hlekkja

Hlekkja is a Nordic toponym appearing in Icelandic and Old Norse sources. It does not denote a single place of standing prominence; rather, it is the name associated with multiple farmsteads and landscape features that are mentioned in medieval chronicles, land registers, and later genealogical materials. Because the toponym occurs in several contexts, its exact referent varies by source, with some instances corresponding to specific farms and others to unnamed features described in historical documents.

The likely etymology of Hlekkja lies in the Old Norse verb hlekkja, meaning “to bind, fasten,” or a related noun for a fastening or hinge. In place-name formation, the term may have described a boundary marker, a fenced enclosure, or a rocky feature used to tether livestock. The precise sense remains uncertain and is debated among scholars of Norse toponymy.

In historical usage, Hlekkja appears in medieval Icelandic records and in later compilations that preserve farm names and descriptions of land holdings. Modern references to Hlekkja typically identify it as a traditional farm name rather than a contemporary settlement, though the exact locations of individual Hlekkja sites may be preserved in regional gazetteers and genealogical databases.

See also: Icelandic toponymy, Old Norse language, Norse place-names, Farm names in Iceland.