It was common to call him after a recently deceased relative with the hope that he would acquire the more virtuous characteristics he possessed or, even, that the spirit of the deceased member of the family would return through the new life that was just beginning.
As is currently the case in some cultures, Viking surnames consisted of the conjunction of the fatherâs name plus the suffix -son (if it is a boy) or -dottir (if it is a girl) which means âson / daughter ofâ. This way, if the fatherâs name is Ragnar, the sonâs surname will be Ragnarson or Ragnardottir if he is a girl. As an adult, it is possible that he was given a nickname which, in some cases, was used more than his own name and became the main name. In this case, the childâs surname may be satisfied by the motherâs nickname plus the suffix.
Thanks to TV series like Vikings , The Last Kingdom and Game of Thrones, Nordic culture is in vogue. Here is a list of Scandinavian names to draw inspiration from. Some are names of illustrious Vikings, names of Viking warriors and names of warrior gods or names of Viking goddesses. Among them you may find the name of your future son or daughter.
Old Norse, the language of the Vikings
Some Norse Viking names are particularly difficult to pronounce. To this it must be added that the names have come down to us in two different alphabets indistinctly, in the Latin alphabet and in the runic alphabet , so the phonetics can be quite different.
Names mentioned in sagas and runestones
In the Viking sagas and runestones there are many Norse names for men and Norse names for women common at that time, as well as names of gods and heroes from Norse mythology. Here we show you a list with some of them.
The names of the most popular Viking men
These are the most popular Nordic names for your child:
⢠Aren : It means âone who reigns like an eagleâ.
⢠Ax : diminutive of Axel: it means âthe father of peaceâ
⢠BjĂśrn or Bjorn : pronounced âBiornâ. This is one of the most popular names in the Viking era, it means âpronounced manâ and can also mean âbearâ.
⢠Daven : It means âbeloved manâ.
⢠Egil : very popular in the Viking era and means âimpressiveâ.
⢠Einar : From Old Norse, it means âthe lone warriorâ or âwarrior leaderâ. In the ancient legends of these countries reference is made to the heroes of Valhalla. Variant: Einer, Einarr.
⢠Erik or Eric : It means âeternal rulerâ. It derives from the Norwegian name EirĂkr, and is combined from the elements ei âalways, alwaysâ and rĂkr ârulerâ. A notable bearer of this name was EirĂkrinn Rauda (Eric the Red), a 10th-century navigator and explorer who discovered Greenland. Variants: Eirik, Erik, Eric.
⢠Esben : Danish and Norwegian variant of AsbjĂśrn, an ancient Nordic name for Ass, âgodâ and bjĂśrn, âbearâ.
⢠Gerd : male name widely used in Scandinavia and Germany, derived from Gerda, who in Scandinavian mythology is the goddess of fertility. It also means âstrengthâ.
⢠Gisli : It means âa ray of sunshineâ
⢠Haakon : It means useful, right-handed.
⢠Helge : means âsaintâ. It is the male form of Helga
⢠Hans : in Spanish it is Juan and means âGod has been kindâ. Variants: Hansi, Han, Hannes, Hansel
⢠Harald : De har which means âarmyâ and vald which means âprinceâ in Old Norse or can also be translated as âgenerous guestâ
⢠Ivar : name of Scandinavian origin which means âwarriors with bowâ or âarcherâ
⢠Jensen : name of Finnish, Danish or Norwegian origin which means: son of Johannes. Variant: Jens.
⢠Jorgen : which means âfarmerâ
⢠Lars : derived from Lorenzo, from the Latin âlaurusâ, meaning âlaurelsâ
⢠Niels : means âwinner of the peopleâ.
⢠Odin : name of the supreme god of Norse mythology. âFury, excitement, mind, inspiration.â His role, like that of many of the Nordics, is complex. He is the god of wisdom.
