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ArchivesThis might be a stupid question, but...
in reply to a message by Bjorn
do women in Iceland take their husband's last name after marriage? No comments on the tradition, just curious about the mechanics.
Would your mom, for example, have the option to be Björnsdóttir because she is married to your dad, although she is not the daughter of Björn. Also, how do you call the whole family? In the US the family with the last name of Gordon would be the Gordons, in Latin America they would have los Martinez, los Llanos, etc. Is there an Icelandic equivalent?
Would your mom, for example, have the option to be Björnsdóttir because she is married to your dad, although she is not the daughter of Björn. Also, how do you call the whole family? In the US the family with the last name of Gordon would be the Gordons, in Latin America they would have los Martinez, los Llanos, etc. Is there an Icelandic equivalent?
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Nope, nobody has to change their name after marrage, so she just stays Friðgeirsdóttir. There are a few people with family names, but usually they just get passed down to the children, not to the spouse. My friend for instance has the family name Guðmann, as does his dad, but not his mother. And he adds it after his patronym, so it's Ísak Jónsson Guðmann, his father Jón Ísaksson Guðmann (by a funny coincidence, we are both named after our grandfathers on the father's side, as you can see.)
There is no way to refer to the whole family like that. You could say "the family in Whereverstreet 22"... But apart from that there are a few ways to refer to the children. Me and my brothers can be referred to as Kristinssynir (sons of Kristinn), if I had any sisters we would be Kristinsbörn (children of Kristinn) and if there were only girls they're be Kristinsdætur (daughters of Kristinn). But that's it :)
There is no way to refer to the whole family like that. You could say "the family in Whereverstreet 22"... But apart from that there are a few ways to refer to the children. Me and my brothers can be referred to as Kristinssynir (sons of Kristinn), if I had any sisters we would be Kristinsbörn (children of Kristinn) and if there were only girls they're be Kristinsdætur (daughters of Kristinn). But that's it :)
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