How do place names evolve?

“The Icelandic term 'örnefni' is somewhat unique. Most languages use the term name of the place (e.g., placename or stednavn), but 'örnefni' is such an ancient looking word," says Birna Lárusdóttir, a PhD student in geography, about her research "Place Names (örnefni) and Landscapes in the making." It seems as if place names (örnefni) need to go through a certain process to be accepted as such.  "It is very common for people to say: no, this is just something we kids used to call it; this is not the place name," says Birna.  "You travel through the countryside and hear that people do not agree on place names, there are all kinds of inconsistencies. There are examples of two or more place name descriptions that are somewhat different."   

"I am contemplating the concept of place names, how it has developed in Iceland, and why interest in collecting place names arose early in the 20th century," says Birna, who has a background in Icelandic and archaeology.  The research is thus interdisciplinary and a fresh perspective on place names here in Iceland.  "I wanted to try to grasp this mobility and this complexity."  

One of the few who has visited Surtsey  

The research is divided into two parts. The first part deals with the history of research on place names in Iceland. "First of all, it is fascinating to see the impact on attitudes towards place names when they were first collected," says Birna.  "In the 19th century, place names were prominent in research on the Icelandic Sagas, especially when people made trips to the Saga sites, whereas a more diverse view emerged in the 20th century. Icelanders, for example, strived to establish linguistic research like on a par with research conducted internationally; they did not want to be lesser. The process of urbanisation and the fear of losing place names when settlements were abandoned also had an impact, and finally more modern ideas about cultural heritage emerged later." 

The second part of Birna's research is a case study in Surtsey which was formed in a volcanic eruption between 1963-1967, but she is one of the few who has visited the island.  She stayed there for five days in 2019 to examine how place names change and develop in a new land.  Birna has also reviewed numerous sources about Surtsey, including guest books where visitors have recorded their names and experiences of staying on the island. "I have divided Surtsey's “biography” into several periods, each with its own characteristics. Place names are created in all of them."  

The first period was a kind of settlement period, and those who visited Surtsey focused on craters and volcanic activity.  Over time, life develops on the island, and the first generation of scientists arrives. "Then there are certain areas where vegetation takes hold, e.g., due to fertilizer from birds, and then a lot of people go there," says Birna. 

The research topics of scientists in Surtsey affect the development of place names.  "Geologists, for example, do not study the same things as biologists. Different perspectives lead to the creation of different names," says Birna, pointing out that the formation of place names relates to human interactions and travels on the island.   
 

"It is rare for someone to point and say that this should be called Pálstindur, for example, but people are talking about the island or something done during the day, and then names or name references can be created. People refer to a specific place, and then maybe it becomes a name - or not," says Birna.  "Some place names are lost along the way; some are suppressed, others get to come to the surface, and are recorded in books and on maps."   

However, the island is still forming but has shrunk from its original shape due to sea and wind erosion, which also affects the place names. "I think the research will, for example, help us analyse and understand collections of place name descriptions from around and after the mid-20th century that we have here in Iceland and are preserved at the Árni Magnússon Institute," says Birna who spent the majority of her research period in a research position there.  Surtsey is a good example of how it is possible to observe such a whole being created from scratch. 
 

Author of the article: Silja Rún Sigurbjörnsdóttir, BA-student in sociology.