⢠Olav : From the Old Norse Aleifr which means âdescendant of the ancestorâ or âthe inheritance of the ancestorsâ or, also, âhe who receives the inheritanceâ. Derived from the elements anu âancestorâ and leifr âdescendantâ. This was the name of five kings of Norway, including Saint Olaf. Variants: Olaff, Olavo, Olan, Olao, Olof and Olaf.
⢠Olson : means âson of Olafâ.
⢠Sigurd : from the ancient Norse Sigurðr, derived from the elements sigr âvictoryâ and varðr âguardianâ.
⢠Sveinn : It means âyoung manâ or âboyâ. Variants: Svante, Swen, Swend, Sven, Svend.
⢠Thor : The god of thunder in Norse mythology, means âstormâ.
⢠Viggo : name of Scandinavian origin which means: battle; similar to war.
Other male Norse names and their meanings
Here is a list of some of the Viking names for men and their meanings. Some of them refer to the names of Viking warriors and deities from Scandinavian mythology.
⢠Adalsteinn : derived from the ancient Norse elements aðal ânobleâ and steinn âstoneâ.
⢠Ake
⢠Alf : Name of Nordic origin, it means âElfâ.
⢠Anwend
⢠Apsel : Its meaning is âFather of peaceâ.
⢠Aricin : son of the king.
⢠Arie : It is a variant of the name Ari of Scandinavian origin and the Hebrew name Ariel, its meaning is: âlionâ, âlion of Godâ or âeagleâ. The female variant is Aria.
⢠Armengol : derived from the name Ermin, a demigod in Scandinavian mythology. Variant: Ermengol.
⢠Arne : This name means âeagleâ in Old Norse.
⢠Arvid : from the ancient Norse Arnviðr, derived from the elements arn âeagleâ and viðr âtreeâ.
⢠Asbjorn
⢠Asger : from the ancient Norse Ăsgeirr, derived from the elements Ass which means âgodâ and geirr which means âspearâ.
⢠Asgot
⢠Ash : It means Fresno. Variant: Ashe.
⢠Ask : From Norse mythology. It means âashâ. In Norse mythology Ask and his wife Embla were the first humans created by the gods.
⢠Aslak
⢠Asser
⢠Asvald
⢠Asved
⢠Axel : male boyâs name, used frequently in the Nordic countries. Its probable etymology is to be found in the word Asks, âax, weapon of warâ in primitive languages âââŚ
⢠Baggi : derived from the Old Norse meaning backpack or backpack.
⢠Balder : Its meaning is âthe gloriousâ or âprinceâ. He was a god son of Odin and Friga, personification of good, light and beauty, and god of eloquence and wisdom.
⢠Bard : The Norwegian form of the Old Norse name BĂĄrðr, derived from the elements baðu âbattleâ and friðr âpeaceâ.
⢠Bjarni
⢠Bo : Derived from the Old Norse bua which means âto liveâ.
⢠Brand
⢠Brandr
⢠Brynjar : In Old Norse means âwarrior in armorâ.
⢠Cnut : Varoamte: Knud
⢠Dag : of Scandinavian origin. The meaning is âthe light of dayâ. Mythology: the son of the night who brought the light of day as he rode his horse around the EarthâŚ.
⢠Dan : âThe Danishâ in Old Norse.
⢠Didrik : Variant of the name Diederik, âchief of the peopleâ. It comes from the German name Dietrich.
⢠Dustin : It derives from an English surname that has its origin in the Old Norse ĂĂłrsteinn or Torsten which means âstone of Thorâ.
⢠Ebbe : Diminutive of Eberhard and derives from the ancient Nordic term âboarâ
⢠Eero : Variant of Eric, Scandinavian name which means: leader, sovereign.
Eindride : From the Nordic Eindriði, perhaps from the elements ein âone, onlyâ and rĂða âmountâ.
⢠EirĂkr : derived from ei âwhich means the oneâ and rik which means âthe only prince or ruler foreverâ.
