group of settlers found two rams there when they
first sailed into the fjord.
Locative Byname: í Hrútafirði, úr Hrútafirði
Hrútzstaðir, Dal.
From the masculine name Hrútr, genitive Hrútz,
and OIc staðr 'a place, a stead', here in the plural staðir:
'Hrút’s stead(s)'.
Locative Byname: á Hrútzsto˛ðum
Hrœreksgil (Roðreksgil), Skag.
From the masculine name Hrœrekr, genitive Hrœreks,
and OIc gil 'a ravine or gully with a stream at the bottom': 'Hrœrek’s
gully'. It is said to have been named after a thrall named Hrœrekr; his
name also appears as Roðrekr, genitive Roðreks. (Both are from an
older *Hróðríkr.)
Locative Byname:
Húnavatn, Húnv.
Apparently from OIc húnn 'a bear-cub', genitive plural
húna, and vatn 'water, fresh water, a lake': 'bear-cubs’
lake'. According to Landnámabók, the settler Ingimundr inn gamli
Þorsteins son found a female polar bear and two cubs here and took them to
Norway, where people had never before seen white bears.
Locative Byname:
Húnavatnsþing.
From the place-name Húnavatn
and OIc þing 'an assembly, a meeting; a parliament'. This was one of the
várþing, or spring assemblies.
Locative Byname:
Hundadalr, Dal.
From the masculine name Hundi, genitive Hunda,
and OIc dalr 'a valley, a dale': 'Hundi’s valley'. In
principle the first element could be the genitive plural of hundr 'a hound,
a dog', making it 'hounds' valley', but Landnámabók says that it was given
by Auðr in djúpúðga Ketils dóttir to her freedman Hundi. He is
said to have been Scottish, and the name is probably a translation of EIr
cuilén 'a whelp', used as a masculine name, or perhaps of matad
'a dog, a mastiff; a cur', also used as a masculine name.
Locative Byname:
Hundsnes, Þing.
Apparently from OIc hundr 'a hound, a dog', genitive
singular hundz, and nes 'a ness, a headland': 'hound’s
point'.
Locative Byname:
Húsagarðr, Rang.
From OIc hús 'a house', in the plural not just 'houses'
but also the group of buildings on a farm', genitive plural húsa, and
garðr 'an enclosure, a yard; a courtyard, a court; a house; a stronghold',
perhaps for a farm with an enclosing wall.
Locative Byname: í Húsagarði
Húsavík, N.-Múl.
–– Þing.
From OIc hús 'a house', in the plural not just 'houses'
but also the group of buildings on a farm', genitive plural húsa, and
vík 'an inlet, a small bay'.
Locative Byname:
Húsnar: see Hernar.
Hvaleyrr, Gullbr.
From OIc hvalr 'a whale' and eyrr 'a sandbank,
a gravel-bank; a spit of land running into the sea'; Flóki Vilgerðar son,
the man who is supposed to have given Iceland (Ísland) its name, is said
to have found a whale stranded here.
Locative Byname:
Hvalfjarðarstro˛nd, Borg.
From the place-name Hvalfjo˛rðr,
genitive Hvalfjarðar, and OIc stro˛nd 'strand, coast, shore'.
Locative Byname:
From OIc hvalr 'a whale' and fjo˛rðr 'a fjord, a
firth, an inlet': 'whale-fjord'.
Locative Byname:
Hváll (Stórólfshváll), Rang.
OIc hváll 'a hill, a hillock, a knoll'. The longer name
is 'Stórólf’s knoll', from the masculine name Stórólfr,
genitive Stórólfs.
Locative Byname: at Hváli
Hvallátr, Barð.
From OIc hvalr 'a whale' and látr 'the place
where animals, esp. seals and whales, lay their young', here in the identical
plural: 'whale breeding-grounds'.
Locative Byname: at Hvallátrum
Hvallátr, Snæf.
–– Þing.
From OIc hvalr 'a whale' and látr 'the place
where animals, esp. seals and whales, lay their young', here in the singular:
'whale breeding-ground'. The one in Snæfellsnessýsla is an error for
Hólmslátr.
Locative Byname: á Hvallátri, at Hvallátri
Hvalsey(jar), Greenland.
From OIc hvalr 'a whale', genitive singular hvals,
and ey 'an island' or its plural eyjar: 'whale’s island(s)'.
Locative Byname:
Hvalsnesskriður, (1) S.-Múl.
–– (2) S.-Múl.
From OIc hvalr 'a whale', genitive singular hvals,
nes 'a ness, a headland', and skriða 'a land-slip (on a hillside)',
nominative plural skriður: 'whale’s point land-slips'. The name appears
in some versions as Hvalnesskriður, with the uninflected root hval-
instead of the genitive singular hvals.
Locative Byname:
Hvalvatnsfjo˛rðr, Þing.
From the place-name Hvalvatn, genitive Hvalvatns,
and OIc fjo˛rðr 'a fjord, a firth, an inlet': 'Hvalvatn’s
fjord'. Hvalvatn, which does not appear in Landnámabók, is from
hvalr 'a whale' and vatn 'water, fresh water; a lake'.
Locative Byname:
Hvammr, Árn.
–– Dal.
–– Húnv.
–– Kjós.
–– Mýr.
–– Skaft.
–– Skag.
OIc hvammr 'a grassy hollow, a small vale'.
Locative Byname: í Hvammi
Hvanná, N.-Múl.
From OIc hvo˛nn 'angelica', combining stem hvann-,
and á 'a river': 'angelica river'.
Locative Byname:
Hvanndalir, Eyfj.
From OIc hvo˛nn 'angelica', combining stem hvann-,
and dalr 'a valley, a dale', here in the plural dalir: 'angelica
dales'.
Locative Byname:
Hvanneyrr, Borg.
From OIc hvo˛nn 'angelica', combining stem hvann-,
and eyrr 'a sandbank, a gravel-bank; a spit of land running into the sea':
'angelica bank'.
Locative Byname: á Hvanneyri, at Hvanneyri,
af Hvanneyri
Hvarf, Greenland.
OIc hvarf has a variety of meanings, but here it is
'a tongue of land, a cape'. The etymological sense is 'a turning'.
Locative Byname:
Hvarfsgnýpa, Greenland.
From OIc hvarf 'a tongue of land, a cape', genitive singular
hvarfs, and gnípa 'a peak, a jutting pinnacle', here in a variant
spelling.
Locative Byname:
Hvassahraun, Gullbr.
From OIc hvass 'sharp' and hraun 'a burnt-out
lava field', originally 'a rough place, a wilderness'; hvassa is the
neuter nominative singular weak inflection, agreeing with the neuter noun
hraun.
Locative Byname:
Hvatastaðir, Húnv.
From the masculine name Hvati, genitive Hvata,
and OIc staðr 'a place, a stead', here in the plural staðir:
'Hvati’s stead(s)'. (Hvati is an original byname akin to
hvatr 'active, brisk, vigorous'.)
Locative Byname: á Hvatasto˛ðum, at Hvatasto˛ðum
Hvinir, Norway.
The name should perhaps be Hvínir, with a long first
vowel, as it is given in some sources. Originally a fjord-name from the river-name
*Hvín (from the verb hvína 'to whizz, to whistle', referring to
the sound of the river; there is an associated noun hvinr 'a whizzing,
whistling sound'), it also came to denote the surrounding region. The name
Hvinisfjo˛rðr is also used; Hvinis is the genitive of Hvinir,
and OIc fjo˛rðr is 'a fjord, a firth, an inlet'. (NSL s.n. Kvinesdal)
Locative Byname:
Hvinisfjo˛rðr: see Hvinir.
Hvinverjadalr
From OIc Hvinverjar 'men of Hvinir',
genitive (plural) Hvinverjar, and dalr 'a valley, a dale': 'valley
of the men of Hvinir'. (The name actually appears in Landnámabók
as Vinverjadalr, but this is known to be a defective orthography.) The
exact location seems to be unknown.
Locative Byname:
Hvítá, Árn.
–– Borg.From OIc hvítr 'white' and á 'a river': 'white
river'. (Á is a feminine noun, and hvít is the nominative singular
feminine of the adjective in the strong declension.)
Locative Byname:
Hvítársíða, Mýr.
From the river-name Hvítá,
genitive Hvítár, and OIc síða 'a side; a coast': 'Hvítá’s
side', i.e., 'land beside the Hvítá'.
