Reykjavík was established by Ingólfur Arnarson, according to the medieval Icelandic settlement tradition.
The Landnámabók, or Book of Settlements, says that Ingólfur Arnarson became Iceland’s first permanent Norse settler. He is traditionally said to have arrived around AD 874 and settled at Reykjavík on Iceland’s southwestern coast.
The name Reykjavík means “Smoky Bay,” probably referring to steam rising from geothermal hot springs. The settlement remained small for centuries, but its sheltered coastal position helped it develop into a major centre in modern Iceland.
The traditional account should not be treated as a complete record of Iceland’s earliest population. Irish monks may have lived in Iceland before the Norse settlement, and other settlers arrived during the late ninth century. Reykjavík is also distinct from Þingvellir, the historic meeting place of Iceland’s Althing, established around AD 930.