Ólafur () is a common name in

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

, derived from the

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

Óláfr , meaning "ancestor's relic". According to Icelandic custom, people are generally referred to by first and middle names and patronyms are used if disambiguation is required. The name is a frequently given name in Iceland. In 2005, it was the fifth most common male given name after Gunnar and before Einar. A diminutive form is

Óli Óli is a Faroese and Icelandic masculine given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that ...

.Statistics Iceland
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Notable Icelanders named Ólafur

Bjarni Ólafur Eiríksson Bjarni Ólafur Eiríksson (born 28 March 1982) is a retired Icelandic football defender. Career He signed for Stabæk Fotball, 2008 winner of the Norwegian Tippeligaen in February 2010 after one week on trial. Stabæk manager Jan Jönsson was ...

(born 1982), football defender *

Guðni Ólafur Guðnason Guðni Ólafur Guðnason (born 14 December 1965) is an Icelandic former basketball player and coach who played 76 games for the Icelandic national team. In 1986 he was named the Icelandic Basketball Player of the Year. As a member of KR, he wo ...

(born 1965), retired basketball player * Ólafur Adolfsson, Icelandic politician *

Ólafur Arnalds Ólafur Arnalds (; born 3 November 1986) is an Icelandic multi-instrumentalist and producer from Mosfellsbær, Iceland. He mixes strings and piano with loops and beats, a sound ranging from ambient/electronic to atmospheric pop. He is also th ...

(born 1986), modern composer *

Ólafur Benediktsson Ólafur Benediktsson (born 3 August 1952) is an Icelandic former handball player who competed in the 1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and officially branded as Munich 197 ...

(born 1952), former handball player * Ólafur Egilsson (1564–1639), priest *

Ólafur Elíasson Olafur Eliasson (; born 5 February 1967) is an Icelandic–Danish artist known for sculptured and large-scaled installation art employing elemental materials such as light, water, and air temperature to enhance the viewer's experience. In 1995, ...

(born 1967), Danish-Icelandic artist *

Ólafur Friðrik Magnússon Ólafur Friðrik Magnússon (born 3 August 1952) is a former mayor of Reykjavík, Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between ...

(born 1952), former mayor of Reykjavík * Ólafur Garðar Einarsson (1932–2023), politician and former minister * Ólafur Gottskálksson (born 1968), retired professional football goalkeeper * Ólafur Guðmundsson, handball player * Ólafur Haukur Símonarson, (born 1947), playwright and novelist * Ólafur Ingi Skúlason (born 1983), footballer and a midfielder * Ólafur Ísleifsson (born 1955), Icelandic economist and politician * Ólafur Jóhann Ólafsson (born 1962), author * Ólafur Jóhann Sigurðsson (1918–1988), novelist, short story writer and poet * Ólafur Jóhannesson (football manager) (born 1957), football manager and former player *

Ólafur Jóhannesson Ólafur Jóhannesson (1 March 1913 – 20 May 1984) was twice the Prime Minister of Iceland for the Progressive Party (1971–1974 and 1978–1979). He was a member of the Progressive Party, serving as party chairman from 1968 to 1979. C ...

(1913–1984), the fifteenth Prime Minister of Iceland *

Ólafur Jónsson Ólafur Jónsson (born 7 December 1949) is an Icelandic former handball player who competed in the 1972 Summer Olympics. Playing career Jónsson began playing handball at the age of 15 years at Valur Handball. He debuted for the national team a ...

(born 1946), former handball player * Ólafur Josephsson, musician, better known by the stage name ''Stafrænn Hákon'' *

Ólafur Örn Bjarnason Ólafur Örn Bjarnason (born 15 May 1975) is an Icelandic former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. He is currently the Head of Coaching at Danish Superliga side AaB. Club career He started his career in Grindavík, and ret ...

(born 1975), football defender * Ólafur Páll Snorrason (born 1982), international footballer *

Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson (; born 14 May 1943) is an Icelandic politician who was the fifth president of Iceland, serving from 1996 to 2016.

(born 1943), the fifth President of Iceland * Ólafur Stefánsson (born 1973), handball player * Ólafur Stígsson (born 1975), footballer * Ólafur Þór Gunnarsson (born 1977), footballer * Ólafur Þórðarson (footballer) (born 1965), former footballer * Ólafur Thors (1892–1964), former Prime Minister of Iceland on five occasions

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Olafur Masculine given names Icelandic masculine given names

Notable Icelanders named Ólafur

See also

References