Locative Byname:
Hvítbjo˛rg, Mýr.
From OIc hvítr 'white' and bjarg 'a boulder, a
(large) rock', here in the plural bjo˛rg 'precipices, especially by the
sea'. Bjo˛rg is a neuter plural, and hvít is the matching
neuter nominative plural of the adjective in the strong declension. The name
also occurs as Hvítabjo˛rg, with the adjective in the weak declension
neuter nominative plural.
Locative Byname:
The name, which means 'white men’s land, land of the white men', is not so much a true compound as a noun phrase, hvítra manna land, run together as a single word. The elements are OIc hvítr 'white', genitive plural hvítra; maðr 'a person', genitive plural manna; and land 'land (as opposed to sea); a country'. Landnámabók says:
Þat kalla sumir Írland it mikla. Þat liggr vestr í haf nær Vínlandinu góða (Vinlandi inu góða, Írlandi inu góða). Þat er kallat VI dægra sigling vestr frá Írlandi.
Some call it Ireland the Great. It lies west over the sea near the Vineland (Vinland the Good, Ireland [sic] the Good). It is called six days’ sailing west of Ireland.
Locative Byname:
Hæll, Árn.
OIc hæll 'a heel', probably in a metaphorical topographical
sense.
Locative Byname:
Ho˛fðabrekka, Skaft.
From OIc ho˛fði 'a headland', genitive singular ho˛fða,
and brekka 'a slope': 'headland’s slope'. Alternatively, the first
element may be the genitive of one of the place-names Ho˛fði.
Locative Byname:
Ho˛fðalo˛nd, Árn.
From OIc ho˛fði 'a headland', genitive singular ho˛fða,
and land 'land (as opposed to sea); a country', here in the plural lo˛nd;
'lands on or associated with a headland'. Alternatively, the first element may
be the genitive of one of the place-names Ho˛fði.
Locative Byname:
Ho˛fðársandr, Skaft.
From the river-name Ho˛fðá, genitive Ho˛fðár, and
OIc sandr 'sand; the seashore': 'sands of the Ho˛fðá'. The
river-name, which does not occur by itself in Landnámabók, seems to be a
syncopated form of ho˛fuð á 'chief river', from OIc ho˛fuð 'head,
chief' and á 'a river'. At the time of the Settlement there was a fjord,
Kerlingarfjo˛rðr, ‘where Ho˛fðársandr
is now’. The Ho˛fðá itself is probably the river now called the
Múlakvísl.
Locative Byname:
Ho˛fðastro˛nd, Skag.
From OIc ho˛fði 'a headland', genitive singular ho˛fða,
and stro˛nd 'strand, coast, shore'. Alternatively, the first element may
be the genitive of one of the place-names Ho˛fði.
Locative Byname:
Ho˛fði, Árn.
–– Skag.
–– (Hjo˛rleifsho˛fði), Skaft.
–– (Búlandsho˛fði), Snæf.
–– Þing.
OIc ho˛fði 'a headland'.
Locative Byname: í Ho˛fða, á Ho˛fða, at
Ho˛fða, frá Ho˛fða
Ho˛fn, Borg.
–– Norway: see Hefn.
OIc ho˛fn 'a harbor, a haven'.
Locative Byname: í Ho˛fn
Ho˛gnastaðir, Mýr.
From the masculine name Ho˛gni, genitive Ho˛gna,
and OIc staðr 'a place, a stead', here in the plural staðir:
'Ho˛gni’s stead(s)'.
Locative Byname: á Ho˛gnasto˛ðum
Ho˛kustaðir, Skag.
The second element, staðir, is the plural of OIc staðr
'a place, a stead'. The first is probably from OIc haka 'a chin', genitive
ho˛ku, used as a byname, making this 'Chin’s stead(s)'.
Locative Byname:
Ho˛rðadalr, Dal.
From the (plural) ethnonym Ho˛rðar, genitive (plural)
Ho˛rða, referring to the people of Ho˛rðaland,
and OIc dalr 'a valley, a dale': 'valley of the people from Ho˛rðaland'.
Landnámabók says that Auðr in djúpúðga Ketils dóttir gave the
valley to one of her crewmen, a man named Ho˛rðr, but it does not take
its name from his: the genitive of Ho˛rðr is Harðar, so that
'Ho˛rð’s valley' would be Harðardalr.
Locative Byname:
Ho˛rðadalsá, Dal.
From the place-name Ho˛rðadalr,
genitive Ho˛rðadals, and OIc á 'a river'.
Locative Byname:
Ho˛rðahólar, Mýr.
From the (plural) ethnonym Ho˛rðar, genitive (plural)
Ho˛rða, referring to the people of Ho˛rðaland,
and OIc hóll 'a hill, a hillock, a knoll', here in the plural hólar:
'hills of the people from Ho˛rðaland'.
Locative Byname:
Ho˛rðaland, Norway.
From the OIc (plural) ethnonym Ho˛rðar, genitive (plural)
ho˛rða, and land 'a country, a region': 'land of the Ho˛rðar'.
The ethnonym is from Proto-Germanic *haruðōz, probably meaning
'warriors, heroes', and may originally have been Celtic. (NSL s.n. Hordaland)
Locative Byname:
Ho˛rgá, Eyfj.
From OIc ho˛rgr 'a heap of stones, a cairn; a sacrificial
altar; a stone altar', referring to a pre-Christian place of worship, and á
'a river'; presumably the river was associated with such a place.
Locative Byname:
Ho˛rgárdalr, Eyfj.
From the river-name Ho˛rgá,
genitive Ho˛rgár, and OIc dalr 'a valley, a dale': 'valley of
the Ho˛rg river'.
Locative Byname:
Ho˛rgárdalsá, Eyfj.
Another name for the Ho˛rgá.
The name is amusingly redundant: the first element, Ho˛rgárdals, is the
genitive of Ho˛rgárdalr, and the last
is OIc á 'a river', so the name is 'river of the valley of the Ho˛rg
river'!
Locative Byname:
Ho˛rgsholt, Snæf.
From OIc ho˛rgr 'a heap of stones, a cairn; a sacrificial
altar; a stone altar', referring to a pre-Christian place of worship, genitive
ho˛rgs, and holt 'a wood, a copse; a rough, stony hill or ridge'.
Locative Byname: í Ho˛rgsholti
Ho˛skuldzár, Snæf.
From the masculine name Ho˛skuldr, genitive Ho˛skuldz,
and OIc á 'a river', here in the plural ár: 'Ho˛skuld’s
rivers'. Also called Ho˛skuldzstaðir.
Locative Byname: at Ho˛skuldzám, á Ho˛skuldzám
Ho˛skuldzlœkr, Árn.
From the masculine name Ho˛skuldr, genitive Ho˛skuldz,
and OIc lœkr 'a rivulet, a brook': 'Ho˛skuld’s brook'.
According to Landnámabók it is named after Ho˛skuldr Þorsteins son
þurs, who drowned there.
Locative Byname:
Ho˛skuldzstaðir, Dal.
–– Snæf.: another name for Ho˛skuldzár.
From the masculine name Ho˛skuldr, genitive Ho˛skuldz,
and OIc staðr 'a place, a stead', here in the plural staðir:
'Ho˛skuld’s stead(s)'.
Locative Byname: á Ho˛skuldzsto˛ðum
Ho˛skuldzvatn, Þing.
From the masculine name Ho˛skuldr, genitive Ho˛skuldz,
and OIc vatn 'water, fresh water; a lake': 'Ho˛skuld’s lake'.
Locative Byname:
Íafjo˛rðr, Norway.
The second element is OIc fjo˛rðr
'a fjord, a firth, an inlet', but the first element is obscure, as is the actual location. The place-name
occurs only once, in the dative case, as Íafirði; forms found in other mss. include
Jófirði, Jafndi, Jamfirði, and Jafnfirði.
Locative Byname:
Ingimundarholt, Húnv.
From the masculine name Ingimundr, genitive Ingimundar,
and OIc holt 'a wood, a copse; a rough, stony hill or ridge'; probably
'Ingimund’s copse', since it lies in a valley.
Locative Byname:
Ingjaldzgnúpr, Árn.
From the masculine name Ingjaldr, genitive Ingjaldz,
and OIc gnúpr 'a peak, an overhanging peak': 'Ingjald’s peak'.
