How popular is the baby name Blaer in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Blaer.

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Popularity of the baby name Blaer


Posts that mention the name Blaer

Popular baby names in Iceland, 2021

Flag of Iceland
Flag of Iceland

Iceland is a sparsely populated (and actively volcanic!) island country located in the North Atlantic Ocean, very close to the Arctic Circle.

Last year, Iceland welcomed 4,866 babies. What were the most popular names among these babies? Embla and Aron.

Here are Iceland’s top 50 girl names and top 50 boy names of 2021:

Girl Names

  1. Embla, 31 baby girls
  2. Emilía, 29 (tie)
  3. Sara, 29 (tie)
  4. Sóley, 26 – means “buttercup” in Icelandic.
  5. Aþena, 25 (tie) – form of Athena.
  6. Matthildur, 25 (tie) – form of Matilda.
  7. Katla, 24
  8. Guðrún, 23
  9. Eva, 22 (3-way tie)
  10. Saga, 22 (3-way tie)
  11. Viktoría, 22 (3-way tie)
  12. Anna, 21 (4-way tie)
  13. Bríet, 21 (4-way tie)
  14. Emma, 21 (4-way tie)
  15. Hekla, 21 (4-way tie)
  16. Júlía, 19
  17. Móeiður, 18
  18. Aldís, 17 (3-way tie)
  19. Andrea, 17 (3-way tie)
  20. Elísabet, 17 (3-way tie)
  21. Freyja, 16 (tie)
  22. Kristín, 16 (tie)
  23. Ísabella, 15 (tie)
  24. Katrín, 15 (tie)
  25. Alexandra, 14 (7-way tie)
  26. Hanna, 14 (7-way tie)
  27. Klara, 14 (7-way tie)
  28. Margrét, 14 (7-way tie)
  29. Rakel, 14 (7-way tie)
  30. Salka, 14 (7-way tie)
  31. Una, 14 (7-way tie)
  32. Hrafnhildur, 13 (3-way tie) – comprised of elements meaning “raven” and “battle.”
  33. Íris, 13 (3-way tie)
  34. Þórdís, 13 (3-way tie)
  35. Kolbrún, 12
  36. Berglind, 11 (7-way tie)
  37. Birta, 11 (7-way tie)
  38. Helga, 11 (7-way tie)
  39. Kamilla, 11 (7-way tie)
  40. Laufey, 11 (7-way tie)
  41. María, 11 (7-way tie)
  42. Sóldís, 11 (7-way tie)
  43. Amelía, 10 (14-way tie)
  44. Aría, 10 (14-way tie)
  45. Áróra, 10 (14-way tie)
  46. Elín, 10 (14-way tie)
  47. Hafdís, 10 (14-way tie)
  48. Heiðdís, 10 (14-way tie)
  49. Hildur, 10 (14-way tie)
  50. Hrafntinna, 10 (14-way tie) – based on the Icelandic word hrafntinnu, meaning “obsidian.” (The elements mean “raven” and “flint.”)
  51. Lena, 10 (14-way tie)
  52. Lóa, 10 (14-way tie)
  53. Mía, 10 (14-way tie)
  54. Natalía, 10 (14-way tie)
  55. Unnur, 10 (14-way tie)
  56. Ylfa, 10 (14-way tie)

