ALF (1) m Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Norse MythologyDerived from Old Norse
alfr "elf". In Norse legend this was the name of king, the suitor of a reluctant maiden named Alfhild. She avoided marrying him by disguising herself as a warrior, but when they fought she was so impressed by his strength that she changed her mind.
ALFHILD f Norwegian, SwedishFrom the Old Norse name
Alfhildr, which was composed of the elements
alfr "elf" and
hildr "battle". In Norse legend Alfhild was a maiden who disguised herself as a warrior in order to avoid marriage to King Alf. Her life was perhaps based on that of a 9th-century Viking pirate.
ALVIN m English, SwedishFrom a medieval form of any of the Old English names
ÆLFWINE,
ÆÐELWINE or
EALDWINE. It was revived in the 19th century, in part from a surname that was derived from the Old English names. As a Scandinavian name it is derived from
Alfvin, an Old Norse cognate of
Ælfwine.
ALVIS m Norse Mythology, LatvianFrom the Old Norse
Alvíss meaning "all wise". In Norse mythology this was the name of a dwarf who was to marry
Thor's daughter
Thrud. Thor was not pleased with this so he tricked Alvis by asking him questions until the sun rose, at which time the dwarf was turned into stone.
ALWILDA f HistoryLatinized form of
ALFHILD. This was the name of a legendary female Scandinavian pirate, also called Awilda.
AMUND m NorwegianDerived from the Old Norse name
Agmundr, from the element
egg "edge of a sword" or
agi "awe, terror" combined with
mundr "protection".
ANDOR (1) m NorwegianFrom the Old Norse name
Arnþórr, derived from the element
arn "eagle" combined with the name of the Norse god
Þórr (see
THOR).
ARNFINN m NorwegianNorwegian form of
Arnfinnr, which was derived from the elements
arn "eagle" and
finnr "Sámi, person from Finland".
ÅSA f SwedishShort form of Old Norse feminine names beginning with the element
áss "god".
ÅSE f Danish, Norwegian, SwedishDanish and Norwegian form of
ÅSA, as well as a Swedish variant. It was used by the Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen in his play 'Peer Gynt' (1867), where it belongs to the mother of the title character.
ASGER m DanishFrom the Old Norse name
Ásgeirr, derived from the elements
áss meaning "god" and
geirr meaning "spear".
ASK m Norse MythologyDerived from Old Norse
askr "ash tree". In Norse mythology Ask and his wife
Embla were the first humans created by the gods.
ASLAUG f NorwegianDerived from the Old Norse elements
áss meaning "god" and
laug possibly meaning "betrothed woman".
BALDER m Norse MythologyMeans "prince" from Old Norse. In Norse mythology Balder was the son of
Odin and
Frigg. Because of the disturbing dreams he had when he was young, his mother extracted an oath from every thing in the world that it would not harm him. However the evil fire god
Loki learned that she had overlooked mistletoe. Being jealous, he tricked the blind god Hoder into throwing a branch of mistletoe at Balder, which killed him.
BÅRD m NorwegianNorwegian form of the Old Norse name
Bárðr, which was derived from the elements
baðu "battle" and
friðr "peace".
BECKETT m English (Modern)From an English surname that could be derived from various sources, including from Middle English
beke meaning "beak" or
bekke meaning "stream, brook".
BERGLJOT f NorwegianFrom the Old Norse name
Bergljót, which was composed of the elements
berg "protection, help" and
ljótr "light".
BIRGITTA f Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, FinnishMost likely a Scandinavian form of
BRIDGET via the Latinized form
Brigitta. Alternatively it could be a feminine derivative of
BIRGER. This is the name of the patron saint of Europe, Birgitta of Sweden, the 14th-century founder of the Bridgettine nuns. Her father's name was Birger.
BIRKIR m IcelandicFrom Icelandic
birki meaning "birch", specifically the downy birch (species Betula pubescens).
BO (1) m Swedish, DanishFrom the Old Norse byname
Búi, which was derived from Old Norse
bua meaning "to live".
BRANT m EnglishFrom a surname that was derived from the Old Norse name
BRANDR. This is also the name for a variety of wild geese.
BRENDA f EnglishPossibly a feminine form of the Old Norse name
Brandr, meaning "sword", which was brought to Britain in the Middle Ages. This name is sometimes used as a feminine form of
BRENDAN.
BRYNHILDR f Norse Mythology, Ancient ScandinavianOld Norse cognate of
BRÜNHILD. In the Norse legend the 'Volsungasaga' Brynhildr was rescued by the hero
Sigurd in the guise of
Gunnar. Brynhildr and Gunnar were married, but when Sigurd's wife
Gudrun let slip that it was in fact Sigurd who had rescued her, Brynhildr plotted against him. She accused Sigurd of taking her virginity, spurring Gunnar to arrange Sigurd's murder.
CASON m English (Modern)From a surname derived from the English place name
Cawston, itself derived from the Old Norse given name
KÁLFR combined with Old English
tun meaning "enclosure, yard, town".
COREY m EnglishFrom a surname that was derived from the Old Norse given name
Kóri, of unknown meaning. This name became popular in the 1960s due to the character Corey Baker on the television series 'Julia'.
DAGRUN f NorwegianFrom the Old Norse name
Dagrún, which was derived from the Old Norse elements
dagr "day" and
rún "secret lore".
DANE m EnglishFrom an English surname that was either a variant of the surname
DEAN or else an ethnic name referring to a person from Denmark.
