Reykjavik Dog Names

Introduction

The city of Reykjavik is the largest city in Iceland, as well as its capital. Believed to be the first permanent settlement in Iceland, this cultural hub is located on the southern shores of Faxa Bay and is considered to be among one of the safest, cleanest, and greenest cities in the world. In 1924, a ban on owning dogs as pets was enacted in order to stop the spread of a difficult to treat tapeworm known as echinococcosis, a parasite that easily passes between humans and canines. Although the ban was redacted sixty years later in 1984, the population of pet dogs in the city is still much smaller than the population of cats.

Reykjavik Dog Names in Pop Culture

Featured Famous Reykjavik Dog

Samur

Israeli born jewelry designer, editor, and businesswoman Dorrit Moussaieff became the First Lady of Iceland in 2003 when she married then president Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson. She is known for her devotion to promoting Icelandic culture and arts and so when she and her husband chose a pet, they chose to acquire a rare Icelandic breed of dog known as an Icelandic Sheepdog, which they named Samur, a name that reflects Dorrit’s Israeli heritage and means conversation that stretches into the night. Dorrit adored her dog, even writing the text on many of her Instagram posts from his point of view. In 2018, the former president announced the couple’s intent to clone the dog, who was now eleven years old. The plan was originally Dorrit Moussaieff’s idea, and while Grimsson was initially hesitant about the idea, he now states that he fully supports the plan.

While the process of cloning is not without its dangers, including malformed and aborted puppies, as well as excess puppies that may not be physically identical, Dorrit is not the first pet parent to clone their canine companion. In 2015 Soome Biotech in South Korea, one of the two companies that offer to clone dogs reported that they had cloned more than seven hundred dogs for clients, typically at the cost of $100,000 to $150,000 per puppy. Barry Diller and wife Diane von Furstenberg cloned their Jack Russell Terrier, Shannon, into two new pups named Deena and Evita, Barbara Streisand cloned her Coton du Tulear, Samantha, also resulting in two new pups, who she named Miss Scarlett and Miss Violet, and a canine celebrity named Juice, from China, was cloned in 2017 by his owner, He Jun, for around $55,000 resulting in a pup by the name of Little Juice.

Dorrit Moussaieff chose to work with an American company ViaGen, which is based out of Texas, and she decided to wait until her beloved Samur passed before she would clone him. In January of 2019, Samur traveled over the Rainbow Bridge, and Dorrit announced his passing on Instagram, stating “You were and always will be the love of my life.” While a new dog that is cloned from Samur’s DNA is likely to be physically identical, the dog’s intelligence levels and personality are likely to differ from the original Samur, as the process is more like creating an identical twin than actually recreating the original dog again.

Reykjavik Dog Name Considerations

If you have a canine companion that is an Icelandic breed or that has an Icelandic history, you may find some inspiration from looking more closely at the capital of Iceland, the city of Reykjavik. You can narrow down a list of names based on a specific city in several different ways. Names can be chosen based on the meaning of the name and the dog's physical appearance, such as Kolur or Orri for a dog with a dark coat, Fandis or Jónas for one with a white coat, or Pála for a smaller dog, or based on their individual personalities, such as Njáll for a dog with a competitive spirit, Trygivvi for a loyal, dependable canine, or Alda or Eygló for a dog that likes to swim. Another option is to use a name of someone that you admire and that is connected to the town, such as athletes like Helga Þorsteinsdóttir, singers like Bubbi Morthens, Björk, or Svala Björgvinsdóttir, or influential politicians like Dagur Eggertsson or Vigdis Finnbogadottir. You can also look to landmarks and features of the city itself for names, selecting a name like Faxa, for Faxa Bay where Reykjavik can be found, or a name like Tjornin after the picturesque Tjornin pond.

