A nation of sons and daughters
Everyone in Iceland is on first name terms, and people are 
even listed by first names in the telephone directory. Most Icelanders still use the old Viking patronymics instead of family surnames, with different forms for sons and daughters. For example, a man called Haraldur Magnusson and his wife Helga Jonsdottir might have a son called Petur whose final name would then be Haraldsson, and a daughter called Ingibjörg Haraldsdottir. Logical enough, but the naming system sometimes raises eyebrows at passport control and hotel reception desks when Icelanders travel abroad. In the age of womenís lib, increasing numbers of children are being given matronymics, i.e. identified as the son or daughter of their mother rather than their father
