If you’ve sat down to enjoy Argentina vs Iceland on Saturday, you’d have noticed something rather peculiar about the islanders at the World Cup.

There are more “sons” than you can shake a stick at. All they’re missing is “Onmeheadson”. Even Henry VIII would be taken aback by this. But is this a result of a gleeful co-incidence, or something else completely?


Why do Icelandic surnames end in son?
Iceland do names very differently from the rest of us. In fact, they don’t use the concept of a family name – Like a Zuma, or a Smith and so on – and instead, assign surnames based on gender and parents’ first names.


As clarified by WSI Magazine, If you are born a male and your father is called “Gunnar”, your surname will become “Gunnarsson”. If you are born a female, your surname would be “Gunnarsdottir” – with dottir meaning “daughter” in Icelandic.


A first name is then chosen as normal. So let’s take the example of “Gunnarson”. His parents may decide to name him “Gylfi”. When Gylfi Gunnarsson has a child of his own, their surname will be either “Gylfisson” or “Gylfisdottir”.


It’s also possible to take the matriarch’s name, too. Gylfi may have a child with someone called Helga, leaving children with the option of being either a Gylfisson, a Gylfisdottir, a Helgasson, or a Helgasdottir.


Icelandic naming oddities
There are other quirks of the naming traditions: Spouses do not take their partners name in marriage, and there is a relatively small list of pre-approved names parents must choose from. Names like Carolina and Christine are banned, as there is no “C” in the Icelandic alphabet.

Karolina and Kristine would be allowed, though.
Why not kill a bit of time by finding out what your Icelandic name would be? Change your surname to that of your father’s or mother’s, and add “son” or “dottir” on to the end. Who knows, maybe it’ll catch on?

Examples include Halldorsson; Saevarsson, Arnason, R. Sigurdsson, Magnusson; G. Sigurdsson, Halfredsson, Bjarnason, Gunnarsson (c), Gudmundsson; Finnbogason


Mine would be Blacksodjeson, what is yours?

source: https://www.thesouthafrican.com/iceland-players-surname-son-why/


Lalasticlala, Seun, Mynd44

Oga na their names
Croatia end with tic
Poland ends with ki

Brazil was oo then

what a class! what a lesson! thanks for the knowledge. I hop say na History u study for school?
mine will b Ehbellshoson

Mine will be funnicatorson

ehbellsho:
what a class! what a lesson! thanks for the knowledge. I hop say na History u study for school?
mine will b Ehbellshoson

No Sir... I'm a science student