Male Reykjavik Dog Names

Votes	Name	Vote
0	Alti An approved name in Iceland that is associated with violence or wildness
0	Ari An Old Norse name that is common to Iceland and means eagle
0	Áskell An Icelandic name that means divine kettle
0	Baldur An Icelandic name that means lord or prince
0	Bjarni Reykjavik born Bjarni Tryggvason served as a Payload Specialist on a Space Shuttle mission in 1997
0	Bryndis An Icelandic name that means armored goddess
0	Bubbi Icelandic singer and songwriter Bubbi Morthens was born in Reykjavik
0	Cyrus An Icelandic name that means sun or farsighted
0	Dagur An Icelandic name that means day, and the name of the current mayor of Reykjavik
0	Einar Einar Sveinsson was the City Architect of Reykjavik from 1934 to 1973
0	Emil A name approved for use in Iceland that means industrious
0	Fridrick An Icelandic name meaning lord or master
0	Fródi A name meaning wise from Iceland
0	Gullfoss A breathtaking waterfall that is located just outside of Reykjavik
0	Hinrik An Icelandic name that means home-ruler
0	Hrafn An Icelandic name meaning raven
0	Ívar A name that means bow warrior in Icelandic
0	Jónas The Icelandic version of the Greek name Ionas, meaning dove
0	Kolur An Icelandic name that means black or coal
0	Magnus Creator, director, and star of the kids show Lazy Town, Magnus Scheving, was born in Reykjavik
0	Njáll A name meaning champion; from Iceland
0	Orri A name from Iceland that means black grouse
0	Samur An Israeli name that former First Lady of Iceland gave to her Icelandic Shepherd; means conversation that stretches into the night
0	Sjon The Icelandic poet from Reykjavik, novelist, and lyricist, Sjon, has had his work translated into thirty languages
0	Skúli Icelandic jazz and jazz fusion composer and bassist Skúli Sverrisson was born in Reykjavik
0	Tjornin Tjornin Pond’s warm geothermal waters are home to many waterfowl throughout the year
0	Trabant Electronic pop/rock band Trabant, known for flamboyant live performances and raw, powerful music, formed in Reykjavik
0	Tryggvi An Icelandic game that means trustworthy
0	Úlfur A name that means wolf in Icelandic
0	Viggó An Icelandic name referring to lightning

Female Reykjavik Dog Names

Votes	Name	Vote
0	Alda Originally Swedish, but commonly seen in Iceland as well, this name means wave
0	Alfa There is an Elf school located in Reykjavik, referred to by its Icelandic name of Alfaskolinn
0	Ása An Icelandic name that refers to a god
0	Ásdír Ásdís Hjálmsdóttir, born in Reykjavik, represented Iceland in the 2008, 2012, and 2016 Olympics
0	Auður One of the most accomplished Icelandic authors and winner of the Icelandic Literary Prize in 1998 and 2004, Auður Jónsdóttir, was born in Reykjavik
0	Barbára A name from Iceland that means foreign or strange
0	Björk Singer-songwriter Björk Guðmundsdóttir was born and raised in Reykjavik
0	Edda Edda Björgvinsdóttir is a well-known Icelandic actress, comedian, and motivational speaker
0	Eygló Icelandic swimmer Eygló Ósk Gústafsdóttir competed in the 2012 Summer Olympics
0	Fandis A name from Iceland that means snow woman or snow goddess
0	Faxa Reykjavik is located on the southern shore of Faxa Bay
0	Freyja An approved name in Iceland that means master
0	Helga An Icelandic name that means holy or dedicated to the gods; Helga Þorsteinsdóttir, Icelandic heptathlete was born in Reykjavik
0	Hilda A German and Scandinavian name which means battle
0	Hjordis A name from Iceland that means sword maiden
0	Ída An Icelandic name that means industrious
0	Inga An Old Norse name used in Iceland that means guarded by Ing
0	Lára The Icelandic form of the Latin name Laura, meaning Laurel
0	Louisa A leading figure in the Icelandic avant-guarde community in the 1930s, Louisa Matthiasdotter, was born in Reykjavik
0	Nína Named Reykjavik City Poet in 1989, Nína Björk Árnadóttir, was also a playwright and a novelist
0	Pála An Icelandic name; the feminine form of Páll, meaning small
0	Peace Yoko Ono developed the Imagine Peace Tower that is featured in Reykjavik
0	Saga A name meaning the seeing one; from Iceland
0	Salveig A name from Iceland meaning strong house
0	Selma Icelandic singer Selma Björnsdottir was born in Reykjavik
0	Sindri A name used in Iceland that means sparking
0	Svala Singer-songwriter Svala Björgvinsdóttir, born in Reykjavik, had her first number one hit in Iceland at nine years old
0	Svana Icelandic word that means swan
0	Vigdis The fourth president of Iceland, Vigdis Finnbogadottir, was the first democratically elected female president and the longest-serving head of state
0	Zophia An approved name in Iceland that means wisdom and skill