Boy Names

  1. Aron, 41 baby boys
  2. Jökull, 36 – (pronounced yoh-kut, roughly) means “glacier” in Icelandic.
  3. Alexander, 31
  4. Kári, 30
  5. Emil, 28
  6. Jón, 27
  7. Óliver, 25
  8. Matthías, 24 (tie)
  9. Mikael, 24 (tie)
  10. Atlas, 23 (tie)
  11. Elmar, 23 (tie)
  12. Óðinn, 22
  13. Birnir, 21 (tie)
  14. Sigurður, 21 (tie)
  15. Baldur, 20 (6-way tie)
  16. Birkir, 20 (6-way tie) – based on the Icelandic word birki, meaning “birch”
  17. Brynjar, 20 (6-way tie)
  18. Ísak, 20 (6-way tie)
  19. Stefán, 20 (6-way tie)
  20. Tómas, 20 (6-way tie)
  21. Dagur, 19
  22. Styrmir, 18
  23. Úlfur, 18
  24. Bjartur, 17 (5-way tie)
  25. Daníel, 17 (5-way tie)
  26. Fannar, 17 (5-way tie)
  27. Guðmundur, 17 (5-way tie)
  28. Róbert, 17 (5-way tie)
  29. Ari, 16 (6-way tie)
  30. Jóhann, 16 (6-way tie)
  31. Kristófer, 16 (6-way tie)
  32. Óskar, 16 (6-way tie)
  33. Theodór, 16 (6-way tie)
  34. Viktor, 16 (6-way tie)
  35. Baltasar, 15 (3-way tie)
  36. Bjarki, 15 (3-way tie)
  37. Ólafur, 15 (3-way tie)
  38. Benedikt, 14 (9-way tie)
  39. Benjamín, 14 (9-way tie)
  40. Einar, 14 (9-way tie)
  41. Hjörtur, 14 (9-way tie)
  42. Hrafn, 14 (9-way tie)
  43. Jakob, 14 (9-way tie)
  44. Kristján, 14 (9-way tie)
  45. Magnús, 14 (9-way tie)
  46. Ýmir, 14 (9-way tie)
  47. Hinrik, 13 (4-way tie)
  48. Hlynur, 13 (4-way tie) – means “maple” in Icelandic.
  49. Máni, 13 (4-way tie) – based on the Old Norse word máni, meaning “moon.”
    • Máni was the personification of the moon in Germanic mythology.
  50. Ragnar, 13 (4-way tie)

Notably, the girl name Saga jumped from 80th place in 2020 to 10th in 2021.

Here are several interesting names from outside the top 50:

More Girl NamesMore Boy names
Dagbjört (“day” + “light”), 5Frosti (“frost”), 12
Melkorka (a character from a saga), 5Nökkvi (“boat, skip”), 9
Kría (“arctic tern”) 4Víkingur, 8
Ósk (“wish”), 2Snæbjörn (“snow” + “bear”), 5
Ugla (“owl”), 2Örlygur (“warrior”), 2

And, because Iceland releases all of its baby name data (yay!), we can check out names at the other end of the spectrum.

Over 340 girl names and over 360 boy names were bestowed just once in Iceland last year. Here’s a selection of Iceland’s unique baby names of 2021:

Unique Girl NamesUnique Boy Names
Álfrún, Blíða, Charlotta, Dýrleif, Elínrós, Fanndís, Gígja, Hjaltey, Irmý, Jökla, Kristrún, Lílú, Marlaug, Myrkey, Nanna, Oddný, Pála, Quin, Rökkva, Svanhvít, Þórkatla, Unndís, Viðey, Wilrie, Ylfur, ZojaÁstmar, Barði, Carlos, Döggvi, Dreki, Ellert, Feykir, Greipur, Himri, Ísarr, Jörfi, Klettur, Kveldúlfur, Loftur, Myrkvi, Númi, Öxar, Pálmi, Röskvi, Skúmur, Sumarliði, Þorfinnur, Vigfús, Xander, Yariel, Zoran

Some simplified definitions for a few of the above…

  • Döggvi, “dew”
  • Dreki, “dragon”
  • Dýrleif, “deer” + “heir”
  • Fanndis, “snowdrift” + “woman”
  • Feykir, “fire”
  • Gigja, “fiddle”
  • Himri, short for himbrimi, “common loon” in Icelandic
  • Jökla, feminine version of Jökull, the #2 boy name
  • Myrkvi, “darkness (caused by fog or a storm)” or “eclipse
  • Sumarliði, “summer-farer”
  • Svanhvit, “swan” + “white”

There was also a single non-binary name, Blær (“light breeze”), registered in Iceland last year.

Interestingly, about a decade ago, a teenager named Blær forced Iceland to legally recognize her name — which, at that time, was considered solely masculine — by taking the government to court. Perhaps that court battle paved the way for Blær to become a dual-gender name in Iceland? Hm…

The last time I posted rankings for Iceland, in 2018, the top two names (Embla and Aron) were the same.

