No Surnames
Iceland stands out as one of the few countries that has moved away from the traditional practice of using family heritage and lineages to name children. Instead, Iceland employs a patronymic or matronymic system, which restricts the names given to children.
Under this system, male descendants adopt their father’s first name and append “son” to it as a suffix. Female descendants adopt their father’s first name with “dottir” added as a suffix. In cases where the father’s identity is unclear or if the mother takes on a more prominent role in the child’s life, the mother can also use her first name. For example, if the father’s name is also Jón, the child’s name would be Jón Jónsson.
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