Old Norse Names
These names were used by speakers of Old Norse in Scandinavia and other places that the Norse settled. See also about Germanic names.
294 names in our directory
Old Norse
294Hallþóra is a feminine Old Norse name, derived directly from the masculine Hallþórr. It combines hallr, meaning "rock" or "stone," with the name of the Norse god Thor. Thus, Hallþóra carries the combined significance of...
Hallþórr is an Old Norse masculine given name, a compound of the elements hallr 'rock' and the name of the Norse god Thor. The name thus carries the poetic meaning 'Thor's rock', evoking strength and steadfastness, as mi...
Hallvarðr is the Old Norse form of the name Halvard, derived from the elements hallr ("rock") and vǫrðr ("guard, guardian"), thus meaning "rock guardian." The name was used in Viking-age Scandinavia and has several moder...
Hámundr is an Old Norse masculine name formed from the combination of two elements: either hár meaning "high" or hǫð meaning "battle, combat", paired with mundr meaning "protection". Thus the name can be interpreted as "...
Haraldr is the cognate of the Old English name Harold, derived from the Proto-Germanic elements here meaning "army" and weald meaning "powerful, mighty" or "leader". The name thus signifies "army leader" or "mighty warri...
Harðaknútr is an Old Norse name, best known as the original form of the medieval byname Harthacnut. The name is a compound of the elements harðr, meaning "hard" or "tough," and knútr, meaning "knot," collectively giving...
Haukr is an Old Norse masculine byname meaning "hawk". It derives from the Old Norse word haukr (hawk), a bird of prey revered in Norse culture for its keen eyesight and hunting prowess. The name is directly linked to th...
Hávarðr is an Old Norse masculine name that combines elements meaning "high battle" or simply "guardian in battle." The first element may come from either hár "high" or hǫð "battle, combat," while the second is vǫrðr "gu...
Helga is a feminine name of Old Norse origin, derived from heilagr meaning "holy, blessed." It is used across a wide range of languages and cultures, including Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, German, Hungarian, Icelandic,...
Helgi is the Old Norse, Icelandic, and Faroese form of Helge. The name originates from from the Old Norse name Helgi, which is derived from heilagr meaning "holy, blessed". It ultimately traces back to Proto-Norse Hailag...
Hemingr is an Old Norse masculine given name, representing the older form of Hemming. The name derives from the Old Norse element hamr "shape", suggesting that it may have originally functioned as a nickname for someone...
Herleif is a Scandinavian name with a complex history, functioning both as a modern masculine given name in Norwegian and as the feminine form of the Old Norse name Herleifr in Old Norse. Its origin can be traced to the...
Herleifr is an Old Norse masculine name formed from the elements herr meaning "army" or "warrior" and leif meaning "inheritance" or "legacy," giving the overall sense of "warrior's legacy." This compound name reflects th...
Hildigunnr is an Old Norse female given name, composed of two elements that both signify warfare: hildr "battle" and gunnr "battle, war". This double-warrior meaning is also found in its Germanic cOgnate Hildegund.As a n...
Etymology and MeaningHildingr is an Old Norse masculine name derived from the element hildr, meaning "battle." The suffix -ingr typically denotes association or descent, giving the name the sense of "chief" or "warrior"...
Hildr is a figure from Norse mythology whose name derives directly from the Old Norse hildr, meaning "battle". This makes the name a cognate of Hilda and its variants, such as Hilde and Hildur. In the Germanic onomastic...
Hjálmarr is an Old Norse masculine given name, the original form of the modern Scandinavian name Hjalmar. The name is composed of two Old Norse elements: hjalmr meaning "helmet" and herr meaning "army, warrior," thus giv...
Hjǫrdís is an Old Norse female given name, composed of the elements hjǫrr meaning "sword" and dís meaning "goddess" or "noble woman". Thus, the name carries the meaning of "sword goddess" or "warrior goddess". It appears...
Hlíf is an Old Norse and Icelandic female name derived from the Old Norse word hlíf, meaning "protection" or "shield." It is the direct source of the modern Scandinavian name Liv 1, though the latter's meaning has been i...
Hólmfríðr is an Old Norse feminine given name, composed of the elements holmr meaning "small island" and fríðr meaning "beautiful" or "beloved". The name thus conveys poetic imagery of a beautiful island or one who is be...
