# Icelandic: Márus genitive?



## Polarlys

Hello! 
I have a question: my dad’s name is Mauro, so my Icelandic surname would be Márusdóttir or Márusardóttir? According to Wikipedia, the genitive of Márus is Márusar, so I think Márusardóttir is the correct choice, but I would like to know the opinion of a native Icelander.
Thank you in advance for the reply, bless bless!


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## basslop

Please start the topic name with language, in this case: "Icelandic: Márus genitive?"


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## Silver_Biscuit

Well, it wouldn't be a surname per se, but I know what you mean. Márus would actually become Márusdóttir/Márusson. You are correct that the genitive for general purposes would be Márusar (a really tiny number of people actually have this name) but for creating patronymics, the form often differs. Compare to more common names with similar endings, Magnús and Lárus:

Ég fór til Magnús*ar*, _but_ Jón Magnússon and Anna Magnúsdóttir.
Ég fór til Lárus*ar*, _but_ Jón Lárusson and Anna Lárusdóttir.

Some names actually have more than one possibility for the patronymics, e.g. Sigurðsson/Sigurðarson. But in this case it's a pretty clear cut situation.


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## Polarlys

Thank you Silver Biscuit, your explanation is very helpful


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## Polarlys

Silver_Biscuit said:


> Well, it wouldn't be a surname per se, but I know what you mean. Márus would actually become Márusdóttir/Márusson. You are correct that the genitive for general purposes would be Márusar (a really tiny number of people actually have this name) but for creating patronymics, the form often differs. Compare to more common names with similar endings, Magnús and Lárus:
> 
> Ég fór til Magnús*ar*, _but_ Jón Magnússon and Anna Magnúsdóttir.
> Ég fór til Lárus*ar*, _but_ Jón Lárusson and Anna Lárusdóttir.
> 
> Some names actually have more than one possibility for the patronymics, e.g. Sigurðsson/Sigurðarson. But in this case it's a pretty clear cut situation.



Today an Icelandic mother tongue told me that Márusardóttir is the right one...now I'm confused


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## Silver_Biscuit

Hm well, I'm not a native speaker, to be sure. It certainly seems to me that it would follow the same pattern as Lárus, though. It's a very uncommon name so I can see there being some uncertainty over the declension. To a certain extent it is optional and I'm definitely not saying Márusardóttir would be 'wrong', but Márusdóttir seems more 'standard' to me.

If you search Já.is, there are three people named Márusson and one Márusarson, nine Márusdóttir and one Márusardóttir. Now admittedly not every single Icelander is will show up on a Já.is search, but I think it supports my conclusion. I would search the Þjóðskrá for you to get more accurate data, but I can't search for patronymics without giving a first name also.

There are also over 100 people named Lárusdóttir and none named Lárusardóttir, and the same is true for Lárusson vs. Lárusarson.


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## Polarlys

I just checked the site you suggested to me and I noticed that there are neither Márusarson nor Márusardóttir: the Márusardóttir and Márusarson you saw were actually Már*i*usarson and Már*i*usardóttir. At this point, I think Márusdóttir is definitely the more standard choice, as you said. Takk fyrir hjálpina


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## Silver_Biscuit

Oh, oops! Must have read it too quickly. Well, I'm glad you found it helpful anyway!


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## Segorian

For what it's worth, the Íslendingabók website confirms the general conclusion reached above. A total of 30 Márusdóttirs and 29 Márussons are known to have lived in Iceland, but the forms _*Márusarson_ and _*Márusardóttir_ have never been in use.


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## Polarlys

Good to know, Segorian. Þakka þér kærlega fyrir!


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