Icelandic sort names

MusicBrainz
,
1

I recently noticed a change in the sort name of this artist: Sigurjón Birgir Sigurðsson - MusicBrainz . Searching for his patronym and and found this: Search Results - MusicBrainz where I noticed that the sort names were wildly inconsistent. I checked on wikipedia (Icelandic name - Wikipedia) how sort names should be handled, but I didn’t quite grasp it. What is the official style recommendation for musicbrainz sort names of Icelandic artists? Are there Icelanders around that can give some insight on how this should best be handled?

4 Likes
2

According to Wikipedia image, the last name comes from one of parents first name (I read the French page).

IMO it doesn’t matter if all ancestors have the same last name like in other countries, or not.

The last name is given by the parent, it’s still a lineage, so we can build a sort name with last name, first name. As usual.

1 Like
3

Icelandic sort names should be the same as the name, unless the person has an actual surname instead of just a patronymic (which is rare). They just aren’t surnames, they aren’t used as one and we shouldn’t use them as one.

It’s even in the guidelines:

  • Hildur Guðnadóttir has sort name “Hildur Guðnadóttir” (Guðnadóttir is a patronymic, not a surname, as custom in Iceland)

    • But: Ólafur Arnalds has sort name “Arnalds, Ólafur” (Arnalds is a surname, not a patronymic)
6 Likes
4

(disclaimer: not an Icelander, but living in Iceland)

I changed quite a lot of them in the last days following the existing guideline:

  • Hildur Guðnadóttir has sort name “Hildur Guðnadóttir” (Guðnadóttir is a patronymic, not a surname, as custom in Iceland)
  • But: Ólafur Arnalds has sort name “Arnalds, Ólafur” (Arnalds is a surname, not a patronymic)

I started with the “obvious patronyms” (usual given name + -son/-dóttir), but I could have made mistakes, feel free to fix what is needed.

I don’t really agree since:

  • that’s not the current guideline
  • that’s not how Icelanders sort names (wikipedia: “In Iceland, listings such as the telephone directory are alphabetised by first name”)

So let’s change the guideline first if that’s what people agree on.

6 Likes
5

Ok I don’t even know what is patronymic, surname given name, etc.
Even in French I don’t know what is patronyme.
So I leave it up to you. :wink:

FWIW, I only know first name and last name in English and prénom and nom de famille in French. I thought it covered all cases. :wink:

6

Falsehoods Programmers Believe About Names - With Examples - Shine Solutions Group :wink:

4 Likes