⢠Ejulf
⢠Elvis : Derived from the Old Norse name Alvis which means âall wisdomâ.
⢠Eskol : Wolf chasing the moon to devour it.
⢠Eyjolf
⢠Finnbogi
⢠Floki
⢠Frobjorn
⢠Fraud
⢠Gamli
⢠Gardi
⢠Geirstein
⢠Grim
⢠Gudmund
⢠Gunnbjorn
⢠Gunnvor
⢠Hafgrim
⢠Hakon : means âof Nordic descentâ or âperson of an important familyâ. Variants: Hak, Hakan, Hako.
⢠Halfdan
⢠Finds
⢠Hallr : from the Old Norse word hallr which means ârockâ.
⢠Halstein : From the Norwegian words Hallsteinn, which consists of the words hallr ârockâ and steinn âstoneâ.
⢠Halvard : name of Viking origin which means âthe guardian of the rockâ.
⢠Halvdan : derived from the Old Norse name HĂĄlfdan, composed of the elements halfr âhalfâ and danr âDanishâ, originally a nickname for a person who was half Danish.
⢠Annone : Variant of John, The grace of God.
⢠Hansen : âSon of Hans.â
⢠Harold : It means âarmed leaderâ. Variant: Aroldo, Araldo, Aralt, Arry, Hal, Harald, Haralds, Haroldo, Harry.
⢠Heimdal : God who protected the gods from the attacks of the giants, endowed with very fine sight and hearing. It represented the beginning of all things, unlike Loki.
⢠Helgi
⢠Hemming : From Old Norse hamr âshapeâ and perhaps it was originally a nickname for a person who believed himself to be a shape-shifter.
⢠Herjolf
⢠Herleifr : derived from the Old Norse words herr âarmyâ and leifr âson, descendantâ.
⢠Hjalmar : from the ancient Norwegian word hjĂĄlmarr which means âhelmet of the warriorâ.
⢠Hodur : HÜðr in Norwegian. âFierce fighterâ. He was a blind god, Balderâs brother, who accidentally caused his death when he was deceived by the god Loki.
⢠Holger : from the ancient Norse hĂłlmgeirr, derived from the elements hĂłlmr âislandâ and geirr âspearâ. It is also translated as âhead of the islandâ. This was the name of one of Charlemagneâs generals, a Danish noble.
⢠Hove
⢠Howard : derived from the Norwegian name Havardr which means âshepherd of sheepâ.
⢠Hrafn : Name that means âcrowâ in Old Norse.
⢠Hrólfr
⢠Hrollaug
⢠Igor : Igor is a traditionally Russian name, but derives from the Scandinavian Ingvarr, formed by Ingwi, the name of a god whose cult is attested by Tacitus and who enters the composition of the names, it means âwarriorâ.
⢠Illugi
⢠Inge : He was a Viking god and his name probably means God.
⢠Ingjald
⢠Ingolf
⢠Isleif
⢠Jansen : Son of Jan. Variant: Jansey.
⢠Jarlabanke
⢠Jarle : Scandinavian name used in Norway which means: leader.
⢠Jerk : name of Scandinavian origin, male, which is not used much due to its unique meaning: âidiotâ.
⢠Jostein : Jostein is mainly used in German and Scandinavian. Their language is of ancient Nordic origin. Derived from ior which means âhorse, foalâ, and ehwaz which means horse, and Steinn.
⢠Ketil
⢠Kjallakr
⢠Kjeld
⢠Knut : Derived from the Old Norse knĂştr which means âknotâ. Knut was a Danish prince who defeated ĂðelrĂŚd II, king of England, in the early 11th century and became the ruler of Denmark, Norway and England.
⢠Kolbjorn
⢠Kristof : It means âfollower of Christâ. Variant: Kristoff.
⢠Lambert : âShining landâ. Variants: Lambart, Lambirt, Landbert, Lamberto.
⢠Lamont