Hólmgeirr is an Old Norse masculine name, directly ancestral to the modern Scandinavian name Holger. It is a compound formed from the elements holmr, meaning "small island," and geirr, meaning "spear." The name thus tran...
Hǫskuldr is an Old Norse masculine name of debated etymology. It may derive from the earlier name Hagustaldar, meaning "owner of the enclosure" (from haga "enclosure" and stald related to "possess"). Alternatively, it co...
Hrafn is an Old Norse masculine given name and byname meaning "raven." The name has survived into modern Icelandic usage and carries strong associations with Norse mythology and Viking culture, where the raven was a symb...
Hrafnhildr is an Old Norse feminine name formed from the elements hrafn "raven" and hildr "battle". The raven, in Norse mythology, was closely associated with Odin, the god of war and wisdom, through his two ravens Hugin...
Hrefna is an Icelandic feminine given name, derived as the female form of Hrafn, an Old Norse masculine name meaning "raven". The raven held significant symbolism in Norse mythology and culture, often associated with the...
Hreiðarr is an Old Norse masculine given name, the original form of the modern name Reidar. The name is composed of the elements hreiðr meaning "nest" or "home" and herr meaning "army" or "warrior", though some sources s...
Hreiðunn is an Old Norse feminine given name, preserved primarily in historical and linguistic records. It is the direct ancient form of the modern Reidun, which is used in Scandinavian countries such as Norway, Denmark,...
Hróaldr is an Old Norse masculine given name, the original form of the modern Roald. The name represents a truncated variant of the compound Hróðvaldr, derived from the hróðr element meaning "praise" or "fame" and valdr...
Hróarr is an Old Norse masculine name, derived from the element hróðr, meaning "praise" or "fame", combined with a second element that may be geirr ("spear"), herr ("army, warrior"), or varr ("aware, cautious"). This lay...
Hróðgeirr is an Old Norse masculine name that combines the elements hróðr "praise, fame" and geirr "spear", literally meaning "famous spear." It is a cognate of the Germanic name Hrodger (see Roger), and shares its etymo...
Hróðulfr is an Old Norse masculine name formed from the elements hróðr meaning "praise, fame" and ulfr meaning "wolf". It is thus an Old Norse cognate of Hrodulf, an ancestor of the continental Germanic names Rudolf and...
Hróðvaldr is an Old Norse masculine name, the original form from which the modern name Roald derives. It is composed of the Old Norse elements hróðr meaning "praise, fame" and valdr meaning "ruler," thus conveying the me...
Hrœrekr is the Old West Norse form of Hrǿríkr, a name composed of the elements hróðr meaning “praise, fame, glory” and ríkr meaning “ruler, king,” making it a cognate of Roderick. In the broader Germanic context, Hrœrekr...
Etymology Hrólfr is an Old Norse name, a contracted form of Hróðulfr, which is derived from the elements hróðr "praise, fame" and ulfr "wolf". This makes it a cognate of the Germanic name Hrodulf, the ancestor of modern...
EtymologyHrǿríkr is an Old Norse name formed from the elements hróðr "praise, fame, glory" and ríkr "ruler, king". It is a cognate of Roderick, whose Old Germanic root *Hrōþirīk likewise combines "fame" and "ruler". The...
Hugleikr is an Old Norse masculine given name formed from the elements hugr 'mind, thought, mood' and leikr 'play'. This compound thus evokes a meaning such as 'mind-game' or 'thought-play', reflecting the Norse traditio...
Iðunn is an Old Norse name deeply rooted in Norse mythology. The name likely comprises the elements ið- meaning "again, repeated" and unna "to love", thus "ever-loving" or "renewed love". In Norse mythology, Iðunn is the...
Inga is a feminine given name with deep roots in Germanic and Norse mythology. It is the strictly feminine form of Inge, a short form of various Germanic and Scandinavian names that begin with the element Ing, referring...
Ingi is an Inge. The name Inge itself is a short form of Germanic names that incorporate the element ing, referring to the Germanic god Ing (possibly from *Ingwaz, meaning "ancestor"). Ing was an obscure fertility god as...
Ingibjǫrg is the Old Norse form of the name Ingeborg, which has cognates in several Germanic languages such as Old Dutch (Frankish) Ingoberga. The name is a compound of two elements: the name of the Germanic god Ing (als...
