Anna is now the most common first name for women in Iceland. The most common name for men is currently Jón.
This per a new name and birthday survey published by Statistics Iceland.
There are 4,782 women with the first name Anna in Iceland; 4,472 women are named Guðrún. Kristín (3,383), Sigríður (3,192), and Margrét (also spelled Margrjet and Margret; 2,838) round out the remaining top five women’s names. This is the first time that Guðrún has not been the most common first name for women in the country.
The top ten men’s names in Iceland have been the same since 2018. Jón is still the most popular, with 5,052 men bearing that name, followed by Sigurður (4,073), Guðmundur (3,838), Gunnar (3,074), and Ólafur/Olav (2,743).
Double names have always been popular in Iceland, and Statistics Iceland has also been keeping records on the most common combinations. The most common double names for women are currently: Anna María, Anna Kristín, and Anna Margrét. These haven’t changed since 2018. The top two double names for men have been the same since 2018: Jón Þór and Gunnar Þór. This year, however, there’s been a shake-up with the third most popular double name for men, with Arnar Freyr overtaking Jón Ingi.
Anna, Jón not among most popular names for babies born in 2021
Although Jón and Anna may enjoy top ranking when it comes to the most common names overall, they don’t make the cut for babies born in 2021. The top three girls’ names that year were Emilía, Embla, and Sara; the top three boys’ names were Aron, Jökull, and Alexander. Björk and Ósk were the most popular second or middle names for girls; Freyr and Máni were the most popular ones for boys.
More common to have a summer or fall birthday than a winter one
Unsurprisingly, summer and fall birthdays are more common in Iceland than winter ones (October – March). Just over half of birthdays in Iceland—51.5%—land between April and September.
It’s then even more unusual to have a birthday on a major winter holiday in Iceland. As of this year, a total of 1,246 people living in Iceland were born on January 1, New Year’s Day; 780 people have Christmas Day birthdays and 861 were born on Christmas Eve, December 24. A February 29 birthday is uncommon everywhere, and this is true in Iceland, too. Only 234 Icelanders have Leap Year birthdays.