Sources: Vinsælustu nöfnin 2021 | Þjóðskrá, Vinsælustu nöfnin 2021 | Þjóðskrá, Nordic Names

Image: Adapted from Flag of Iceland (public domain)

The names Harriet and Duncan are illegal in Iceland

Iceland’s restrictive baby naming law is in the news again. Last year the problem was Blær, this year it’s Harriet.

Tristan Cardew (of Britain) and his wife Kristin (of Iceland) live in Iceland and have two children: Duncan, 12, and Harriet, 10. Duncan’s and Harriet’s Icelandic passports have always listed them as Drengur Cardew (Boy Cardew) and Stúlka Cardew (Girl Cardew) because Iceland doesn’t officially recognize their non-Icelandic names.

Not long ago, Tristan and Kristin tried to renew Harriet’s passport ahead of a vacation, but the National Registry in Reykjavik denied their request. They are appealing the decision. (In the meanwhile, they’ve gotten Harriet an emergency UK passport from the British embassy.)

The Cardews could get round Harriet’s problem by giving her an Icelandic middle name.

“But it’s a bit late for that, and way too silly,” said [Tristan] Cardew. “Are they saying they don’t want us here?”

I’m not sure how much support/criticism the name law gets from residents of Iceland, but Jón Gnarr, former mayor of Reykjavik, has called the law “unfair, stupid [and] against creativity.”

What other names has Iceland declared illegal? Here are links to all of the approved and rejected baby names in Iceland.

Source: Icelandic girls can’t be called Harriet, government tells family

Approved and rejected baby names in Iceland

The recent news about the Icelandic girl named Blær reminds me…

Did you know that the Mannanafnanefnd, Iceland’s Personal Names Committee, puts its baby name rulings online? Every acceptance and rejection going back to 2001 is available.

One particularly interesting ruling is the split decision that happened in late 2008 over the name Skallagrímur, which was ultimately rejected.

But the Mannanafnanefnd’s rulings are in Icelandic, and if you don’t read Icelandic, well, they’re a bit hard to make out. :) So, to make it easier, here are current lists of Iceland’s approved and rejected baby names:

Over 1,700 boy names and over 1,800 girl names have been given the Iceland’s stamp of approval so far.

Sources: I ain’t the only one who loves names!, Icelandic Name Committee Reaches Rare Split Decision

Update, 7/9/14 – The government of Iceland now has a separate website for approved and rejected baby names. I’ve just updated all the links.

Icelandic girl named Blær fights for name recognition

A 15-year-old Icelandic girl named Blær Bjarkardottir is trying to force Iceland to legally recognize her first name.

Blær’s mother, Bjork Eidsdottir, said the priest who baptized her daughter mistakenly allowed the name, even though it’s not on Iceland’s list of government-approved female names.

So Bjork appealed to Iceland’s Personal Names Committee to have the name Blær approved for her daughter.

The name was rejected on the grounds that the word Blær, which means “light breeze” in Icelandic, takes a masculine article.

For the last 15 years, Blær’s legal name has been Stúlka, which simply means “girl.”

Bjork and Blær are now battling the Ministry of the Interior in district court, trying to get the rejection overturned. This is the first time a Committee decision has been challenged in court.

A verdict is expected around January 25.

“So many strange names have been allowed, which makes this even more frustrating because Blær is a perfectly Icelandic name,” Eidsdottir said. “It seems like a basic human right to be able to name your child what you want, especially if it doesn’t harm your child in any way.”

Apparently there is an Icelandic woman (b. 1973) legally named Blær, though it took Nobel Prize-winning author Halldór Laxness to personally convince the Committee to approve it.

Laxness had used the name for a female character in his 1957 novel The Fish Can Sing.

Sources: Icelandic girl fights for right to her own name, Icelandic Girl First for Right to Use Name, Many Icelanders Nameless in National Registry

Update, 2022: Several weeks after I posted this, it was reported that Blær Bjarkardottir had indeed won the legal right to use her given name. The court ruled that “the name could be used by both males and females” — rejecting the government’s argument that the name should not be permitted for females in order to “protect the Icelandic language.”

Source: Icelandic girl wins legal right to use her given name (CBC)