Locative Byname:
Ingjaldzhváll, Snæf.
From the masculine name Ingjaldr, genitive Ingjaldz,
and OIc hváll 'a hill, a hillock, a knoll': 'Ingjald’s knoll'.
Locative Byname: á Ingjaldzhváli, at Ingjaldzhváli
Ingjaldzsandr, Ísafj.
From the masculine name Ingjaldr, genitive Ingjaldz,
and OIc sandr 'sand; the seashore': 'Ingjald’s sand'.
Locative Byname: at Ingjaldzsandi, á Ingjaldzsandi
Ingólfsfell, Árn.
From the masculine name Ingólfr, genitive Ingólfs,
and OIc fell 'an isolated hill': 'Ingólf’s isolated hill'.
Locative Byname:
Ingólfsfjo˛rðr, Strand.
From the masculine name Ingólfr, genitive Ingólfs,
and OIc fjo˛rðr 'a fjord, a
firth, an inlet': 'Ingólf’s fjord'.
Locative Byname:
Ingólfsho˛fðahverfi, Skaft.
From the place-name Ingólfsho˛fði, genitive Ingólfsho˛fða,
and OIc hverfi 'a cluster of farms'.
Locative Byname:
Ingólfsho˛fði, Skaft.
From the masculine name Ingólfr, genitive Ingólfs,
and OIc ho˛fði 'a headland':
'Ingólf’s headland'.
Locative Byname:
Írá (Írará), Rang.
From OIc Írar 'Irishmen', genitive Íra, and á
'a river': 'Irish river, river of the Irishmen'. Landnámabók explicitly gives
this derivation. Írá is presumably contracted from *Íra-á; Írará
exceptionally contains the nominative case, contrary to the usual formation of such compounds.
Locative Byname:
Írland, Ireland.
The OIc name of Ireland, 'land of the Írar'.
Locative Byname:
Írland it mikla, Ireland.
See Hvítramannaland.
Locative Byname:
From OIc íss 'ice', genitive plural ísa,
fjo˛rðr 'a fjord, a firth,
an inlet', genitive fjarðar, and djúp 'deep water; a deep place;
the deep sea off the shore': 'ice fjord’s deep'. The name Ísafjarðardjúp
now refers to a long fjord in northwestern Iceland, one of the deepest in the
country, often called simply Djúpið 'The Deep'; a number of small fjords
extend inland from it, of which the innermost (southernmost) is called
Ísafjörður. In Landnámabók and other older sources, however,
Ísafjo˛rðr,
the older form of Ísafjörður, was the name of the entire fjord, and
Ísafjarðardjúp was the name of the deep, narrow channels that go out
from the fjord. (See the Icelandic Wikipedia s.v.
Ísafjarðardjúp.)
Locative Byname:
From OIc íss 'ice', genitive plural ísa,
fjo˛rðr 'a fjord, a firth,
an inlet': 'ice fjord'. See Ísafjarðardjúp.
Locative Byname:
From OIc íss 'ice' and land 'land (as opposed
to sea); a country': 'ice land'. The English name of the country is an exact
translation.
Locative Byname:
Íslandzhaf.
From the place-name Ísland,
genitive Íslandz, and OIc haf 'the sea, especially the high sea,
the ocean': 'Iceland’s sea', referring to the part of the Arctic Ocean
immediately north of Iceland.
Locative Byname:
Ísleifsstaðir, Mýr.
From the masculine name Ísleifr, genitive Ísleifs,
and OIc staðr 'a place, a stead', here in the plural as staðir:
'Ísleif’s stead(s)'.
Locative Byname: á Ísleifssto˛ðum
Ísro˛ðarstaðir, Mýr.
From the masculine name Ísro˛ðr, genitive Ísro˛ðar, and OIc staðr 'a place, a stead', here
in the plural as staðir: 'Ísro˛ð’s stead(s)'.
Locative Byname: á Ísro˛ðarsto˛ðum
Jaðarr, Norway.
OIc jaðarr 'edge, border'. This is the original form of
several Norwegian place-names, including Jæren, the name of a coastal
region in southwest Norway. (NPL s.n. Jæren, s.v. jadar.)
Locative Byname:
Jafnaskarð (Jannaskarð), Mýr.
skarð 'a mountain pass; a notch'
Locative Byname:
Jamtaland, Sweden.
The second element is OIc land 'land (as opposed to sea);
a country'. The people who lived there were the Jamtar 'Jamts', genitive
plural Jamta, so the name as a whole is 'Jamts’s land, land of the
Jamts'. The modern Swedish name is Jämtland.
Locative Byname:
Jarðfallsgil, Ísafj.
From OIc jarðfall 'an earth-slip', genitive jarðfalls,
and gil 'a ravine or gully with a stream at the bottom'. (Jarðfall
itself is a fairly transparent compound of jarð-, the root of
jo˛rð 'earth', and fall
'a fall'.)
Locative Byname:
Jarðlangsstaðir, Mýr.
The second element, staðir, is the plural of OIc staðr
'a place, a stead'. According to Landnámabók, the original settler was
Þorgeirr jarðlangr; the first element is the genitive of his byname, so
that the place is 'Jarðlang’s stead(s)'. The byname is a compound
of jarð-, the root of jo˛rð
'earth', and langr 'long'. Its sense is uncertain; one possibility is
'tall person from a place called Jo˛rð'.
Locative Byname: á Jarðlangssto˛ðum
Jólgeirsstaðir, Rang.
From the masculine name Jólgeirr, genitive Jólgeirs,
and OIc staðr 'a place, a stead', here in the plural staðir:
'Jólgeir’s stead(s)'.
Locative Byname: á Jólgeirssto˛ðum
Jórunnarstaðir, Eyfj.
From the feminine name Jórunn, genitive Jórunnar,
and OIc staðr 'a place, a stead', here in the plural staðir:
'Jórunn’s stead(s)'.
Locative Byname: á Jórunnarsto˛ðum
Jo˛kulsá
(Héraðsvo˛tn), Skag.
–– í Lóni, Skaft.
–– á Breiðamerkursandi, Skaft.
–– á Sólheimasandi, Skaft.
–– á Dal, N.-Múl.
–– á Fjo˛llum,
Þing.
From OIc jo˛kull
'an icicle; ice; a glacier', genitive jo˛kuls,
and á 'a river'. In Iceland the primary sense of jo˛kull is 'glacier', and the place-name is 'glacial river'.
The modifying prepositional phrases – í Lóni, á Dal, etc.
– do not appear in Landnámabók; at some point they must have been added
to distinguish one Jo˛kulsá
from another, but I don’t know when this occurred. Héraðsvötn is the
modern name of the first river in the list, a compound of héraðs, the genitive
of hérað 'a district' and vötn, the nominative plural of vatn
'water, fresh water; a lake'; the literal sense is 'district’s waters'.
Locative Byname:
Jo˛kulsdalr, N.-Múl.
From OIc jo˛kull
'a glacier', genitive jo˛kuls,
and dalr 'a valley, a dale': 'glacier valley'. This is the valley of the
Jo˛kulsá á
Dal.
Locative Byname:
Jo˛kulsfell, Skaft.
From OIc jo˛kull
'a glacier', genitive jo˛kuls,
and fell 'an isolated hill': 'glacier hill'.
Locative Byname:
Jo˛kulsfirðir, Ísafj.
From OIc jo˛kull
'a glacier', genitive jo˛kuls,
and firðir, the plural of fjo˛rðr
'a fjord, a firth, an inlet': 'glacier fjords'.
Locative Byname:
Jo˛kul(s)víkrá (Jo˛kulsá á Sólheimasandi), Skaft.
From OIc jo˛kull
'a glacier', genitive jo˛kuls,
vík 'an inlet, a small bay', genitive víkr, and á 'a river':
'glacier inlet river'. In one of the mss. the river is called simply
Jo˛kulsá;
Jökulsá á Sólheimasandi is its modern name.
Locative Byname:
Jo˛lduhlaup, Ireland.
From OIc jalda 'a mare', genitive jo˛ldu, and hlaup 'a leap': 'mare’s leap'. The
exact location in Ireland seems to be unknown.
Locative Byname:
Jo˛ldusteinn, Rang.
