Viking Names
Ragnhild
The female name Ragnhildr is very common throughout the Scandinavian world, including several parts of Britain and Ireland, up to modern times. There is a suggestion that it was restricted to royalty and aristocrats in the Viking Age and then spread to other social groups. It may be the first element of the Lincolnshire place-name Raventhorpe, although in fact the earliest forms suggest the male name Ragnaldr, and more recent publications prefer this interpretation.
Read More
Viking Names
Gudrid
Guðríðr was common in Iceland from the time of settlement (c. 870-930) onwards and is recorded in the quasi-historical Old Norse-Icelandic text Landnámabók ‘The Book of Settlements’ that recounts this period. The name was also common in Norway and is found in a Danish runic inscription and possibly appears in a Swedish place-name. Forms of Guðríðr are attested in medieval Yorkshire charters and documents. The first element of the name is Guð from guð, ‘the gods’ and is combined with the second element -(f)ríðr, related to Gothic frījōn ‘to love’ with the original meaning ‘loved’, later meaning ‘fair’.
Read More
Viking Names
Ulfljot
The Old Norse female personal name Úlfljót is comprised of the element Úlf– ‘wolf’ and the element -ljót which is also attested as the simplex female personal name Ljót. Although Úlfljót is not otherwise attested, the masculine equivalent Úlfljótr is recorded in Iceland and possibly Yorkshire. John Hines has suggested that the female name is inscribed in runes on the Saltfleetby spindle whorl found at Saltfleetby St Clement, Lincolnshire, which he has translated as ‘Óðinn and Heimdallr and Þalfa, they are helping you, Úlfljót…’.
Read More
Viking Names
Thorarna
Þórarna is a Old Norse compound name with the first element Þór-, from the name of the god Þórr ‘Thor’ (very common in both male and female names), combined with -arna, the feminine form of -arinn, either from arinn ‘hearth’ or more probably the postulated element *arin related to ǫrn ‘eagle’. A couple of instances of Þórarna are recorded in Norway with one of the earliest being from the ninth century. The name is frequent in Iceland evidenced by the multiple mentions in Landnámabók ‘The Book of Settlements’, a quasi-historical text which recounts the settlement of Iceland. Þórarna is not attested in Denmark or Sweden. There is a form of the name found in the Yorkshire Domesday, but it may alternatively represent the male name Þórormr.
Read More
Viking Names
Ragni
Ragni is a short form of names in Ragn-, related to Old Norse regin, genitive plural ragna, ‘ruling powers, the gods’. The personal name element probably has the sense of ‘advice’, but it may indicate ‘the gods’, as it does in Ragnarök, the name of the apocalypse in Old Norse mythology. A few late instances of the personal name are recorded in West Scandinavia, it is recorded in several runic inscriptions in Sweden. Also, Ragni is the first element of the place-name Ragnall, Nottinghamshire.
Read More
Viking Names
Havard
Hávarðr is a compound name formed from Há- which has three potential origins of ‘horse’, ‘high’, or ‘battle’ and -varðr ‘guard, watchman’. The name is found in West Scandinavia at the time of the settlement of Iceland and is very common in Norway from the thirteenth century onwards. The name is also recorded in Sweden and Denmark. Hávarðr is the first element in the place-name of Hawerby, Lincolnshire.
Read More
Viking Names
Svarri
The Old Norse male byname Svarri ‘capable, energetic man’ is a rare name; it is recorded once in Norway. The name is the first element in Swarby, Lincolnshire.
Read More
Viking Names
Gunnolf
Gunnólfr is a common name throughout Scandinavia. Although it is not well attested in the Icelandic sagas, there are many instances of the personal name in medieval Scandinavian documents as well as in the Icelandic quasi-historical text Landnámabók ‘The Book of Settlements’, which recounts the settlement of Iceland. The personal name also occurs in its Old East Norse form, Gunnulf, as the first element in the place-name Gonalston, Nottinghamshire.
Read More
Viking Names
Thorstein
Þorsteinn is a Old Norse male personal name from Þór- ‘the god’s name Þórr’ and -steinn ‘stone’. The name was very common in Norway and Iceland throughout the medieval period. It was also found in Sweden and Denmark, including in the runic form þurstin. Additionally Þorsteinn is the most common name of Scandinavian origin in Normandy. The personal name is also the first element in the place-name Thrussington, Leicestershire.
Read More
Viking Names
Thord
The Old Norse male name Þórðr is one of the commonest in Scandinavian, particularly Norway and Iceland. While it is not especially common in English place-names, it is found in Torworth, Nottinghamshire.
Read More
Viking Names
Staythorpe
Staythorpe, in the Thurgarton Wapentake of Nottinghamshire, comes from the Old Norse male personal name Stari and the Old Norse element þorp ‘outlying farm, settlement’.