Most Anglo-Saxon names were made of two parts, each a real Old English word: Æthelred is æthel (noble) and ræd (counsel), Wulfstan is wolf and stone. Families reused favourite parts, so a father's and son's names often shared one. This Anglo-Saxon name generator builds names from the real parts and shows what each one means.
How Anglo-Saxon names were built
An Anglo-Saxon name usually joined a first element and a second element, chosen from a stock of meaningful words. The parts didn't have to make a sentence together; they were chosen for their associations and for family tradition. Real examples include:
- Æthelflæd (noble + beauty), Lady of the Mercians.
- Eadgifu (prosperity + gift), a queen of Edward the Elder.
- Wulfstan (wolf + stone), Archbishop of York.
- Godgifu, better known as Lady Godiva.
Royal families repeated elements across generations: Æthelwulf of Wessex named his sons Æthelbald, Æthelberht, Æthelred and Alfred.
The parts and their meanings
- First parts: Æthel (noble), Ead (prosperity), Ælf (elf), Cyne (royal), Wulf (wolf), Leof (dear), Sige (victory), Beorht (bright), Os (god), Wig (war), Here (army), Wil (will).
- Men's endings: -wulf (wolf), -ric (ruler), -mund (protection), -weard (guardian), -wine (friend), -red (counsel), -here (army), -stan (stone), -beorht (bright), -gar (spear).
- Women's endings: -flæd (beauty), -gifu (gift), -burh (fortress), -thryth (strength), -wynn (joy), -hild (battle).
The generator combines these freely, so you'll get real names like Æthelstan and Eadgifu as well as new ones built by the same rules.
Spelling and pronunciation
Old English used letters modern English has lost. Æ (ash) sounds like the a in "cat". The names here keep Æ but use th in place of þ and ð, which Old English wrote for the th sound. Many later names come from these: Edward from Eadweard, Edmund from Eadmund, Alfred from Ælfred.
For the Vikings who raided and settled Anglo-Saxon England, see the Viking Name Generator.