From OIc jalda 'a mare', genitive jo˛ldu, and steinn 'a stone, a boulder, a rock':
'mare’s stone'. In Brennu-Njáls saga the name appears as
O˛ldusteinn, whose first
element, o˛ldu, is the
genitive of alda 'a wave, a roller', making it 'wave(’s) rock'.
Neither name survives; the place is probably the free-standing rock now called
Lausalda.
Locative Byname:
Jo˛rundarfell, Húnv.
From the masculine personal name Jo˛rundr, genitive Jo˛rundar, and OIc fell 'an isolated hill':
'Jo˛rund’s
isolated hill'.
Locative Byname:
Jo˛rundarholt (Garðar á Akranesi), Borg.
From the masculine personal name Jo˛rundr, genitive Jo˛rundar, and OIc holt 'a wood, a copse; a
rough, stony hill or ridge'; probably 'Jo˛rund’s wood'. This was the original name; by the
time of Landnámabók it was known as Garðar.
Locative Byname: í Jo˛rundarholti
Jo˛sureið, Norway.
An island near Borgund.
The etymology of Jo˛sur
is uncertain; the second element is apparently OIc eið 'an isthmus, a
neck of land'. (The name also appears as Jo˛surheið, but this form appears to be erroneous.)
Locative Byname:
Kaldá, Snæf.
From OIc kaldr 'cold' and á 'a river': 'cold
river'.
Locative Byname:
Kaldáróss, Snæf.
From the place-name Kaldá,
genitive Kaldár, and OIc óss 'mouth of a river or lake'
Locative Byname:
Kaldakinn, Dal.
–– Þing.
From OIc kaldr 'cold', here in the weak nominative
singular feminine inflection kalda, and kinn 'a cheek', and
as a topographical term 'a mountain slope': 'cold slope'.
Locative Byname:
Kaldaklofsá, Rang.
From the place-name Kaldaklof, genitive Kaldaklofs,
and OIc á 'a river'. Kaldaklof is a broad mountain pass; its name is from
OIc kaldr 'cold', here in the neuter nominative singular of the weak
declension, and klof 'a crotch' (i.e., 'something that is cleft').
Locative Byname:
Kaldakvísl (Tungufljót), Árn.
From OIc kaldr 'cold', here in the feminine nominative
singular of the weak declension, and kvísl 'a fork or branch of a river':
'cold branch'. Tungufljót is the modern name, from the place-name
TungaTungu, and
OIc fljót 'a fast-moving river or stream'.
Locative Byname:
Kaldbakr, Strand.
From OIc kaldr 'cold' and bakr 'a back, a ridge':
'cold back or ridge'. The name refers both to a mountain and to a farm on the
adjacent cove Kaldbaksvík; the
locative byname refers to the farm.
Locative Byname: í Kaldbak
Kaldbaksvík, Strand.
From the mountain name Kaldbakr,
genitive Kaldbaks, and OIc vík 'an inlet, a small bay':
'Kaldbak’s cove'.
Locative Byname:
Kálfá, Árn.
From OIc kálfr 'a calf' and á 'a river':
'calf river'.
Locative Byname:
Kálfagrafir, Skaft.
From OIc kálfr, genitive plural kálfa, and
gro˛f 'a pit, a ditch;
a grave', here in the plural: 'calves’ pits'.
Locative Byname:
Kálfborgará (Kolborgará), Þing.
From OIc kálfr 'a calf', borg 'a small hill',
genitive borgar, and á 'a river': 'calf’s hill river'.
The variant Kolborgará appears to be an error.
Locative Byname:
Kálfskinn, Eyfj.
From the masculine name Kálfr, genitive Kálfs,
or OIc kálfr 'a calf', genitive kálfs, and kinn
'a cheek', and as a topographical term 'a mountain slope': 'Kálf’s
slope' or 'calf’s slope'.
Locative Byname: á Kálfskinni
Kallnesingahreppr, Árn.
From Kallnesingar 'inhabitants of Kallnes', genitive (plural) Kallnesinga, and OIc hreppr 'a poor-law district': 'poor-law district of the inhabitants of Kallnes'. However, this sense of hreppr postdates the introduction of Christianity to Iceland, so either the name is an anachronism in Landnámabók, or the word originally had a somewhat different sense.
The name also appears as Kaldnesingahreppr, as if the
underlying place-name were Kaldnes 'cold point', from OIc kaldr
'cold' and nes 'a ness, a headland'. According to Prof. Svavar
Sigmundsson of the Department of Name Studies of the Árni Magnússon Institute
for Icelandic Studies, however, the place-name was originally Kallaðarnes,
because it was from there that the ferryman was summoned (kallað á
'called to') by those wishing to cross the O˛lfusá. (See
here
in answer to the question dated 06. 4, 2005.)
Locative Byname:
Kalmansá (al. Kalmarsá), Borg.
From the masculine name Kalman(n), genitive Kalmans,
and OIc á 'a river': 'Kalman’s river'. The name is probably
a borrowing of Old Irish Colmán, and Landnámabók does imply that
the river was named after a man from the Hebrides. His name is also given as
Kalmarr and that of the river as Kalmarsá, but this appears to
be an error.
Locative Byname:
Kalmanstunga, Mýr.
From the masculine name Kalman(n), genitive Kalmans,
and OIr tunga 'a tongue of land' (also, as in English, used of the body
part and in the sense 'a language'): 'Kalman’s tongue of land'.
Locative Byname: í Kalmanstungu
Kambakista, Árn.
From OIc kambr 'a comb; a crest; a ridge of hills',
genitive plural kamba, and kista 'a chest; a coffin'. The
name suggests a pocket enclosed by a ridge of hills, but I don’t know
whether the location is even known, let alone what the local topography is.
Locative Byname: í Kambakistu
Kambr, Snæf.
OIc kambr 'a comb; a crest; a ridge of hills'.
Locative Byname: frá Kambi
Kambsdalr, S.-Múl.
From OIc kambr 'a comb; a crest; a ridge of hills',
genitive kambs, and dalr 'a valley, a dale'.
Locative Byname:
Kambsnes, Dal.
From OIc kambr 'a comb; a crest; a ridge of hills',
genitive kambs, and nes 'a ness, a headland'. It is said to
have been named by Auðr in djúpúðga Ketils dóttir when she lost her comb there.
Locative Byname: á Kambsnesi; af Kambsnesi
Kampaholt, Árn.
The second element is OIc holt 'a wood, a copse; a rough,
stony hill or ridge'. The place was apparently named after Þorgrímr kampi
O˛zurar son, whose nickname
kampi is 'a bearded or moustached person'; its genitive is kampa,
and the place-name is 'Kampi’s copse or ridge'.
Locative Byname: í Kampaholti
Karlafjo˛rðr,(?)
From the masculine name Karli, genitive Karla,
and OIc fjo˛rðr 'a fjord,
a firth, an inlet': 'Karli’s fjord'.
Locative Byname: í Karlafirði
Karlastaðir, Húnv.
–– Mýr.
From the masculine name Karli, genitive Karla,
and OIc staðr 'a place, a stead', here in the plural staðir:
'Karli’s stead(s)'.
Locative Byname: á Karlasto˛ðum
Karlsá, Eyfj.
From the masculine name Karl, genitive Karls,
and OIc á 'a river': 'Karl’s river'.
Locative Byname: at Karlsá
Karlsbrekka (Hrómundarstaðir), Mýr.
From the masculine name Karl, genitive Karls,
and OIc brekka 'a slope': 'Karl’s slope'. (Karls
could also be the genitive of karl 'a man (as opposed to a woman); a
man of the common people; an old man'.) This is the modern place-name, which was
already in use when Landnámabók was written down; it also appears in
the variant Kallsbrekka. The original name, according to Landnámabók,
was Hrómundarstaðir 'Hrómund’s stead(s)', from the masculine
name Hrúmundr, genitive Hrúmundar, and OIc staðr 'a place,
a stead', here in the plural staðir.
Locative Byname: at Karlsbrekku; á Hrómundarsto˛ðum
Karlsdalr, Mýr.
From the masculine name Karl, genitive Karls,
and OIc dalr 'a valley, a dale': 'Karl’s dale'.
Locative Byname:
Karlsfell, Mýr.
From the masculine name Karl, genitive Karls,
and OIc fell 'an isolated hill': 'Karl’s isolated hill'.
Locative Byname: undir Karlsfelli
Karnsá, Húnv.
