Icelandic Emigration to Brazil
- Phyllis Smith
- 17 hours ago
- 3 min read
By Phyllis Smith
Icelandic Roots newsletter theme for 2026 is the emigration and settling of American settlements, including those that went to Brazil in the early years.
Most people with ancestors who left Iceland have connections with various communities in the USA and Canada. However, a tiny group of Icelanders headed to Brazil in 1863, followed by another small group in 1873. A Reddit thread poster asked for information in the Brazil subreddit regarding the Icelanders in Brazil and got a range of responses, including doubt that they even existed! 1 And yet, it is true. A search of the Icelandic Roots database suggests there could be about 250 people who died in Brazil whose family lines trace back to Iceland.
For those who are interested in this community, Icelandic Roots remains a key source of information, including a concise summary 2 of the first group that migrated to Brazil. Icelandic descendant communities in Brazil were mainly concentrated in and around Curitiba and other locations in the southern states of Paraná and Santa Catarina. In addition, Dave Jonasson 3 and Bill Valgardson 4 have also both written must-read articles on the subject.
The few other works to explore may be difficult to access. Þorsteinn Þ. Þorsteinsson 5 wrote a book (in Icelandic) in the 1930s about the migrations. It can be located in several libraries through WorldCat. And in 2023, a Portuguese descendant of one of the Icelandic immigrants to Brazil wrote a book (in Portuguese) 6 focused on his own family, but also as a broader homage to the Icelandic immigration experience in the country. Eyrún Eyþórsdóttir is an Icelandic academic known for her academic study of the history and identity of Icelandic descendants in Brazil, particularly focusing on the Iceland Brazil Association and how they embrace their "Nordic" or "white" heritage within Brazilian society. 7 8
The total number of Icelandic Brazilians is estimated to be in the hundreds at most, and they are fully integrated into broader Brazilian society rather than forming a distinct, concentrated ethnic enclave. Connections today are often maintained through heritage associations, sister-city links between Curitiba and Akureyri in Iceland, and genealogical or museum projects that document these families rather than through separate neighbourhoods. There is a Facebook group (largely in Portuguese) for those interested in the Icelanders in Brazil. 9 And if you understand Portuguese, there is a television program that tells the migration story. 10
Sources
TheEekmonster. (2025). “West Icelanders in Brazil.” r/Brazil; Reddit. Retrieved from https://www.reddit.com/r/Brazil/comments/1htvegu/west_icelanders_in_brazil/
Icelandic Roots. (n.d.). “Brazilian Connection.” In Icelandic Roots. Retrieved from https://www.icelandicroots.com/brazilian-settlements : 19 Jan 2026.
Jonasson, Dave. (28 Feb 2020). “Down the Rabbit Hole ... to San Francisco and Brazil!” Icelandic Roots. Retrieved from https://www.icelandicroots.com/post/down-the-rabbit-hole-to-san-francisco-and-brazil : 19 Jan 2026.
Valgardson, W. D.. (30 Apr 2023). “The Failed Brazilian Emigration.” Icelandic Roots. Retrieved from https://www.icelandicroots.com/post/the-failed-brazilian-emigration : 19 Jan 2026.
Þorsteinsson, Þorsteinn Þ.. (1937-38). Aefintýrið frá Íslandi til Brasilíu: Fyrstu ̀fólksflutningar frá Norðurlandi (með myndum.) [machine translation: Adventure from Iceland to Brazil: The First Migrations from the North (with pictures.)] Reykjavík: S. Friðriksson. [in Icelandic]
Torques, Caio Vinícius. (2023). Torques Þorkelsson: 150 anos da imigração islandesa ao Brasil (1873 – 2023.) [machine translation: Torques Porkelsson: 150 years of Icelandic immigration to Brazil (1873 – 2023.)] Evagraf LTDA. [In Portuguese] (Contact the author through Facebook https://www.facebook.com/cv.torques to request to buy.)
Eyþórsdóttir, E., & Loftsdóttir, K. (2016). “Vikings in Brazil: the Iceland Brazil Association shaping Icelandic heritage.” International Journal of Heritage Studies, 22(7), 543–553. Retrieve from https://doi.org/10.1080/13527258.2016.1182572 . [$$]
Loftsdóttir, Kristín, Eyþórsdottir, Eyrún & Willson, Margaret. (11 May 2016). “Becoming Nordic in Brazil: Whiteness and Icelandic Heritage in Brazilian Identity Making.” Nordic Journal of Migration Research, V11 (1): pp. 80–94. Retrieved from https://iris.hi.is/ws/files/28544800/.pdf : 19 Jan 2026.
Islandeses no Brasil – Íslendingar í Brasilíu. In Facebook [public group]. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/groups/152135724829325/ : 19 Jan 2026.
RPC TV; Editorial Staff. (18 Aug 2012). “Meu Paraná conta a História da Imigração islandesa no nosso estado.” [machine translation: My Paraná tells the story of Icelandic immigration to our state.] In RPC. Retrieved from: https://redeglobo.globo.com/rpctv/noticia/2012/08/meu-parana-conta-historia-da-imigracao-islandesa-no-nosso-estado.html : 19 Jan 2026. [In Portuguese]
