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 ness', or it could be OIc álfr 'an elf',
genitive singular álfs, making the name 'elf’s ness', 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’ ness'. 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 ness'.
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.
An island or group of islands, now Borgann or Borgund, but I am not certain which. 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.nn.
Borgann, 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 theÖrnefni 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 ness 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: í Búlandsnesi
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 theÖrnefni 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