The second element is OIc á 'a river'. The first element
is uncertain. It may be from OIc kárn 'a kind of bird', in which case
the name was Kárnsá 'bird’s river'. However, the name also occurs
as Kornsá; this, which is also the modern form, suggests that the first
element might be the genitive of korn 'corn, grain'.
Locative Byname: frá Karnsá
Karnsárland (Korns-), Húnv.
From the place-name Karnsá,
genitive Karnsár, and OIc land 'land (as opposed to sea); a
country'.
Locative Byname:
Kársstaðir, Snæf.
From the masculine name Kárr, genitive Kárs,
and OIc staðr 'a place, a stead', here in the plural staðir:
'Kár’s stead(s)'. This was not the original name: Landnámabók
says Hann bjó þar, sem nú heitir á Kárssto˛ðum 'He settled at the place that is now called
at Kársstaðir' but does not give an earlier name.
Locative Byname: á Kárssto˛ðum
Katanes, Borg.
–– Rang.
–– Scotland.
The second element is OIc nes 'a ness, a headland'.
Despite the missing t, the first element is apparently from OIc
ko˛ttr 'a cat',
genitive plural katta: 'cats’ point'. Katanes in
Scotland is Caithness, and a number of Old Irish place-names in northern
Scotland and the Northern Isles suggest that ‘Cats’ may have
been the designation of the dominant tribe in the region. It has been
suggested that this was the original Katanes and the source of the
Icelandic instances of the place-name; in this connection it is perhaps
significant that the first settler at Katanes in Borgarfjarðarsýsla
(according to Landnámabók) was Irish.
Locative Byname: í Katanesi
Keflavík, Barð.
From OIc kefli 'a stick, a piece of wood, a cylinder
(of wood)', genitive plural kefla, and vík 'an inlet, a small
bay'; the sense is probably 'driftwood bay'.
Locative Byname:
Keldudalr, Ísafj.
From OIc kelda 'a well, a spring; a bog, a quagmire',
genitive keldu, and dalr 'a valley, a dale'.
Locative Byname:
Keldugnúpr, Skaft.
From OIc kelda 'a well, a spring; a bog, a quagmire',
and gnúpr 'a peak, an overhanging peak'.
Locative Byname: at Keldugnúpi; frá Keldugnúpi
Kelduhverfi, Þing.
From OIc kelda 'a well, a spring; a bog, a quagmire',
and hverfi 'a cluster of farms'.
Locative Byname:
Keldunes, Þing.
From OIc kelda 'a well, a spring; a bog, a quagmire',
and nes 'a ness, a headland'.
Locative Byname:
Kerlingará, Skaft.
From OIc kerling 'woman, wife; old woman', genitive
kerlingar, and á 'a river': 'old woman’s river'.
Locative Byname:
Kerseyrr (Kjo˛rseyrr), Strand.
The second element is OIc eyrr 'a sandbank, a gravel-bank;
a spit of land running into the sea', now Ic eyri. The first element is a
bit uncertain: the place-name appears as Kerseyrr, Kjo˛rseyrr, and Korseyrr,
the modern form being Kjörseyri. On balance I think it likely that the
element is from OIc kjarr ~ kjo˛rr 'brushwood, a thicket', genitive kjars ~
kjo˛rs, a word whose
first syllable in Proto-Scandinavian was *ker-.
Locative Byname: á Kerseyri, á Kjo˛rseyri
Ketilseyrr, Ísafj.
From the masculine name Ketill, genitive Ketils,
and OIc eyrr 'a sandbank, a gravel-bank; a spit of land running into the
sea': 'Ketil’s sandbank'.
Locative Byname: á Ketilseyri, at Ketilseyri
Ketilsfjo˛rðr, Greenland.
From the masculine name Ketill, genitive Ketils,
and OIc fjo˛rðr 'a fjord,
a firth, an inlet': 'Ketil’s fjord'.
Locative Byname:
Ketilsstaðir, Dal.
–– S.-Múl.
From the masculine name Ketill, genitive Ketils,
and OIc staðr 'a place, a stead', here in the plural staðir:
'Ketil’s stead(s)'.
Locative Byname: á Ketilssto˛ðum
Kiðjaberg, Árn.
From OIc kið 'a kid', genitive plural kiðja,
and berg 'elevated rocky ground; a rock, a boulder; a cliff, a precipice':
'kids’ rock'.
Locative Byname: at Kiðjabergi; frá Kiðjabergi
Kiðjafell, Kjós.
From OIc kið 'a kid', genitive plural kiðja,
and fell 'an isolated hill': 'kids’ hill'.
Locative Byname: at Kiðjafelli
Kiðjaklettr (Kiðjaleit), Skaft.
From OIc kið 'a kid', genitive plural kiðja,
and klettr 'a rock, a crag': 'kids’ rock'. In some versions the
place-name is given as Kiðjaleit, whose second element seems to be
leit 'a search, exploration', possibly in reference to the annual autumn
search for sheep in the mountain pastures.
Locative Byname:
Kirkjubólstaðr, Borg.
From OIc kirkja 'a church', genitive kirkju,
and bólstaðr 'a homestead, a farm; an abode': the farm belonging to (or
perhaps simply by) a church.
Locative Byname: á Kirkjubólstað
Kirkjubœr, Rang.
–– Skaft.
From OIc kirkja 'a church', genitive kirkju,
and bœr 'a farmhouse, a farmstead': the farmstead belonging to (or
perhaps simply by) a church.
Locative Byname: í Kirkjubœ; úr Kirkjubœ
Kirkjufell, Snæf.
From OIc kirkja 'a church', genitive kirkju,
and fell 'an isolated hill'.
Locative Byname: í Kirkjufelli
Kirkjufjo˛rðr, Snæf.
From OIc kirkja 'a church', genitive kirkju,
and fjo˛rðr 'a fjord, a
firth, an inlet'.
Locative Byname:
Kirkjusandr, Borg.
From OIc kirkja 'a church', genitive kirkju,
and sandr 'sand; the seashore'.
Locative Byname:
Kjalarnes (Krossnes), Kjós.
From OIc kjo˛lr
'a keel; a keel-shaped range of mountains', genitive kjalar, and nes
'a ness, a headland': 'keel’s point'. In one version it is called Krossnes
'cross point', from OIc kross 'a cross'.
Locative Byname:
Kjálkafjo˛rðr, Barð.
From OIc kjálki 'a jawbone; a hand sledge', genitive
kjálka, and fjo˛rðr
'a fjord, a firth, an inlet'. It was apparently named after the original settler,
Geirsteinn kjálki.
Locative Byname:
Kjallakshóll, Dal.
From the masculine name Kjallakr, genitive Kjallaks,
and OIc hóll 'a hill, a hillock, a knoll': 'Kjallak’s knoll'.
According to Landnámabók, a boy named Kjallakr was killed there.
Locative Byname:
Kjallaksstaðir, Dal.
From the masculine name Kjallakr, genitive Kjallaks,
and OIc staðr 'a place, a stead', here in the plural staðir:
'Kjallak’s stead(s)'. (The name Kjallakr is a borrowing
of Old Irish Cellach.)
Locative Byname: á Kjallakssto˛ðum
Kjaransvík, Ísafj.
From the masculine name Kjaran, genitive Kjarans,
and OIc vík 'an inlet, a small bay': 'Kjaran’s inlet'.
(The name Kjaran is a borrowing of Old Irish Ciarán.)
Locative Byname: í Kjaransvík
Kjarrá, Mýr.
From OIc kjarr 'brushwood, a thicket' and á
'a river': 'brushwood river'.
Locative Byname:
Kjarradalr, Mýr.
From OIc kjarr 'brushwood, a thicket' and dalr
'a valley, a dale': 'brushwood valley'.
Locative Byname:
Kjós, Kjós.
OIc kjós 'a deep or hollow place; a small valley'.
Locative Byname:
Kjo˛lr (á Kjalvegi).
OIc kjo˛lr
'a keel; a keel-shaped range of mountains'. This is the pass (such as it is) between
the Hofsjökull and Langjökull icecaps, on the Kjalvegr 'keel-way', an
old north-south route through the Icelandic Highlands.
Locative Byname: á Kili
Kjo˛lvararstaðir, Borg.
From the feminine name Kjo˛lvo˛r,
genitive Kjo˛lvarar, and
OIc staðr 'a place, a stead', here in the plural staðir:
'Kjo˛lvo˛r’s stead(s)'.
