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Norse Name Generator

Generate historical Viking Age names with their meanings, patronymic surnames and bynames.

Generate Norse names

Gender

  1. Brynhild Helgadottir

    Brynhild: “armored battle” · daughter of Helgi

  2. Solveig Thorsteinsdottir

    Solveig: “sun strength” · daughter of Thorstein

  3. Thora Gisladottir

    Thora: “of Thor” · daughter of Gisli

  4. Bera Refsdottir

    Bera: “she-bear” · daughter of Ref

  5. Helga Eysteinsdottir

    Helga: “holy, blessed” · daughter of Eystein

  6. Unn Hrafnsdottir

    Unn: “wave” · daughter of Hrafn

  7. Thora Helgadottir

    Thora: “of Thor” · daughter of Helgi

  8. Ingrid Eysteinsdottir

    Ingrid: “Ing is beautiful” · daughter of Eystein

  9. Brynhild Erlingsdottir

    Brynhild: “armored battle” · daughter of Erling

  10. Frode Grimsson

    Frode: “wise, learned” · son of Grim

How Viking Age names worked

Norse people generally had a single given name. To tell people apart they added a patronymic: the father's name plus -son (“son”) or -dóttir (“daughter”). Ivar's son Bjorn was Bjorn Ivarsson, and Ivar's daughter Astrid was Astrid Ivarsdottir. Occasionally a mother's name was used instead.

Many people also earned a byname, a nickname describing their looks, character or deeds. Fairhair, Forkbeard and the Deep-Minded were all bynames of real historical figures. Iceland still uses patronymic surnames today.

Common name elements

Old Norse names were often built from two meaningful parts. Once you know a few, you can read many names at a glance:

ElementMeaningFound in
Thor-the god ThorThorbjorn, Thora, Thorstein
As-god (one of the Æsir)Asgeir, Aslaug, Asbjorn
-bjornbearAsbjorn, Thorbjorn
Sig-victorySigurd, Sigrid, Signy
-hildbattleGunnhild, Brynhild, Ragnhild
Gunn-warGunnar, Gunnhild
-geirspearAsgeir, Torgeir
Ulf, -ulfwolfUlf, Ylva, Rolf

About spelling and meanings

Names are shown in common modern English spellings without special letters, so Bjorn rather than Bjǫrn and Thora rather than Þóra. The meanings are the most commonly cited interpretations; for some names, scholars disagree.

Writing a saga-style fantasy world instead? Try invented northern names in the God Name Generator or the Fantasy Name Generator.

Frequently asked questions

Are these real Viking names?
Yes. Every given name is a genuine Old Norse name, many of which appear on runestones and in the Icelandic sagas. Only the combinations with patronymics and bynames are random.
Did Vikings have last names?
Not family surnames in the modern sense. They used patronymics based on a parent's name, which changed every generation, plus optional bynames.
How do you form a Norse patronymic?
Add -sson or -sdottir to the father's name: Harald becomes Haraldsson or Haraldsdottir. Names ending in a vowel, like Helgi, drop it and take -ason or -adottir: Helgason, Helgadottir.

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