‘Fifustaðir’ means ‘Cotton Grass Place’. ‘Fifa’ in Icelandic means ‘cotton grass’, a common plant with fluffy white flowers.
The Icelandic letter ‘ð’, called ‘eth’, is pronounced like the ‘th’ in ‘this’. Both ‘i’s are pronounced like the ‘ee’ in ‘tree’. The second ‘f’ in Fifustaðir is pronounced ‘v’.
We have heard an alternate explanation of the name, which we have not yet researched. ‘Fifustaðir’ would be translated ‘Fifa’s Place’. Fifa was one of the original settlers of Iceland, about 1,000 years ago. She was named after the plant. The land she took was called Fifustaðir.
Here are some pictures and some maps.
Fifustaðir Dale
Fifustaðir is the farm on the right side of the river. The farm buildings have been torn down. Only the house is still there.
The Kettle Dales
Fifustaðirdalur is the second valley in from the foreground. This is the southern coastline of Arnarfjörður (Eagle Fjord) near the mouth of the fjord. Arnarfjörður is in the West Fjords, in the northwest of the country.
This is a black and white photo of the house. The fjord is in the background.
The location of Fifustaðirdalur is marked in the upper left corner of each map.
