The Vikings have fame of warriors and adventurers. They were a people who lived in the Scandinavian region (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden) from the late 8th century to the early 11th century, and the harsh conditions of their homeland surely contributed to that. strong and resilient character for which they are famous.
Closely linked to the sea and known for its maritime skills and for being great explorers and tradersthese Nordic people raided throughout Europe and even reached North America.
Mythology was an integral part of Viking cultureof his vision of the universe, ethics and in various aspects of daily customs, and is reflected in the viking names that have reached our days.
Viking names: an ancient and sonorous language
The language used by the Vikings was known as Old Norse.ancestor of the modern Scandinavian languages: Icelandic, Faroese, Norwegian, Danish and Swedish.
It was a shared language in Scandinavia and the North Atlantic islands colonized by the Vikings, originating from Old Icelandic and Old Norwegian. They existed different dialects in different areasalthough it is very likely that its speakers could understand each other.
The Vikings used the runic alphabet to write in Old Norse, although the runesas the letters of that alphabet were known, they not only used them to communicate, They also used them in magical and religious rituals.
Old Norse has left a significant impact on modern Scandinavian languages, and some words and expressions are still used, such as names of viking origin which we show you below.
Viking names: female
If you are looking for names for girls, the Viking or Scandinavian names for women They usually have a nice sound and make reference to mythology and nature.
- Handle: It means «goddess» or «beautiful.»
- Astrid: means «beautiful», «loved».
- Brenda: means “sword”.
- Dahlia: means “inhabitant of the valley.”
- Eira: means «mercy» or «compassion.»
- freya: is the name of the Norse goddess of love, fertility and beauty, although it is also associated with magic and prophecy.
- Greta: means «pearl.»
- Gudrun: means “secret knowledge of God” or “love of God.”
- Helga: means “holy”, “sacred”.
- Hilda: means «battle» or «war.»
- Ingeborg: means «help» or «protection.»
- Ingrid: means “beautiful” or “loved.”
- Inga: is the abbreviation of names like Ingrid or Ingeborg.
- Lagertha: She was a famous Viking warrior and the first wife of Ragnar Lothbrok, a 9th century Viking king.
- liv: means «life» or «protection.»
- Ragna: It means «wise» or «with good judgment.»
- Rune: means “secret knowledge” and refers to the runes, the letters of the Viking alphabet.
- sigrid: means “victory”, “wisdom” and also “beautiful” or “beloved”.
- siv: means «girlfriend» or «wife»
- Thyra: means “warrior of Thor”.
- Yrsa: means «bear».
Viking names: male
As for names for boys, you will find many viking names for men coming from Scandinavian mythology that usually have a strong and powerful sound and meaning.
- Arne: means “eagle”.
- Baldur or Balder: the god of peace, light and beauty, with a tragic end.
- Bjorn: means «bear.»
- Einar: means «he who fights alone», “lone warrior”.
- Eric: derived from “Eiríkr”, meaning “eternal ruler” or “powerful”. Also spelled Eric.
- Gunnar: means «brave in battle.»
- Haakon: means “useful” or “skillful.” It is the name of the crown prince of Norway.
- Haldor: means «Thor’s rock.» Thor is the Viking god of thunder, storms, oaks, strength and protection.
- Harald: means «army leader», «commander».
- ivar: means «archer» or «warrior with a bow.»
- Jorgen: means “farmer” or “agriculturist”.
- Knout: means «knot.»
- Magnus: means «big.»
- Nils: means «victorious.»
- Odin: name of the main god of Viking mythology, associated with wisdom, war and death.
- Olaf: means «descendant of the ancestors.»
- Ragnar: means «warrior» and «ruler of the army.»
- Rolf: comes from words hrod«fame» and wulf«wolf».
- Sigurd: means «guardian of victory.»
- Stig: means «wanderer.»
- Sven: means «young.»
- thor: in Viking god of thunder.
- Ulf: means “wolf”.
- Valdemar: means «famous ruler.»
- Vidar: is the name of the Norse god of silence, revenge and justice, Vidarr, and means «forest» or «warrior in the forest.»
- Viggo: means “battle”.