DUSTIN m EnglishFrom an English surname that was derived from the Old Norse given name
Þórsteinn (see
TORSTEN). The name was popularized by the actor Dustin Hoffman (1937-), who was apparently named after the earlier silent movie star Dustin Farnum (1874-1929).
DUSTY m & f EnglishFrom a nickname originally given to people perceived as being dusty. It is also used a diminutive of
DUSTIN. A famous bearer was British singer Dusty Springfield (1939-1999), who acquired her nickname as a child.
EDDA (2) f Icelandic, Ancient ScandinavianPossibly from Old Norse meaning "great-grandmother". This was the name of two 13th-century Icelandic literary works: the Poetic Edda and the Prose Edda. This is also the name of a character in the Poetic Edda, though it is unclear if her name is connected to the name of the collection.
EERO m FinnishFinnish form of
ERIC. A famous bearer was the architect Eero Saarinen (1910-1961).
EGIL m Norwegian, Swedish, DanishFrom the Old Norse name
Egill, a diminutive of names that began with the element
agi "awe, terror". This was the name of a semi-legendary Icelandic warrior.
EINDRIDE m NorwegianDerived from the Old Norse name
Eindriði, possibly from the elements
ein "one, alone" and
ríða "to ride".
ELOF m SwedishFrom the Old Norse name
Eileifr, which was derived from the elements
ei "ever, always" and
leifr "descendant, heir".
ELVIS m EnglishMeaning unknown. It could possibly be a derivative of
ALVIS or
ELWIN. More likely, it is from the rare surname
Elvis, a variant of
Elwes, which is ultimately derived from the given name
ELOISE. The name was brought to public attention by the singer Elvis Presley (1935-1977), whose name came from his father's middle name.
... [more] ERIC m English, Swedish, German, SpanishFrom the Old Norse name
Eiríkr, derived from the elements
ei "ever, always" and
ríkr "ruler". A notable bearer was Eiríkr inn Rauda (Eric the Red in English), a 10th-century navigator and explorer who discovered Greenland. This was also the name of several early kings of Sweden, Denmark and Norway.
... [more] ERICH m GermanGerman form of
ERIC. The German novelist Erich Maria Remarque (1898-1970) was the author of 'All Quiet on the Western Front'.
ERIK m Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Croatian, Hungarian, German, Dutch, EnglishScandinavian form of
ERIC. This was the name of kings of Sweden, Denmark and Norway. King Erik IX of Sweden (12th century) is the patron saint of that country.
ERIKA f Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, German, Hungarian, Czech, Slovene, Croatian, English, ItalianFeminine form of
ERIK. It also coincides with the word for "heather" in some languages.
ERLAND m Swedish, DanishFrom the Old Norse byname
Erlendr, which was derived from
ørlendr meaning "foreigner".
ERLING m Swedish, Norwegian, DanishMeans "descendant of the jarl", a derivative of the Old Norse word
jarl meaning "chieftain, nobleman, earl".
FLEMMING m DanishFrom a medieval Norse nickname meaning "from Flanders".
FREYA f Norse Mythology, English (British, Modern), GermanFrom Old Norse
Freyja meaning "lady". This was the name of the goddess of love, beauty, war and death in Norse mythology. She claimed half of the heroes who were slain in battle and brought them to her realm of Fólkvangr. Along with her brother
Freyr and father
Njord, she was one of the Vanir (as opposed to the Æsir). Some scholars connect her with the goddess
Frigg.
... [more] FREYR m Norse Mythology, IcelandicMeans "lord" in Old Norse. This was the name of a Norse god. He may have originally been called
Yngvi, with the name
Freyr being his title. Freyr presided over fertility, sunlight and rain, and was the husband of the frost giantess
Gerd. With his twin sister
Freya and father
Njord he was one of the group of deities called the Vanir.
FRIDA f Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Ancient GermanicGermanic name, originally a short form of other feminine names containing the Germanic element
frid meaning "peace". This is also the Scandinavian equivalent, from the Old Norse cognate
Fríða. A famous bearer was Mexican painter Frida Kahlo (1907-1954).
FRIGG f Norse MythologyMeans "beloved" in Old Norse, ultimately derived from Indo-European *
pri "to love". In Norse mythology she was the goddess of the earth, air and fertility, and the wife of
Odin. Some scholars believe that she and the goddess
Freya share a common origin.
FRODE m Danish, NorwegianFrom the Old Norse name
Fróði, which was derived from
fróðr meaning "learned, wise".
GANDALF m Norse Mythology, LiteratureMeans "wand elf" in Old Norse, from the elements
gandr "wand, staff, cane" and
álfr "elf". This name belongs to a dwarf in the 'Völuspá', a 13th-century Scandinavian manuscript that forms part of the Poetic Edda. The author J. R. R. Tolkien borrowed the name for a wizard in his novels 'The Hobbit' (1937) and 'The Lord of the Rings' (1954).
GLEB m Russian, UkrainianRussian and Ukrainian form of the Old Norse name
Guðleifr, which was derived from the elements
guð "god" and
leifr "heir".
GÖTE m SwedishSwedish form of the Old Norse name
Gauti, derived from
gautr meaning "Geat, Goth".
GRID f Norse MythologyMeans "peace" in Old Norse. In Norse myth she was a frost giantess, the mother of Víðarr by
Odin. She also aided
Thor in his fight against the giant Geirrod.