Languages and cultures
Old Norse Names: How Viking-Age Names Worked
At a glance
Old Norse given names were either single words, such as Ormr ('snake'), or compounds of two elements, such as Þorsteinn (Thor + 'stone') and Ásbjörn ('god' + 'bear'). People were also identified by a patronymic, such as Sveinsson ('Sveinn's son') or Sveinsdóttir ('Sveinn's daughter'), and often by a byname, such as hárfagri, 'fair-haired'. In England these names survive mainly in place-names in Yorkshire, the East Midlands, East Anglia and the north-west, and in a few surnames.
- Name types
- Single-element names, two-element compounds, and bynames (nicknames)
- Common elements
- Þór- (Thor), Ás- 'god', -björn 'bear', -ólfr 'wolf', -kell 'cauldron', -steinn 'stone', -hildr 'battle'
- Patronymics
- Father's name in the possessive + -son or -dóttir: Sveinsson, Sveinsdóttir
- Left in England
- Place-names such as Aslackby, Ormesby and Kettlethorpe; surnames such as Herrick
Old Norse names and bynames
| Name | Meaning or origin | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Þorsteinn (Thorstein) Old Norse | Thor + steinn 'stone'. [5] | Recorded |
| Ásbjörn Old Norse | áss 'god' + björn 'bear'. [7] | Recorded |
| Þorkell (Thorkel) Old Norse | Thor + ketill 'cauldron', shortened to -kell. [9] | Recorded |
| Ingólfr Old Norse | Ends in -ólfr, the form úlfr 'wolf' takes at the end of a name. [8] | Recorded |
| Úlfhildr Old Norse, female | úlfr 'wolf' + hildr 'battle'. [8] | Recorded |
| Áslákr Old Norse | áss 'god' + leikr 'play, battle'. Found in Aslackby, Lincolnshire. [1] | Recorded |
| Ormr Old Norse | 'Snake'. A byname that became a given name; found in the Ormesbys of Norfolk, Lincolnshire and Yorkshire. [1] | Recorded |
| Ápi Old Norse | 'Fool'. Another byname used as a given name, in Apethorpe, Northamptonshire. [1] | Recorded |
| Hálfdan Old Norse | 'Half-Dane', for someone with one Danish parent. In Holdenby, Northamptonshire. [1] | Recorded |
| hárfagri (Fairhair) Old Norse byname | 'Fair-haired', the byname of King Haraldr (Harald Fairhair). [15] | Recorded |
| blóðøx (Bloodaxe) Old Norse byname | 'Bloody axe', the byname of King Eiríkr (Eric Bloodaxe). [16] | Recorded |
| loðbrók (Lodbrok) Old Norse byname | 'Shaggy breeches' (Hairy-breeks), the byname of Ragnarr in the sagas. Whether he was a real person is disputed. [19] | Uncertain |
| hausakljúfr Old Norse byname | 'Skull-cleaver', a nickname in Orkneyinga saga. [18] | Recorded |
| Herrick English surname | From a single ancestor with a form of the Old Norse name Eiríkr (Eric). [2] | Recorded |
| Úlfsdóttir Old Norse pattern | Built as 'daughter of Úlfr', with the possessive form Úlfs. | Built from real parts |
- Recorded Found in historical records.
- Uncertain The origin or meaning is disputed or unproven.
- Built from real parts Made by us from genuine word elements.
One element or two
Old Norse names, like Old English ones, came from a shared Germanic way of naming. A name could be a single word, such as Steinn ('stone'), or a compound of two elements, such as Hallsteinn or Þorsteinn. The two-part type goes back to Indo-European, and the same habit is found in Old English and early Celtic names.[5][1]
The elements were real words, but a compound did not have to mean anything as a phrase. Treat translations like 'god-bear' for Ásbjörn as a list of parts, not a description of the person.[1]
Favourite building blocks
The god Thor is the most famous element. On its own it appears as Þórir (male) and Þóra (female), and in compounds at the start (Þorsteinn, Þorbjörn, Þorgerðr) or the end (Arnórr, Halldórr).[6]
Björn, 'bear', and the related Bjarni were common names, and björn also turns up in compounds such as Þorbjörn and Ásbjörn. Úlfr, 'wolf', was used alone, at the start of names (Úlfhildr), and especially at the end, where it became -ólfr: Ingólfr, Brynjólfr, Eyjólfr. Ketill, 'cauldron', usually came last and shrank to -kell: Áskell, Þorkell, Úlfkell.[7][8][9]
Women's names often end in -hildr, a poetic word for 'battle'. Another battle word, gunnr, starts names such as Gunnhildr.[10][11]
Other favourites were áss, 'god', at the start of names (Ásbjörn, Áslákr, Ásgeirr); geirr, 'spear', which could go at either end (Geirmundr, Þorgeirr, Ásgeirr); steinn, 'stone' (Þorsteinn, Hallsteinn); and sigr, 'victory', usually shortened to Sig- (Sigurðr, Sigríðr).[21][22][1]
Parents often reused an element from a relative's name, so brothers might be Þorsteinn and Þorgeirr. Like the English Æthel- families, this shows a family connection rather than a meaning.[5]
Son of, daughter of
Instead of a family surname, people were identified by their father's name in the possessive form plus sonr, 'son', or dóttir, 'daughter'. Sveinn's children would be Sveinsson and Sveinsdóttir. The name described the actual parent and changed every generation.[12][13][3]
Iceland still names people this way. English has -son surnames too, but they formed in the Middle Ages, mostly on first names the Normans made popular, such as Robert and Richard. A modern Robertson is not a sign of Viking ancestry.[3][2]
In practice the patronymic did a job surnames do now: telling apart the many men called Þorsteinn or Ketill. Sagas usually introduce someone with both, and often add a grandfather or a byname too.[12][13]
Bynames: Fairhair, Bloodaxe and Hairy-breeks
Old Norse had words for an extra descriptive name, such as viðrnefni, 'soubriquet'. These bynames could describe looks, character or deeds. King Haraldr was hárfagri, 'fair-haired'. King Eiríkr was blóðøx, 'bloody axe'. Others include flatnefr, 'flat-nosed', and hausakljúfr, 'skull-cleaver'.[14][15][16][17][18]
Ragnarr loðbrók, 'shaggy breeches' (often rendered Hairy-breeks), is the best known. He is a figure of legend, and Cleasby–Vigfusson calls him mythical, so treat his story with care. The same goes for járnsíða, 'Ironside', given in Ragnars saga to a legendary warrior king.[19][20]
Some bynames became ordinary given names. Ormr ('snake') and Ápi ('fool') both appear as personal names in English place-names, and so does Hálfdan, 'half-Dane'.[1]
What survives in England
Scandinavians settled in large numbers in the 9th and 10th centuries, and their names are common in place-names in Yorkshire, the East Midlands, East Anglia and north-west England. Aslackby in Lincolnshire contains Áslákr, the Ormesbys contain Ormr, and Kettlethorpe and Grimethorpe in West Yorkshire contain Scandinavian personal names. Women appear too: Helperby in Yorkshire has the woman's name Hjalp, and Sizergh in Westmorland has Sigríðr.[1][4]
A few Old Norse names lived on long enough to become English surnames. Herrick goes back to a single man with a form of Eiríkr, while Gamble arose in several families from men called Gamel.[2]