Languages and cultures
Old English (Anglo-Saxon) Names
At a glance
Most Anglo-Saxon names were made of two parts, each an ordinary Old English word: Æthelstan is æthel (noble) plus stan (stone), and Eadgifu is ead (prosperity) plus gifu (gift). A small minority had one part, like Hild. After 1066 the old names gave way to Norman ones over a few generations, but some survived, usually through a saint: Edward, Edmund, Edith and Audrey are all Old English.
- Usual shape
- Two elements (dithematic): Æthel + red, Wulf + stan
- Common first elements
- Æthel- (noble), Ead- (prosperity), Ælf- (elf), Beorht- (bright), Wulf- (wolf), Leof- (dear)
- Common second elements
- Men: -stan, -ric, -weard, -wine, -wulf. Women: -gifu, -gyth, -thryth, -burh, -hild
- Still in use
- Edward, Edmund, Edwin, Edgar, Alfred, Edith, Audrey
Old English names and their parts
| Name | Meaning or origin | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Æthelstan Old English | noble + stone. King of the English 924–939 [6] | Recorded |
| Eadgifu Old English | prosperity + gift [6] | Recorded |
| Ælfred (Alfred) Old English | elf + counsel [1] | Recorded |
| Eadweard (Edward) Old English | prosperity + guardian [1] | Recorded |
| Eadmund (Edmund) Old English | prosperity + protection [1] | Recorded |
| Eadgyth (Edith) Old English | prosperity + war [1] | Recorded |
| Æthelthryth (Audrey) Old English | noble + strength [1] | Recorded |
| Wulfstan Old English | wolf + stone [6] | Recorded |
| Beorhtwulf Old English | bright + wolf. Wulf could come first or last [6] | Recorded |
| Leofric Old English | dear + power [6] | Recorded |
| Godwine Old English | god or good (the spelling can't tell us which) + friend [6] | Recorded |
| Hild Old English | battle. A one-part name, borne by the abbess of Whitby [1] | Recorded |
| Goodwin English surname | from the personal name Godwine [5] | Recorded |
| Wynnwulf Old English style | joy + wolf, built by the same rules | Built from real parts |
- Recorded Found in historical records.
- Built from real parts Made by us from genuine word elements.
Two words, one name
An Anglo-Saxon child was usually given a name made of two elements, each an ordinary Old English word[2]. Scholars call these names dithematic. The elements came from a fairly small stock, but they could be combined in many ways, so two people rarely had exactly the same name.
Elements had their places. Some, like Ead- and Cuth-, only began a name; others, like -ric and -weard, only ended one; and a few, such as wulf and beorht, could go either way, which is why there were both Wulfstan and Beorhtwulf[2]. The second element usually showed whether the name was a man's or a woman's: -gifu, -gyth, -thryth and -burh end women's names, -stan, -weard and -ric men's[2].
What the parts meant
Each element was a real word you'll find in an Old English dictionary[4]:
- æthel: noble. ead: wealth, prosperity, good fortune.
- ælf: elf. beorht: bright. leof: dear.
- wulf: wolf. stan: stone. wine: friend.
- ric: power or rule. weard: guardian. mund: protection. ræd: counsel.
- gifu: gift. gyth: war. thryth: strength. burh: fortress. hild: battle.
A minority of people had a one-part name, like Hild, the seventh-century abbess of Whitby, or a short pet form of a longer name[2].
Names that run in families
Families often reused an element, so a name could show who your relatives were. King Æthelwulf of Wessex had sons called Æthelstan, Æthelbald, Æthelberht and Æthelred, and one more called Ælfred, the Alfred who became king in 871[1]. In Northumbria, the brothers Oswald and Oswiu both carried the element Os-[1].
This is also why reading a name as a sentence goes wrong. The parts were chosen from the family's stock and by the rules of the system, so many combinations don't make a meaningful phrase. Treating Wulfstan as a description of a 'wolf-stone' person, or Eadgyth as a 'prosperous warrior', is reading too much into it[2].
Reading the spellings
Old English used a few letters modern English has dropped, which is why the same name turns up spelled several ways[4]:
- Æ æ (ash) was a vowel close to the a in cat. Æthelred is often written Ethelred today.
- Þ þ (thorn) and Ð ð (eth) both stood for th, so Æthelthryth can also appear as Æðelþryð.
- cg sounded like the dge in edge, which is why Ecgberht became Egbert.
Modern writers usually simplify these, and historians often keep them. Neither is wrong, but on a map or a character sheet it helps to pick one style and keep to it. The Anglo-Saxon generator on this site keeps æ and gives each name's parts in brackets.
What happened after 1066
The Norman Conquest didn't wipe out English names overnight. Over the next few generations families took up names like William, Richard and Robert, and Old English names lasted longest among ordinary people before fading in the 1200s[3].
The survivors mostly had a saint to keep them going: Edward the Confessor, Edmund the king and martyr, and Æthelthryth of Ely, whose name was worn down to Audrey[1]. Henry I's queen was born Edith but was known as Matilda after her marriage in 1100, which shows which way fashion was going. Other names lived on as surnames: Goodwin from Godwine, Lewin from Leofwine[5].
The Victorians brought many back, including Alfred, Edgar, Edwin and Edith. Ethel began then too, as a short form of names starting with Æthel-, not as an Anglo-Saxon name in its own right[1].