Alf 1 m Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Norse MythologyDerived from Old Norse
alfr meaning
"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.
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.
Angrboða f Norse MythologyMeans
"she who brings grief" in Old Norse, derived from
angr "grief" and
boða "to forebode, to proclaim". In Norse mythology Angrboða is a giantess and the mother of three of
Loki's children:
Fenrir,
Jörmungandr and
Hel.
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.
Balder m Norse MythologyFrom Old Norse
Baldr meaning
"hero, lord, prince", derived from
baldr meaning "brave, bold". In Norse mythology Balder was the handsome 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 devious 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.
Bragi m Norse Mythology, IcelandicDerived from Old Norse
bragr meaning
"first, foremost" or
"poetry". In Norse mythology Bragi is the god of poetry and the husband of
Iðunn.
Brokkr m Norse MythologyMeans
"badger" in Old Norse. In Norse mythology this was the name of a dwarf, the brother and assistant of
Sindri.
Brynhildr f Norse Mythology, Ancient ScandinavianOld Norse cognate of
Brünhild. In the Norse legend the
Völsungasaga 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.
Elli 3 f Norse MythologyMeans "old age" in Old Norse. In the Prose Edda this is the name of an old woman (old age personified) who wrestles with and defeats the god
Thor.
Fenrir m Norse MythologyFrom Old Norse
fen meaning
"marsh, fen". In Norse mythology Fenrir was a ferocious wolf, one of the offspring of
Loki and the giantess
Angrboða. Because it was foretold he would bring about disaster, the gods bound him with a magical fetter, though in the process
Tyr's hand was bitten off. At the time of Ragnarök, the end of the world, it is told that he will break free and kill
Odin.
Freya f Norse Mythology, English (Modern), GermanFrom Old Norse
Freyja meaning
"lady". This is the name of a goddess associated with love, beauty, war and death in Norse mythology. She claims half of the heroes who are slain in battle and brings them to her realm of Fólkvangr. Along with her brother
Freyr and father
Njord, she is 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 is the name of a Norse god. He may have originally been called
Yngvi, with the name
Freyr being his title. Freyr is associated with fertility, sunlight and rain, and is the husband of the frost giantess
Gerd. With his twin sister
Freya and father
Njord he is one of the group of deities called the Vanir.
Frigg f Norse MythologyMeans
"beloved" in Old Norse, ultimately derived from Indo-European *
pri "to love". In Norse mythology she was the wife of
Odin and the mother of
Balder. Some scholars believe that she and the goddess
Freya share a common origin.
Gandalf m Norse Mythology, LiteratureMeans
"wand elf" in Old Norse, from the elements
gandr "wand, staff, magic, monster" and
alfr "elf". This name belongs to a dwarf (Gandálfr) 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).
Grid f Norse MythologyFrom Old Norse
Gríðr, probably derived from either
gríð "zeal, vehemence" or
grið "peace". In Norse myth she was a frost giantess, the mother of
Vidar by
Odin. She also aided
Thor in his fight against the giant Geirrod.
Gudrun f Norse Mythology, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, GermanFrom the Old Norse name
Guðrún meaning
"god's secret lore", derived from the elements
guð "god" and
rún "secret lore". In Norse legend Gudrun was the wife of
Sigurd. After his death she married
Atli, but when he murdered her brothers, she killed her sons by him, fed him their hearts, and then slew him.
Heidrun f Norse Mythology, GermanDerived from Old Norse
heiðr meaning "bright, clear" and
rún meaning "secret". In Norse mythology this was the name of a goat that would eat the leaves from the tree of life and produce mead in her udder.
Heimdall m Norse MythologyFrom Old Norse
Heimdallr, derived from Old Norse
heimr "home, house" and
dallr "glowing, shining". In Norse mythology he is the god who guards the Bifröst, the bridge that connects Asgard to the other worlds. It is foretold that he will blow the Gjallarhorn to wake the gods for the final battle at the end of the world, Ragnarök. During this battle, he will fight
Loki and they will slay one another.
Hel f Norse MythologyIn Norse mythology this was the name of the daughter of
Loki. She got her name from the underworld, also called Hel, where she ruled, which meant "to conceal, to cover" in Old Norse (related to the English word
hell).
Hoder m Norse MythologyFrom Old Norse
Hǫðr, derived from
hǫð meaning
"battle". In Norse mythology he was a blind god, tricked by
Loki into killing his brother
Balder.
Hulda 1 f Icelandic, Swedish, Norwegian, Norse MythologyDerived from Old Norse
hulda meaning
"hiding, secrecy". This was the name of a sorceress in Norse mythology. As a modern name, it can also derive from archaic Swedish
huld meaning "gracious, sweet, lovable".
Iðunn f Norse Mythology, Ancient Scandinavian, IcelandicProbably derived from Old Norse
ið "again" and
unna "to love". In Norse mythology Iðunn was the goddess of spring and immortality whose responsibility it was to guard the gods' apples of youth.
Jörmungandr m Norse MythologyFrom Old Norse
Jǫrmungandr, derived from
jǫrmun "great, large" and
gandr "monster, magic, wand". In Norse mythology Jörmungandr was an enormous sea serpent, also known as the World Serpent because he was said to encircle the world. He was one of the offspring of
Loki and
Angrboða. During Ragnarök, the battle at end of the world, it is said that he will fight his old enemy
Thor and both of them will die.
Kára f Norse MythologyProbably from Old Norse
kárr meaning
"curly, curved". In Norse legend this was the name of a valkyrie.