Locative Byname: á Kjo˛lvararsto˛ðum
Kleifar, Dal.
–– Strand.
The plural of OIc kleif 'a cliff, a rocky ascent'.
Locative Byname: at Klo˛fum
Kleifarlo˛nd, S.-Múl.
From OIc kleif 'a cliff, a rocky ascent', genitive
kleifar, and land 'land (as opposed to sea); a country', here
in the plural lo˛nd.
Locative Byname:
Klif, Mýr.
OIc klif 'a cliff'.
Locative Byname:
Klofasteinar, Dal.
The second element, steinar, is the plural of OIc
steinn 'a stone, a boulder, a rock'. The first is apparently klofi
'a cleft or rift', genitive (singular and plural) klofa: 'cleft stones,
cloven stones'.
Locative Byname:
Klofningar, Dal.
The plural of OIc klofningr 'anything that is cloven'.
Locative Byname:
Knafahólar (Knappa-), Rang.
The second element, hólar, is the plural of OIc hóll
'a hill, a hillock, a knoll'; the etymology of Knafa- is uncertain. One
version makes the place-name Knappahólar, as if from knappr 'a
knob; a button', genitive plural knappa, but this is considered an error.
Locative Byname:
Knappadalr, Snæf.
The second element is OIc dalr 'a valley, a dale'; the
first is the genitive of knappi, the nickname of Þorgils knappi,
the settler who initially took the valley, so the place-name is 'Knappi’s
dale'. The interpretation of the nickname is uncertain. It could be derived from
knappr 'a knob; a button'. However, if Ic knappur 'scanty; terse,
concise' is not borrowed, but rather goes back to an OIc *knappr of
similar meaning, it would also be a plausible source of the nickname.
Locative Byname:
Knappsstaðir, Skag.
The second element is OIc staðr 'a place, a stead', here
in the plural staðir. The original settler was Þórðr knappr, and
the first element of the place-name is the genitive of his nickname: 'Knapp’s
stead(s)'. The nickname may be OIc knappr 'a knob; a button', but if
Ic knappur 'scanty; terse, concise' is not borrowed, but rather goes
back to an OIc *knappr of similar meaning, it would also be a plausible
nickname.
Locative Byname: á Knappssto˛ðum
Knarrarnes, Mýr.
From OIc kno˛rr
'a ship, especially a merchant ship (and not a warship)', genitive knarrar,
and nes 'a ness, a headland': 'merchant-ship’s point'.
Locative Byname:
Knefilsdalsá, N.-Múl.
From a place-name Knefilsdalr, genitive Knefilsdals,
and OIc á 'a river'. Knefilsdalr is apparently from knefill
'a post, a pole; a crossbeam', genitive knefils, and dalr 'a valley,
a dale'. However, the river-name appears in one source in its modern form,
Hnefilsdalsá, and the valley is now Hnefilsdalur (corresponding
to an OIc Hnefilsdalr), so it isn’t clear what the original name
was. If Hnefils- is correct, it would be the genitive of an otherwise
unattested *hnefill, perhaps a nickname related to hnefi 'a
fist'.
Locative Byname:
Kolbeinsáróss, Skag.
From the place-name Kolbeinsá, genitive Kolbeinsár,
and OIc óss 'mouth or outlet of a river or lake'. Kolbeinsá if
from the masculine name Kolbeinn, genitive Kolbeins, and á
'a river': 'Kolbein’s river'. Kolbeinsáróss, now called
Kalkuós, was an important Viking harbor.
Locative Byname:
Kolbeinsdalr, Skag.
From the masculine name Kolbeinn, genitive Kolbeins,
and OIc dalr 'a valley, a dale': 'Kolbein’s dale'.
Locative Byname:
Kolbeinsey.
From the masculine name Kolbeinn, genitive Kolbeins,
and OIc ey 'an island': 'Kolbein’s island'.
Locative Byname:
Kolbeinsstaðir, Snæf.
From the masculine name Kolbeinn, genitive Kolbeins,
and OIc staðr 'a place, a stead', here in the plural staðir:
'Kolbein’s stead(s)'.
Locative Byname: á Kolbeinssto˛ðum
Kolbeinsvík, Strand.
From the masculine name Kolbeinn, genitive Kolbeins,
and OIc vík 'an inlet, a small bay': 'Kolbein’s inlet'.
Locative Byname:
Kolgrafafjo˛rðr, Snæf.
From OIc kolgro˛f
'a charcoal pit', genitive plural kolgrafa, and fjo˛rðr 'a fjord, a firth, an inlet': 'charcoal-pits’
fjord'.
Locative Byname:
Kolgrafir, Snæf.
The plural of OIc kolgro˛f
'a charcoal pit': '(the) charcoal pits'.
Locative Byname: at Kolgro˛fum
Kolkumýrar, Húnv.
The second element, mýrar, is the plural of OIc mýrr
'a moor, a bog, a swamp'. The first is the genitive of kolka, the nickname
of Þorbjo˛rn kolka, the
original settler. The meaning of the nickname is unknown.
Locative Byname:
Kollafjarðarheiðr, Barð.
From the place-name Kollafjo˛rðr, genitive
Kollafjarðar, and OIc heiðr 'a heath, a moor'.
Locative Byname:
Kollafjo˛rðr, Barð.
From the masculine name Kolli, genitive Kolla,
and OIc fjo˛rðr 'a fjord,
a firth, an inlet': 'Kolli’s fjord'.
Locative Byname:
Kollavík, Þing.
From the masculine name Kolli, genitive Kolla,
and OIc vík 'an inlet, a small bay': 'Kolli’s inlet'.
Locative Byname:
Kollshamarr (-hamrar), Borg.
From the masculine name Kollr, genitive Kolls,
and OIc hamarr, literally 'a hammer', but as a topographical term 'a
hammer-shaped crag, a steep rock, a precipice': 'Koll’s crag'. The
name also appears in the plural hamrar: 'Koll’s crags'.
Locative Byname:
Kollslœkr, Borg.
From the masculine name Kollr, genitive Kolls,
and OIc lœkr 'a rivulet, a brook': 'Koll’s brook'.
Locative Byname: at Kollslœk, á Kollslœk
Kollsveinsstaðir, Skag.
From the masculine name Kollsveinn, genitive Kollsveins,
and OIc staðr 'a place, a stead', here in the plural staðir:
'Kollsvein’s stead(s)'.
Locative Byname: á Kollsveinssto˛ðum
Kollsvík, Barð.
From the masculine name Kollr, genitive Kolls,
and OIc vík 'an inlet, a small bay': 'Koll’s inlet'.
Locative Byname: í Kollsvík
Kolssonafell, Snæf. (?)
From the masculine name Kolr, genitive Kols,
and OIc sonr, genitive plural sona, and fell 'an
isolated hill': 'Kol’s sons’ hill'. In some versions the
name appears as Kollzsonafell, as if the father’s name were
Kollr.
Locative Byname:
Kópanes, Barð.
From OIc kópr 'a young seal', genitive plural kópa,
and nes 'a ness, a headland': 'seals’ point'.
Locative Byname:
Kóranes, Mýr.
From the masculine name Kóri, genitive Kóra,
and OIc nes 'a ness, a headland': 'Kóri’s point'. A thrall
named Kóri is said to have been killed here.
Locative Byname:
Kraunaheiðr, Þing.
The second element is OIc heiðr 'a heath, a moor'; the
first is obscure.
Locative Byname:
Krist(s)nes, Eyfj.
From OIc Kristr 'Christ' and nes 'a ness, a
headland'. Krist is the usual combining form, making Kristnes
'Christ point'. The name is also found in the variant Kristsnes, with
the first element in the genitive, Krists: 'Christ’s point'.
Locative Byname: í Krist(s)nesi
Krókr, Mýr.
OIc krókr 'a hook; a curve, a bend; a nook, a corner'.
Locative Byname:
Króksdalr: see Króksfjo˛rðr.
Króksfjarðarmúli, Barð.
From the place-name Króksfjo˛rðr, genitive Króksfjarðar,
and OIc múli 'a projecting mountain, a jutting crag (between two fjords,
valleys, or the like)'.
Locative Byname:
Króksfjarðarnes, Barð.
From the place-name Króksfjo˛rðr, genitive Króksfjarðar,
and OIc nes 'a ness, a headland'.
