The name "Goðafoss" translates to "Waterfall of the Gods" in Icelandic, and the name is believed to have originated from an ancient Icelandic legend. According to the legend, in the year 1000 AD, a powerful Icelandic chieftain named Þorgeir Ljósvetningagoði threw his pagan idols into the waterfall, symbolizing his conversion to Christianity and the adoption of Christianity as the official religion of Iceland.