Icelandic diaspora
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The Icelandic diaspora refers to both historical and present
emigration Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanent ...
from
Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
. The countries with the largest number of people of Icelandic descent are
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
, and
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...
.


Famous people of Icelandic descent

*
David Arnason David Arnason (born 23 May 1940) is a Canadian author and poet of Icelandic heritage from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Life Born in Gimli, Manitoba, Arnason is of Icelandic descent and often writes about the Icelandic community in Canada. He is the son ...
, a Canadian author and poet. *
Linda Bennett Linda Kristin Bennett (born 8 September 1962) is an English clothing designer and entrepreneur, best known for founding the fashion retailer L.K.Bennett. Early life Born in London, Bennett is the daughter of a London-based fashion retail entr ...
, an English-Icelandic clothing designer and entrepreneur. * Björk, an Icelandic singer, living in the United States * Helgi Daníelsson, a football player from Iceland, who currently plays for Swedish club AIK. * Henry Einarson, a politician in Manitoba, Canada. * Magnus Eliason, a founding member of the Co-Operative Commonwealth Federation. * Frank Fredrickson, a Canadian ice hockey centre. * Sturla Gunnarsson, a Canadian film director. * Hafliði Hallgrímsson, an Icelandic composer, currently living in Edinburgh. *
Gunnar Hansen Gunnar Milton Hansen (March 4, 1947 – November 7, 2015) was an Icelandic-born American actor and author best known for playing the mentally impaired cannibal Leatherface in '' The Texas Chain Saw Massacre'' (1974). Early life Hansen was bo ...
, an Icelandic-born actor and author best known for playing
Leatherface Leatherface is a fictional character in ''The Texas Chainsaw Massacre'' film series created by Kim Henkel and Tobe Hooper. He first appears in '' The Texas Chain Saw Massacre'' as a disfigured, cannibalistic and mentally unstable mass murdere ...
in ''
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre ''The Texas Chain Saw Massacre'' is a 1974 American horror film produced and directed by Tobe Hooper from a story and screenplay by Hooper and Kim Henkel. It stars Marilyn Burns, Paul A. Partain, Edwin Neal, Jim Siedow and Gunnar Hansen, w ...
'' (1974). * Hera Hjartardóttir, a singer-songwriter from Iceland who now lives in Christchurch, New Zealand. * Bill Holm, was an American poet, essayist, memoirist, and musician. *
Jón Sveinbjørn Jónsson Jón Sveinbjørn Jónsson (28 June 1955 – 21 November 2008) was a Norwegian poet, children's writer and translator, of Icelandic citizenship (Icelandic name Jón Sveinbjörn Pétursson), born and raised in Norway. He made his literary debu ...
, a Norwegian poet, children's writer and translator, born in Iceland. *
k.d. lang Kathryn Dawn Lang (born November 2, 1961), known by her stage name k.d. lang, is a Canadian pop and country singer-songwriter and occasional actress. Lang has won Juno Awards and Grammy Awards for her musical performances. Hits include the s ...
, a Canadian pop and country singer-songwriter and occasional actress. *
Guy Maddin Guy Maddin (born February 28, 1956) is a Canadian screenwriter, director, author, cinematographer, and film editor of both features and short films, as well as an installation artist, from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Since completing his first film i ...
, a Canadian screenwriter, director, cinematographer and film editor of both features and short films. *
Magnus Magnusson Magnus Magnusson, (born Magnús Sigursteinsson; 12 October 1929 – 7 January 2007) was an Icelandic-born British-based journalist, translator, writer and television presenter. Born in Reykjavík, he lived in Scotland for almost all his life, a ...
, a television presenter, journalist, translator and writer. * Jón Ólafsson, was an Icelandic editor, journalist, and poet. *