Locative Byname:
Króksfjo˛rðr, Barð.
The second element is OIc fjo˛rðr 'a fjord, a firth, an inlet'; the second is the
genitive of krókr 'a hook; a curve, a bend; a nook, a corner', the
nickname of Þórarinn krókr, the original settler, making the place-name
'Krók’s fjord'.
Locative Byname:
Kroppr, Eyfj.
Apparently OIc kroppr 'a hump or bunch on any part of
that body; the body, the trunk', presumably used in some topographical sense.
Locative Byname: at Kroppi
Krossá, Rang.
From OIc kross 'a cross' and á 'a river':
'cross river'.
Locative Byname:
Krossáss, Þing.
From OIc kross 'a cross' and áss 'a thick pole,
a main beam in a house; a yard of a sail; a rocky ridge', presumably used here in
the topographical sense. The original settlers are said to have raised a cross
here.
Locative Byname:
Krossavík, N.-Múl.
–– S.-Múl.From OIc kross 'a cross', genitive plural krossa,
and vík 'an inlet, a small bay'.
Locative Byname: í Krossavík
Krosshólar, Dal.
From OIc kross and hóll 'a hill, a hillock, a
knoll', here in the plural hólar: 'cross knolls'. Landnámbók
says that Auðr in djúpúðga Ketils dóttir had crosses raised here því
at hún var skírð ok vel trúuð 'because she was baptized and a devout
believer'.
Locative Byname:
Krossnes: see Kjalarnes.
Krýsuvík (Krísuvík), Gullbr.
The second element is OIc vík 'an inlet, a small bay';
the etymology of the first is unknown. Both spellings are found even today, but
Krýsuvík appears to be the older.
Locative Byname:
Kræklingahlíð, Eyfj.
The second element is OIc hlíð 'a mountainside, a slope'.
According to Landnámabók it was settled by the sons of O˛ndótt kráka, called the
Kræklingar 'crow-lings', genitive plural Kræklinga, after
their father’s nickname kráka 'a crow'.
Locative Byname:
Kro˛fluhellir, Húnv.
The second element is OIc hellir 'a cave, a cavern'. The
first appears to be the genitive of krafla, the nickname of Þorkell
krafla: according to Landnámabók, he hid here behind a waterfall,
so it’s 'Krafla’s cave'. According to Vatnsdæla saga,
he had been exposed at birth; the men who found him saw that something had been
spread over his face at which he had kraflaði 'pawed', from krafla
'to paw or scrabble with the hands'. This does not, however, explain why there is
a volcano named Krafla.
Locative Byname:
Kúðafljót, Skaft.
The second element is OIc fljót 'a river, generally a
fast-moving stream'; according to Landnámabók, the first element is
from Kúði, the name of the ship in which Vilbaldr Dufþaks son
first sailed into its mouth, so that the river is 'Kúdi’s river'.
The meaning of the ship’s name is unclear, but modern Ic kúði is
'a weak, sickly person; a small creature; a (wooden) container', and either of
the last two senses might be appropriate names for a ship.
Locative Byname:
Kvernvágastro˛nd, Norway.
The various versions show considerable variation in the first
element of the place-name, and it is not clear whether it should be Kvern-
or Kvenn-. If Kvern-, it would be from OIc kvern 'a
quern-stone, a millstone; a quern, a handmill'; if Kvenn-, from kvenna
'a woman'. Both are found in other Norwegian place-names. The rest of the name
is from vágr 'a creek, a bay', genitive plural vága, and
stro˛nd 'strand, coast,
shore': 'coves’ strand'.
Locative Byname: á Kvernvágastro˛nd
Kvíá, Skaft.
From OIc kví 'a fold, a pen (e.g., for sheep)' and
á 'a river'.
Locative Byname:
Kvíabekkr, Eyfj.
From OIc kví 'a fold, a pen (e.g., for sheep)', genitive
plural kvía, and bekkr 'a rivulet, a brook'. (This is an unusual
place-name, in that the element bekkr is rare in Iceland and largely
confined to poetic usage; the usual term is lœkr).
Locative Byname: at Kvíabekk, á Kvíabekk
Kvígandafjo˛rðr (Kvígandisfjo˛rðr), Barð.
From OIc kvígendi 'a young cow or bullock', genitive
kvíganda, and fjo˛rðr
'a fjord, a firth, an inlet'. The textual variant Kvígandisfjo˛rðr foreshadows the modern name,
Kvígindisfjo˛rður.
Locative Byname:
Kvígandanes, Barð.
From OIc kvígendi 'a young cow or bullock', genitive
kvíganda, and nes 'a ness, a headland'.
Locative Byname:
Kvíguvágabjörg, Gullbr.
From OIc kvíga 'a young cow, a heifer', genitive
kvígu, vágr 'a creek, a bay', genitive plural vága,
and bjarg 'a boulder, a (large) rock', here in the plural bjo˛rg 'precipices, especially by
the sea'. The place, now called Vogastapi is a precipitous cliff
between the coves now called Njarðvík and Vogarvík. On
Vogavík is the community of Vogar, whose old name was
Kvíguvágar 'heifer’s coves'.
Locative Byname:
Kýlanshólar (Kýlanshólmar), Borg. (?)
From the masculine name Kýlan, genitive Kýlans,
and the plural of either OIc hóll 'a hill, a hillock, a knoll' or
hólmr 'a holm, an islet': 'Kýlan’s knoll or holm'.
Kýlan Kára son is said to have been killed there; see
Brenna.
Locative Byname:
The first element, lagar, is the genitive of OIc lo˛gr 'the sea; water, any liquid',
a term also applied to some large lakes and estuaries. The second is fljót
'a river, a lake', the latter sense usually only in proper nouns; it connotes a
fast-moving stream as opposed to lœkr, a slow-moving brook. The river
does in fact run through a fairly large lake.
Locative Byname:
Lagarfljótsstrandir.
From the place-name Lagarfljót,
genitive Lagarfljóts, and OIc stro˛
'strand, coast, shore', here in the plural strandir: 'Lagarfljót’s
strands'.
Locative Byname:
Lágey, Skaft.
From OIc lágr 'low' and ey 'an island': 'low
island'. One version calls it Laxey 'salmon island', from lax
'a salmon'.
Locative Byname: í Lágey
Lambafellsá, Rang.
From OIc lamb 'a lamb', genitive plural lamba,
fell 'an isolated hill', genitive fells, and á 'a
river': 'lambs’ hill river'.
Locative Byname:
Lambastaðir, Mýr.
–– Rang.
The two place-names have slightly different origins. The second
is from the masculine name Lambi, genitive Lamba, and OIc
staðr 'a place, a stead', here in the plural staðir. The name
Lambi was originally a byname derived from OIc lamb 'a lamb',
and Lambastaðir in Mýrasýsla has as its first element the genitive,
lamba, of the byname of Þorgeirr lambi. Thus, both are
'Lambi’s stead(s)', though the personal references are of
slightly different types.
Locative Byname: á Lambasto˛ðum
Landamót, Þing.
From OIc land 'land (as opposed to sea); a country',
genitive plural landa, and mót 'a meeting; a town-meeting;
a joint, a juncture'. It has the last sense in ármót 'a meeting of
waters' (from á 'a river', genitive ár), and the local
topography suggests that the name may refer to the meeting of two usable
valleys separated by barren hills.
Locative Byname:
Landbrot, Skag.
Either OIc landbrot 'a desolation of land by sea or
rivers', or a more literal compound of land 'land (as opposed to sea);
a country', and brot 'a breaking, a fracture'.
Locative Byname:
Langá, Mýr.
From OIc langr 'long' and á 'a river': 'long
river'.
Locative Byname:
Langadalr, Húnv.
–– Snæf.
From OIc langr 'long' and dalr 'a valley, a
dale': 'long dale'. The spelling is slightly unexpected: dalr is masculine,
so one would expect Langidalr.
Locative Byname: í Langadal; úr Langadal
Langadalsá, Ísafj.
–– Snæf.
From the place-name Langadalr,
genitive Langadals, and OIc á 'a river'.
Locative Byname:
Langaholt, Snæf.
–– Skag.
From OIc langr 'long', here in the neuter nominative
singular of the weak declension, and holt 'a wood, a copse; a rough,
stony hill or ridge'.
Locative Byname: í Langaholti
Langanes, Ísafj.
–– Rang.
–– Þing.