Loki m Norse MythologyMeaning unknown, possibly derived from the Germanic root *
luka meaning
"knot, lock". In Norse mythology Loki was a trickster god associated with magic and shape shifting. Loki's children include the wolf
Fenrir, the sea serpent
Jörmungandr, and the queen of the dead
Hel. After he orchestrated the death of
Balder, the other gods tied him to a rock below a snake that dripped venom onto his face. It is told that he will break free during Ragnarök, the final battle, and slay and be slain by
Heimdall.
Odin m Norse Mythology, English (Modern)Anglicized form of Old Norse
Óðinn, which was derived from
óðr meaning
"inspiration, rage, frenzy". It ultimately developed from the early Germanic *
Woðanaz. The name appears as
Woden in Anglo-Saxon sources (for example, as the founder of several royal lineages in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle) and in forms such as
Wotan,
Wuotan or
Wodan in continental Europe, though he is best known from Norse sources.
... [more] Saga f Norse Mythology, Swedish, IcelandicFrom Old Norse
Sága, possibly meaning
"seeing one", derived from
sjá "to see". This is the name of a Norse goddess, possibly connected to
Frigg. As a Swedish and Icelandic name, it is also derived from the unrelated word
saga meaning
"story, fairy tale, saga".
Sigmund m German, Norwegian, English, Norse MythologyDerived from the Germanic elements
sigu "victory" and
mund "protector" (or in the case of the Scandinavian cognate, from the Old Norse elements
sigr "victory" and
mundr "protector"). In the Norse
Völsungasaga this is the name of the hero
Sigurd's father, the bearer of the powerful sword Gram. A notable bearer was the Austrian psychologist Sigmund Freud (1856-1939), the creator of the revolutionary theory of psychoanalysis.
Sigurd m Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Norse MythologyFrom the Old Norse name
Sigurðr, which was derived from the elements
sigr "victory" and
varðr "guardian". Sigurd was the hero of the Norse legend the
Völsungasaga, which tells how his foster-father Regin sent him to recover a hoard of gold guarded by the dragon Fafnir. After slaying the dragon Sigurd tasted some of its blood, enabling him to understand the language of birds, who told him that Regin was planning to betray him. In a later adventure, Sigurd disguised himself as
Gunnar (his wife
Gudrun's brother) and rescued the maiden
Brynhildr from a ring of fire, with the result that Gunnar and Brynhildr were married. When the truth eventually came out, Brynhildr took revenge upon Sigurd. The stories of the German hero
Siegfried were in part based on him.
Siv f Swedish, Norwegian, Norse MythologyFrom Old Norse
Sif, which meant
"bride, kinswoman". In Norse mythology she was the wife of
Thor. After the trickster
Loki cut off her golden hair, an angry Thor forced him to create a replacement.
Skaði f Norse MythologyMeans
"damage, harm" in Old Norse. In Norse mythology she was a mountain giantess associated with the winter and skiing. After the gods killed her father, they offered her a husband from among them as compensation. She ended up marrying
Njord.
Skuld f Norse MythologyMeans
"debt, obligation" in Old Norse. She was one of the three Norns, or goddesses of destiny, in Norse mythology. She was also one of the valkyries.
Thor m Norse Mythology, Norwegian, Danish, SwedishFrom the Old Norse
Þórr meaning
"thunder", ultimately from the early Germanic *
Þunraz. In Norse mythology Thor is a god of storms, thunder, war and strength, a son of
Odin. He is portrayed as red-bearded, short-tempered, armed with a powerful hammer called Mjölnir, and wearing an enchanted belt called Megingjörð that doubles his strength. During Ragnarök, the final battle at the end of the world, it is foretold that Thor will slay the monstrous sea serpent
Jörmungandr but be fatally poisoned by its venom.
Trym m Norse Mythology, NorwegianFrom Old Norse
Þrymr meaning
"noise, uproar". In Norse mythology he was a king of the giants who stole Mjölnir,
Thor's hammer. Trym demanded that he wed the beautiful
Freya in exchange for it, so Thor disguised himself in a wedding dress and killed the giant.
Tyr m Norse MythologyFrom
Týr, the Old Norse form of the name of the Germanic god
Tiwaz, related to Indo-European
dyeus (see
Zeus). In Norse mythology he was a god associated with war and justice, by some accounts a son of
Odin. While the gods bound the great wolf
Fenrir, Tyr placated the beast by placing his right hand in its mouth. After the binding was successful, Fenrir bit off Tyr's hand. At the time of the end of the world, Ragnarök, it is foretold that Tyr will slay and be slain by the giant hound Garm.
Urd f Norse MythologyFrom Old Norse
Urðr meaning
"fate". In Norse mythology Urd was one of the three Norns, or goddesses of destiny. She was responsible for the past.
Vanadís f Norse MythologyMeans
"goddess of the Vanir" in Old Norse. This was an epithet of the Norse goddess
Freya, given because she was a member of the Vanir (as opposed to the Æsir).
Verdandi f Norse MythologyFrom Old Norse
Verðandi meaning
"becoming, happening". Verdandi was one of the three Norns, or goddesses of destiny, in Norse mythology. She was responsible for the present.
Vidar m Norwegian, Swedish, Norse MythologyFrom Old Norse
Víðarr, which was possibly derived from
víðr "wide" and
arr "warrior". In Norse mythology Víðarr was the son of
Odin and
Grid. At the time of the end of the world, Ragnarök, it is said he will avenge his father's death by slaying the wolf
Fenrir.
Yngvi m Norse MythologyPossibly an Old Norse cognate of
Ing. This was an alternate name of the god
Freyr, who as Yngvi-Freyr was regarded as the ancestor of the Swedish royal family.