These are names recorded for people in the Viking Age and the sagas, given in the spelling most people use today with the Old Norse form in the note: Astrid is Ástríðr, Bjorn is Bjǫrn. Some, like Astrid, Ingrid and Leif, are still in use; others, like Thorfinn and Gunnhild, are mainly found in history and stories.
Like Old English names, most were built from two words, so we give the meaning of each part. We checked them against Behind the Name, the Cleasby–Vigfusson Icelandic-English Dictionary and the Society for Name Studies in Britain and Ireland.
By Rich · 13 November 2026 · 91 names · 18 with their real rank in England and Wales · every meaning checked against the sources below
Checked The meaning is recorded in the sources below.
Disputed The meaning is disputed or popular but unproven.
A handful of building blocks turn up again and again. The god Thor (Þórr) starts dozens of names: Thorstein, Thorkel, Thorfinn, Thora, Thordis. Áss, "god", gives Astrid, Asbjorn and Asgeir. Animals are common too: bjǫrn (bear), úlfr (wolf, written -ólfr at the end of a name, as in Ingolf) and hrafn (raven).
Women's names often end in -hildr, a poetic word for battle (Gunnhild, Ragnhild), -dís, goddess (Thordis, Vigdis), or -rún, secret lore (Gudrun, Sigrun). As with Old English names, the parts were chosen by family custom, so "Thor's bear" is a list of parts rather than a description.
Spelling Old Norse names
Old Norse used letters English no longer has. Þ (thorn) and ð (eth) are both th, and ǫ is an open o, often written ö or o today. Most men's names end in -r in Old Norse (Leifr, Haraldr), which is usually dropped in English: Leif, Harald.
Modern Scandinavian spellings differ again: Bjǫrn is Björn in Swedish and Bjørn in Norwegian and Danish, and Þorsteinn is Torsten. For a baby, the simple English spelling is easiest. For a story set in the Viking Age, the Old Norse forms in the notes look more authentic.
Names the Vikings left in England
Scandinavian settlers brought these names to England in the 800s and 900s, and some are still on the map. Orm is in the Ormesbys of Norfolk, Lincolnshire and Yorkshire, Áslákr is in Aslackby, Halfdan is in Holdenby, and a woman called Sigrid is remembered in Sizergh in Westmorland. A few became English surnames, such as Herrick from Eiríkr, and the Norse Haraldr reinforced the Old English Hereweald, which is why Harold was so common in England.
Old English and Anglo-Saxon Names: Recorded Anglo-Saxon names like Æthelflæd, Eadgifu and Ælfred, and the modern names that came from them, from Audrey and Edith to Alfred and Edwin.
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Old Norse Names: How Viking-Age Names Worked (Naming Library): How Old Norse names were built: two-part names like Þorsteinn, patronymics, and bynames like Fairhair and Bloodaxe, plus what survives in England.
Patronymic Names (Naming Library): What patronymic and matronymic names are, and how they work in English, Gaelic, Welsh, Norman, Icelandic, Russian and Arabic naming.
Old English (Anglo-Saxon) Names (Naming Library): How Anglo-Saxon names like Æthelstan and Edith were built from two Old English words, what the parts meant, and which names survived 1066.
English Place-Name Endings and What They Mean (Naming Library): What -ton, -ham, -by, -thorpe, -ford, -wick and -chester mean, where they came from, and real examples from the place-name dictionaries.
Frequently Asked Questions
+What is the most common Viking name?
There are no reliable counts for the Viking Age. The god Thor (Þórr) is the best-known name element, and names built on it, on Ás- (god), -bjǫrn (bear) and -úlfr (wolf) turn up again and again. Thorstein, Thorkel, Bjorn, Ulf and Ketil are typical men's names, and Thora, Gunnhild and Ragnhild typical women's.
+Which Old Norse names mean wolf?
Ulf (Úlfr) means wolf on its own. The element also appears in Ulfhild ("wolf + battle") and, written -ólfr, at the end of names such as Ingolf. Hrolf comes from Hróðulfr, "fame + wolf".
+How did Old Norse names work?
A person had one given name, often made of two parts such as Þór + steinn, plus a patronymic from their father's name, such as Sveinsson or Sveinsdóttir. Many people also had a byname describing them, such as hárfagri, "fair-haired".
Ellie Rye with Keith Briggs, John Insley, Oliver Padel and Diana Whaley, Personal names in England's place-names, Society for Name Studies in Britain and Ireland (2024). Checked 13 November 2026.