From OIc langr 'long', here in the neuter nominative
singular of the weak declension, and nes 'a ness, a headland': 'long
ness'.
Locative Byname:
Langavatnsdalr, Mýr.
From the place-name Langavatn, genitive Langavatns,
and OIc dalr 'a valley, a dale': 'Langavatn’s valley'.
Langavatn is from OIc langr 'long', here in the neuter nominative
singular of the weak declension, and vatn 'water, fresh water, a lake':
'long lake'. The lake is drained by the Langá.
Locative Byname:
Laugar: see Lundar.
Laugarbrekka, Snæf.
From OIc laug 'a bath; a hot spring', genitive laugar,
and brekka 'a slope': 'hot spring’s slope'.
Locative Byname: at Laugarbrekku
Laugardalr, Árn.
–– Ísafj.
From OIc laug 'a bath; a hot spring', genitive laugar,
and dalr 'a valley, a dale': 'hot spring’s valley'.
Locative Byname:
Laxá (Stór-), Árn.
–– Borg.
–– Kjós.
–– (1) Snæf.
–– (2) Snæf.
–– Þing.
From OIc lax 'a salmon' and á 'a river':
'salmon river'. The modifier Stór- is 'Great-'; I don’t know
how early it was applied.
Locative Byname:
Laxárdalr, Dal.
–– Skag.
–– Þing.
From the place-name Laxá,
genitive Laxár, and OIc dalr 'a valley, a dale'.
Locative Byname: í Laxárdal
Laxey: see Lágey.
Leiðólfsfell, Skaft.
From the masculine name Leiðólfr, genitive Leiðólfs,
and OIc fell 'an isolated hill': 'Leiðólf’s hill'.
Locative Byname:
Leiðólfsstaðir, Árn.
–– Skaft.
From the masculine name Leiðólfr, genitive Leiðólfs,
and OIc staðr 'a place, a stead', here in the plural staðir:
'Leiðólf’s stead(s)'.
Locative Byname: á Leiðólfssto˛ðum
Leikskálar, Dal.
The plural of OIc leikskáli 'play-shed'; these were
temporary dwellings for participants and spectators at a leikmót, or
athletic meeting. The word is a compound of leikr 'play, game, sport'
and skáli 'a shieling: a hut or shed put up for temporary use'.
Locative Byname:
Leirá, Borg.
From OIc leir 'clay, loam; mud' and á 'a
river'.
Locative Byname: at Leirá
Leirho˛fn, Þing.
From OIc leir 'clay, loam; mud' and ho˛fn 'a harbor, a haven'.
Locative Byname: í Leirho˛fn
Leirulœkr, Mýr.
From OIc leira 'a muddy shore, a mud flat', genitive
leiru, and lœkr 'a rivulet, a brook'.
Locative Byname:
Leiruvágr, Kjós.
From OIc leira 'a muddy shore, a mud flat', genitive
leiru, and vágr 'a creek, a bay'.
Locative Byname:
Líðandisnes, Norway.
This is modern Lindesnes, whose oldest recorded name is
OIc Líðandi; this is the present participle of líða 'to go; to
pass; to be at an end'. Here the sense is probably 'the end (of the peninsula)'.
To this was later added nes 'a ness, a headland'. I don’t entirely
understand the construction: I would have expected Líðandanes, with
Líðandi treated either as an adjective in the neuter nominative
singular or as an nd-stem noun in the genitive singular. (NSL s.n.
Lindesnes)
Locative Byname:
Línakradalr, Húnv.
From OIc línakr 'a flax field', genitive plural
línakra, and dalr 'a valley, a dale': 'flax fields’
dale'. Línakr is a compound of lín 'flax; linen' and
akr 'a field; a crop'.
Locative Byname:
Ljósavatn, Þing.
From OIc ljóss 'light, bright', here in the neuter
nominative singular of the weak declension, and vatn 'water, fresh
water; a lake'.
Locative Byname: at Ljósavatni; frá Ljósavatni
Ljósavatnsskarð, Þing.
From the place-name Ljósavatn,
genitive Ljósavatns, and OIc skarð 'a mountain pass; a notch'.
The lake is at one end of the pass.
Locative Byname:
Ljótarstaðir, Rang.
From the feminine name Ljót, genitive Ljótar,
and OIc staðr 'a place, a stead', here in the plural staðir:
'Ljót’s stead(s)'.
Locative Byname: á Ljótarsto˛ðum
Ljótólfsstaðir, Dal.
From the masculine name Ljótólfr, genitive Ljótólfs,
and OIc staðr 'a place, a stead', here in the plural staðir:
'Ljótólf’s stead(s)'.
Locative Byname: á Ljótólfssto˛ðum
Loðmundarfjo˛rðr, N.-Múl.
From the masculine name Loðmundr, genitive Loðmundar,
and OIc fjo˛rðr 'a fjord, a
firth, an inlet': 'Loðmund’s fjord'.
Locative Byname: í Loðmundarfirði
Loðmundarhvammr, Skaft.
From the masculine name Loðmundr, genitive Loðmundar,
and OIc hvammr 'a grassy hollow or little vale': 'Loðmund’s
hollow'.
Locative Byname: í Loðmundarhvammi
Lófót, Norway.
The old name of the island Vestvågøya in the Lofoten
archipelago, now applied to the island chain as a whole. The neighboring island
of Flakstadøya was called Vargfót. Despite the missing
inflectional -r, this is clearly from OIc vargr 'a wolf' and
fótr 'a foot', perhaps in reference to the way the coastline is cut
up by fjords and inlets. It seems likely, therefore, that the first element of
Lófót is an otherwise unattested cognate of Old Swedish lo
'a lynx', making the name is 'lynx-foot', though other etymologies have been
proposed. (NSL s.n. Lofoten)
Locative Byname:
Lómagnúpslo˛nd, Skaft.
From the place-name Lómagnúpr, genitive Lómagnúps,
and OIc land 'land (as opposed to sea); a country', here in the plural
lo˛nd. Lómagnúpr
is from lómr 'a loon, an ember-goose', genitive plural lóma,
and gnúpr 'a peak, an overhanging peak': 'loons’ peak'.
Locative Byname:
Lón (Skipalón), Eyfj.
–– Skaft.
OIc lón 'an inlet, a lagoon'. Lón in
Eyjafjarðarsýsla is now Skipalón 'ships’ lagoon', from
skip 'a ship', genitive plural skipa; I don’ know
how old this name is.
Locative Byname: í Lóni, at Lóni
Lónland, Snæf.
From OIc lón 'an inlet, a lagoon' and land
'land (as opposed to sea); a country'. (Einar Arnórsson’s index lists
the name as Lonsland), but this appears to be an error.)
Locative Byname:
Lónlo˛nd, Skaft.
From either the place-name Lón
or OIc lón 'an inlet, a lagoon' and land 'land (as opposed to
sea); a country', here in the plural lo˛nd.
Locative Byname:
Lónsheiðr, Skaft.
From the place-name Lón,
genitive Lóns, and OIc heiðr 'a heath, a moor':
'Lón’s heath'.
Locative Byname:
Lunansholt, Rang.
The second element is OIc holt 'a wood, a copse; a
rough, stony hill or ridge'; the first is the genitive of lunan, the
byname of the settler Þorsteinn lunan. It also appears as luna,
and its meaning and origin are unknown.
Locative Byname: í Lunansholti
Lundar, (?)
The plural of OIc lundr 'a grove'.
Locative Byname: at Lundum
Lundarbrekka, Þing.
From OIc lundr 'a grove', genitive lundar,
and brekka 'a slope'.
Locative Byname: at Lundarbrekku(m)
Lundr, Borg.
–– Þing.
OIc lundr 'a grove'.
Locative Byname: at Lundi
Lýsa, Snæf.
Apparently OIc lýsa 'a gleam, shimmering light'. The
contexts in which it appears suggest that it might have been a river.
Locative Byname:
Lœkjarbotnar, Rang.
From OIc lœkr 'a rivulet, a brook', genitive lœkjar,
and botn 'the head of a bay, firth, lake, or valley', here in the plural
botnar.
Locative Byname:
Lo˛nguhlíð, Eyfj.
From OIc langr 'long', here in the feminine nominative
singular of the weak declension, and hlíð 'a mountainside, a slope':
'long slope'.
Locative Byname: í Lo˛nguhlíð
