The article based on the material of the Old Icelandic Brennu-Njáls saga deals with identification of medieval Icelanders in the society with the help of personal names, patronymics and nicknames. And if, as the analysis of the saga shows, personal names were a means of individual identification of a person, the generic names, on the contrary, connected a person with his family and especially with his namesake ancestors. The goals of the latter were also fulfilled by patronymics, toponymic and generic nicknames, while all other types of nicknames contributed to the individualization of a person. It can be argued that the generic identification of a person in medieval Icelandic society was based on the genealogical principle, and the individual identification complemented it, still relying on it, despite the fact that they were outwardly opposed.