Peter Phelps Peter Phelps (born 20 September 1960 in Sydney) is an Australian actor, singer and writer. He is notable for his role as Trevor Cole in ''Baywatch''. Phelps is also known for his roles in the internationally successful Australian series '' So ...
, an Australian actor, singer and writer. * John K. Samson, a singer-songwriter and the frontman of the Canadian folk punk band
The Weakerthans The Weakerthans are an award-winning and Juno-nominated Canadian indie rock band from Winnipeg. The band, led by John K. Samson, has released four studio albums and is currently inactive. History The band was formed in 1997 in Winnipeg, Manito ...
. *
Peter Steele Petrus Thomas Ratajczyk (January 4, 1962 – April 14, 2010), known professionally as Peter Steele, was an American musician, singer, and songwriter. He was best known as the lead vocalist, bassist and composer of the gothic metal band Type O N ...
, was the lead singer, bassist, and composer for the gothic metal band
Type O Negative Type O Negative were an American gothic metal band formed in Brooklyn, New York City in 1989 by Peter Steele (bass, lead vocals), Kenny Hickey (guitar, co-lead vocals), Josh Silver (keyboards, backing vocals), and Sal Abruscato (drums, percu ...
. *
Vilhjalmur Stefansson Vilhjalmur Stefansson (November 3, 1879 – August 26, 1962) was an Arctic explorer and ethnologist. He was born in Manitoba, Canada. Early life Stefansson, born William Stephenson, was born at Arnes, Manitoba, Canada, in 1879. His parents had ...
, a Canadian Arctic explorer and ethnologist. * Stephan G. Stephansson, was a Western Icelander, poet, and farmer. *
William Stephenson Sir William Samuel Stephenson (23 January 1897 – 31 January 1989), born William Samuel Clouston Stanger, was a Canadian soldier, fighter pilot, businessman and spymaster who served as the senior representative of the British Security Coord ...
, a Canadian soldier, airman, businessman, inventor and spymaster. *
Chester Thordarson Chester Hjortur Thordarson (May 12, 1867 – January 6, 1945) — born Hjörtur Þórðarson — was an Icelandic-American inventor and manufacturer of electrical apparatus who eventually held nearly a hundred technology patents related to t ...
, was an Icelandic-American inventor who eventually held nearly a hundred patents. *
Emilíana Torrini Emilíana Torrini (born 16 May 1977) is an Icelandic singer and songwriter. She is best known for her 2009 single "Jungle Drum (song), Jungle Drum", her 1999 album ''Love in the Time of Science'', and her performance of "Gollum's Song" for the 2 ...
, an Icelandic-born singer currently living in London. *
Bjarni Tryggvason Bjarni Valdimar Tryggvason (September 21, 1945 – April 5, 2022) was an Icelandic-born Canadian engineer and a NRC/CSA astronaut. He served as a Payload Specialist on Space Shuttle mission STS-85 in 1997, a 12-day mission to study changes in ...
, an Icelandic-born Canadian engineer and a former NRC/CSA astronaut.


Destinations


Europe

*
Scandinavian migration to Britain Scandinavian migration to Britain is a phenomenon that has occurred at different periods over the past 1,200 years. Over the last couple of centuries, there has been regular migration from Scandinavia to Great Britain, from families looking to set ...
*


North America

* Icelandic Americans *
Icelandic Canadians Icelandic Canadians are Canadian citizens of Icelandic ancestry or Iceland-born people who reside in Canada. Canada has the largest ethnic Icelandic population outside Iceland, with about 101,795 people of full or partial Icelandic descent as o ...


Oceania

*
Icelandic Australians Scandinavian Australians ( sv, skandinaviska australiensare, da, skandinaviske australiere, fi, skandinaaviset australialaiset, no, skandinaviske australiere, is, Skandinavískir Ástralar) are Australian citizens whose origins are found in a ...
* Scandinavian New Zealanders


See also

*
History of Iceland The recorded history of Iceland began with the settlement by Viking explorers and the people they enslaved from the east, particularly Norway and the British Isles, in the late ninth century. Iceland was still uninhabited long after the rest ...
* List of Icelanders * :People of Icelandic descent


External links

* {{Iceland-stub