Viking Names
Frosthild
The postulated name Frosthildr may be an Anglo-Scandinavian formation as it is only attested in the minor place-name of Throstle Hill, West Yorkshire. It is an Old Norse compound formed from Frost- ‘frost’ and -hildr ‘battle’.
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Viking Names
Klypp
Klyppr was originally a byname and probably a mutated form related to klumpr ‘clump’. A number of instances are recorded in West Scandinavia from the eleventh century onwards. Klyppr is the first element in the place-names of Clipstone, Nottinghamshire and Clixby, Lincolnshire.
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Viking Names
Hjalp
Hjalp was recorded in West Scandinavia by the time of the settlement of Iceland (c. 870-930) and is found in a Swedish place-name. The name was originally a byname from Old Norse hjǫlp ‘help’. It is also the first element of the place-name Helperby, North Yorkshire. In the twelfth century, one of Earl Rǫgnvaldr of Orkney’s ships was called Hjalp, an early example of giving ships female names.
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Viking Names
Herrod
Herrøðr was thought to be the first element in the place-name Harby, Leicestershire. However, more recent scholarship indicates that the element is more likely formed from Old Norse hjọrð ‘herd’. Nevertheless, the name Herrøðr appears in various forms throughout medieval Scandinavia including on a Viking Age Gotlandic runic inscription. Also two individuals in Landnámabók ‘The Book of Settlements’ recounting the settlement of Iceland (c.870-930) are named Herrøðr.
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Viking Names
Gunnvor
Gunnvǫr is a common name throughout the Norse world. It is very frequent in Norway and Denmark where it is also found in place-names and in Sweden it is found in several runic inscriptions. In Landnámabók ‘The Book of Settlements’, a Gunnvǫr is the daughter of one of the settlers of Iceland. Additionally, it is found in early Lincolnshire documents (c. 1200) and occurs in Domesday book for Yorkshire. The name also occurs in an inscription on an eleventh-century sundial in St Bartholomew’s Church, Aldbrough, East Yorkshire, together with the male name Ulf. The second wife of Richard I is referred to as Gonnor/Gunnor/Gunwera in Norman sources and there are other bearers of the name in Normandy. Gunnvǫr is a Old Norse compound name formed from Gunn- from gunnr, guðr ‘battle’ and –vǫr, the feminine form corresponding to -varr which is either derived from the adjective varr ‘aware’ or the noun *warjaʀ ‘protector’.
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Viking Names
Grani
The male personal name Grani, or possibly Gráni, is the first element of the place-name Granby, Nottinghamshire. The name occurs sporadically in saga-literature and also appears on the rune-stone from Berezan’ in southern Ukraine, erected by visiting Swedes in the eleventh century. It is also the name of the horse of the legendary hero Sigurd the Serpent-Slayer. If the name, whether of the horse or as a male name, is Grani, then it is related to the Old Norse word grǫn, referring to the ‘upper lip’ or ‘moustache’, and can be compared to other original bynames like Skeggi from skegg ‘beard’. Alternatively, it might be related to the adjective grár ‘grey’ or verb grána ‘to grow grey’, and would similarly have originally been a descriptive byname. In Granby, a document from c. 1200 refers to Granehou, a mound (Old Norse haugr) possibly named after the same man who gave his name to the village.
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Viking Names
Gulla
Gulla is recorded in several runic inscriptions in Sweden. There is one attestation of Gulla in the form of Golle in a medieval Lincolnshire document (c. 1218-1219). It is a short form of Old Norse names in Guðl-.
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Viking Names
Flik
Flík was originally a byname possibly related to Old Norse flík ‘tatter’ hence ‘gaping wound’ or the name of a farm. It the first element of the place-name Flixborough, Lincolnshire.
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Viking Names
Asvard
Ásvarðr is an Old Norse compound name from Ás- ‘a god’ and –viðr ‘tree, wood’. There is not much evidence for this name in Old Norse sources. However, there is an Ásvarðr in Norway in the tenth century mentioned in Njáls saga. The name is found as an element in the Danish place-name Asserbo and also found as the first element of Aswarby and Aswardby in Lincolnshire.
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Viking Names
Eindridi
The Old Norse male name Eindriði is mainly found in Norway. It is the first element of Enderby (now divided into Bag Enderby, Mavis Enderby and Wood Enderby) and possibly Anderby, both in Lincolnshire. There is also an Enderby in Leicestershire.
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Viking Names
Skalli
Skalli an original byname meaning ‘bald-head’. It is recorded in Western Scandinavian mythology as the name of a giant, it is fairly common as a byname in Norway and Iceland. A few instances are recorded in runic inscriptions in Sweden and in Danish place-names. Skalli is the first element in Scawby, Lincolnshire, as well in several other place-names in Lincolnshire and Yorkshire