EtymologyIngigerðr is the Old Norse form of Ingegerd, a name composed of the divine name Ing — associated with the Germanic god Ingwaz, considered by some scholars an earlier aspect of Freyr — and garðr meaning "enclosur...
Ingimárr is an Old Norse masculine given name, the direct predecessor of the Scandinavian name Ingemar. It is composed of two elements: the first, Ing-, refers to the Germanic god Ing, a fertility deity sometimes associa...
Ingólfr is an Old Norse given name, a form of Ingolf. The name is composed of two elements: the name of the Germanic god Ing (possibly an epithet of Freyr) and ulfr meaning 'wolf'. Thus, Ingólfr means 'wolf of Ing' or 'I...
Ingríðr is the Old Norse form of Ingrid, a name deeply rooted in Germanic mythology and language. The name is a compound of two elements: the name of the Germanic god Ing (also known as Yngvi) and fríðr, meaning “beautif...
Ingunn is a feminine given name of Old Norse origin, primarily used in Icelandic and Norwegian. The name is a compound of two elements: the name of the Germanic god Ing and Old Norse unna meaning "to love." Thus, Ingunn...
Ingvildr is an Old Norse feminine name, a variant of Yngvildr. The name ultimately derives from the theonym Yngvi, an alternate name of the Norse god Freyr, combined with the element hildr, meaning "battle." Thus, Ingvil...
Ívarr is the Old Norse form of Ivor. The name is a Scandinavian masculine given name, with another variant being Iver, more common in Norway. The Old Norse name has several possible etymologies. In North Germanic phonolo...
Jarl is a Scandinavian masculine given name derived from the Old Norse word jarl, meaning "chieftain" or "nobleman." It is a cognate of the English word earl. In Norse mythology, according to the poem Rígsþula, Jarl is t...
Jóarr is an Old Norse masculine name derived from the elements jór "horse" and herr "army, warrior", giving the meaning "horse warrior" or "cavalryman". It is recorded on runestones in the forms ioar and iuar, though the...
Jórunnr is an Old Norse feminine given name, the direct precursor of the modern name Jorunn. The name is composed of the elements jǫfurr meaning "boar" and unna meaning "to love", thus conveying the poetic sense of "one...
Jósteinn is an Old Norse given name, preserved in modern Icelandic as the original form of Jostein. The name is composed of two elements: jór, meaning "horse", and steinn, meaning "stone". It thus carries the literal sen...
Kálfr is an Old Norse masculine given name meaning "calf." The name derives from the Old Norse word kálfr, which directly translates to "calf" (the young of a cow). In Norse naming traditions, animal names were sometimes...
Kári is an Old Norse masculine name, the direct phonological ancestor of the modern Kåre. The name derives from the Old Norse element kárr, meaning "curly" or "curved," likely a reference to curly hair or a bent shape.Et...
Karl is a Germanic masculine name, the German and Scandinavian form of Charles. Derived from the Old High German word charal meaning "man, husband, freeman," the name rose to prominence in Central and Northern Europe lar...
Katla is a feminine given name of Old Norse origin, derived from the masculine name Ketil, which itself comes from the Old Norse Ketill meaning “kettle, cauldron” or “helmet”. The feminine form is created by adding the s...
Ketill is an Old Norse masculine given name, directly descended from the common noun ketill meaning "kettle, cauldron." In pre-Christian Scandinavian ritual, the ketill (or ketill) was a vessel used to catch the blood of...
Ketillaug is an Old Norse feminine name, the original form of Kjellaug. The name is a compound derived from the elements ketill (meaning "kettle" or "cauldron") and laug (possibly meaning "vowed," "promised," or "bound i...
Ketilríðr is an Old Norse feminine name, the direct predecessor of the modern Scandinavian name Kjellfrid. It is composed of two elements: ketill, meaning "kettle" or "cauldron" (often used in names to symbolize a sacrif...
Knútr is an Old Norse masculine name, the original form of Knut. The name derives from the Old Norse word knútr, meaning "knot". This etymology likely conveyed strength and solidity, as a knot is a binding and durable ob...
Kolbrún is an Old Norse byname that evolved into a distinct Icelandic feminine given name. Meaning "black brow", it is composed of the elements kol ("coal") and brún ("eyebrow"). The name likely originated as a descripti...