Iceland Naming Customs: Difference between revisions

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All are the same person.
All are the same person.


When farm names are given in a record, they provide residence information and are not part of the person’s surname. As such, they should be added as part of the locality information and '''NOT a part of the person's name'''. An illustration would be a person named Mary Smith. Her name alone is not that unique, but if you were to refer to her as Mary Smith of Battle Lake, Minnesota, she is identified with much higher precision.  
When farm names are given in a record, they provide residence information and are not part of the person’s surname. As such, they should be added as part of the locality information and not a part of the person's name. An illustration would be a person named Mary Smith. Her name alone is not that unique, but if you were to refer to her as Mary Smith of Battle Lake, Minnesota, she is identified with much higher precision.  


As many of the original settlers of Iceland were from Norway, it is appropriate to look there for additional insight. According to Yngve Nedrebø, Director of the Regional Archive in Bergen, "[farm names do] not necessarily  identify a family or a relationship; it signified a place of residence. If farmer Ole Olsen Li moved from Li to another farm, such as Dal, he would then be known as Ole Olsen Dal. A farm laborer could be named in the same way, even though he was not related to the farmer."<ref>Nedrebø, Yngve, ''How to trace your ancestors in Norway''. Oslo, Norway : Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 1989. FS Library Book [https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/504142 948.1 D27o 1989]. Also available online at Digital Archives, [https://www.digitalarkivet.no/en/content/trace-ancestors How to trace your ancestors in Norway].</ref>  
As many of the original settlers of Iceland were from Norway, it is appropriate to look there for additional insight. According to Yngve Nedrebø, Director of the Regional Archive in Bergen, "[farm names do] not necessarily  identify a family or a relationship; it signified a place of residence. If farmer Ole Olsen Li moved from Li to another farm, such as Dal, he would then be known as Ole Olsen Dal. A farm laborer could be named in the same way, even though he was not related to the farmer."<ref>Nedrebø, Yngve, ''How to trace your ancestors in Norway''. Oslo, Norway : Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 1989. FS Library Book [https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/504142 948.1 D27o 1989]. Also available online at Digital Archives, [https://www.digitalarkivet.no/en/content/trace-ancestors How to trace your ancestors in Norway].</ref>