Vígdís is an Old Norse feminine name formed from the elements víg "war" and dís "goddess", thus meaning "war goddess". The first element, víg, appears in many Old Germanic names with martial connotations, such as Viggo (from the same stem). The second element, dís, originally referred to a female deity or spirit in Norse mythology; names ending in dís were common among Viking Age women, linking them to divine protection or status.
In modern times, the name is best remembered through Vígdís Finnbogadóttir, who served as the fourth President of Iceland from 1980 to 1996, making her the world's first democratically elected female head of state. Her name, spelled with an acute accent in Icelandic, reflects a revived interest in Old Norse naming traditions during the 20th century. Related variant forms include the Icelandic Vigdís and the Norwegian Vigdis, which use the same roots but with standardized modern orthography. Historically, the dís element also appears in compounds like Freyja, the goddess of love and fertility, highlighting semantic continuity between mortal names and mythological figures.
- Meaning: "war goddess" (víg + dís)
- Origin: Old Norse
- Type: Feminine given name
- Usage regions: Iceland, Norway, historically throughout the Nordic countries