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Viking names: 170 female and male Old Norse names, with meanings and Viking surnames

170 names · Updated · By The Nomezo Editors · Save to Pinterest

Real Viking names come from Old Norse, the language of Viking-age Scandinavia, and include Björn (bear), Astrid (divinely beautiful) and Leif (heir). Female Viking names such as Sigrid, Ingunn and Halla sit alongside male Viking names such as Gunnar, Eystein and Ragnar.

Below are 170+ names found in the sagas, on runestones and among historical Vikings, each with its Old Norse meaning. Most were built from two parts, so the same pieces keep coming back: Thor, ás (a god), björn (bear), úlfr (wolf), steinn (stone) and hildr (battle). You will find male and female names, the names of famous Vikings, names that honor the gods, animal names, the gods themselves, real Viking surnames built from a father's name and, last, the bynames Vikings used to tell people apart.

Can't decide? Shuffle 6 random picks

  • Thorsen

    Son of Tor, a given name taken from the thunder god

  • Olaf

    Ancestor's descendant; Olaf Tryggvason forced Norway toward Christianity

  • Ulfhild

    Wolf and battle; a fierce name for a girl

  • Olsen

    Son of Ole, a modern form of Olaf; common in Norway and Denmark

  • Brynhild

    Armor and battle; the shieldmaiden of the Völsunga saga

  • Trygve

    Trustworthy, true; from Old Norse Tryggvi

Find a Viking name on this page

Narrow 170 names by how common they were for US babies in 2025, by section, length or first letter, or search the meanings.

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Male Viking names

Old Norse names for boys and men from the sagas and runestones, many still used in Scandinavia today.

  1. Arne: Eagle; from Old Norse Árni. Say AR-neh
  2. Bjarni: Bear; Herjólfsson sighted North America around 986, the sagas say
  3. Brand: Sword, fire, torch; a bold one-syllable Viking name
  4. Dag: Day; short, bright and still common in Norway
  5. Einar: Lone warrior; a hero's name in many sagas. Say EYE-nar
  6. Frode: Wise, learned; a legendary peace-loving Danish king
  7. Geir: Spear; a classic one-syllable warrior name. Say GAYR
  8. Grim: Mask or helmet; also one of Odin's many names
  9. Gunnar US #612: Battle warrior; a great hero of Njáls saga. Say GOON-ar
  10. Hakon: High son; borne by eight kings of Norway, most recently Haakon VIII
  11. Hallvard: Rock guardian; the patron saint of Oslo
  12. Helge: Holy, blessed; from Old Norse Helgi
  13. Hjalmar: Helmet warrior; from hjálmr, helmet. Say YAHL-mar
  14. Ketil: Kettle or cauldron; common in the Viking age
  15. Odd: Point of a blade; still a Norwegian name today
  16. Ottar: Dread warrior; Ohthere, a seafarer who described Norway to King Alfred
  17. Ragnvald: Counsel and rule; an Earl of Møre in the sagas
  18. Sigmund: Victory and protection; father of the dragon-slayer Sigurd
  19. Sigurd: Victory guardian; the dragon-slaying hero of the Völsunga saga
  20. Snorri: Onslaught, attack; borne by the saga writer Sturluson
  21. Steinar: Stone warrior; still popular in Norway and Iceland
  22. Trygve: Trustworthy, true; from Old Norse Tryggvi
  23. Vemund: Holy protection; from vé, a sacred place
  24. Hallstein: Rock and stone; a doubly solid name
  25. Eystein: Island or good fortune, plus stone; borne by two kings of Norway
  26. Geirmund: Spear and protector, from geirr and mundr
  27. Styrmir: Stormy one, from a word meaning to storm or blow hard. Say STIR-mir
  28. Stigand: Wanderer; borne by an 11th-century Archbishop of Canterbury
  29. Hugleik: Mind and play, from hugr and leikr
  30. Adalstein: Noble stone; the sagas' name for England's King Athelstan
  31. Sumarlidi: Summer traveler; the root of the Scottish name Somerled
  32. Alfrik: Elf ruler, from alfr, elf, and ríkr, ruler

Female Viking names

Old Norse names for girls and women, from saga heroines, queens and valkyries.

  1. Astrid US #376: Divinely beautiful, from áss, a god. Say AS-trid
  2. Dagny: New day; a bright, hopeful name. Say DAHG-nee
  3. Frida: Beautiful, beloved; from Old Norse fríðr
  4. Gerd: Enclosure, fenced field; a giantess loved by the god Freyr
  5. Gudrun: God's secret lore; a heroine of the Völsunga saga
  6. Helga: Holy, blessed; the Russian name Olga comes from it
  7. Hild: Battle; also the name of a valkyrie
  8. Hjördis: Sword goddess; mother of Sigurd in the sagas. Say YUR-dis
  9. Ingrid: Ing is beautiful; Ing was a Norse fertility god
  10. Liv US #896: Protection, shelter; it also means life in Norwegian
  11. Ragnhild: Counsel and battle; a favorite of Norse queens
  12. Signy: New victory; a heroine of the Völsunga saga. Say SIG-nee
  13. Borghild: Fortress and battle; a queen in the Völsunga saga
  14. Brynhild: Armor and battle; the shieldmaiden of the Völsunga saga
  15. Hallgerd: Rock and enclosure; a fiery heroine of Njáls saga
  16. Ragna: Counsel; short for names in Ragn-, like Ragnhild
  17. Sigrun: Victory rune, a secret of victory; a valkyrie
  18. Vigdis: Battle goddess; borne by Iceland's first woman president
  19. Alfhild: Elf and battle; a legendary princess who took to the sea
  20. Ingunn: From the god Ing and unna, to love. Say ING-oon
  21. Eydis: Island or good fortune, plus dís, goddess. Say AY-dis
  22. Ragnheid: Bright counsel, from regin, counsel, and heiðr, bright
  23. Valdis: From valr, the fallen in battle, and dís, goddess
  24. Oddny: Point of a sword and new, from oddr and ný
  25. Katla: Kettle or cauldron, feminine of Ketil; also an Icelandic volcano
  26. Halla: Rock, feminine of Hallr; Iceland's president since 2024
  27. Asta: Short form of Astrid; close to ást, Icelandic for love
  28. Steinunn: Stone and wave, from steinn and unnr
  29. Gudny: God and new, from guð and ný
  30. Asdis: God and goddess, from áss and dís

Names of famous Vikings

Kings, explorers, raiders and settlers whose names are still known a thousand years later.

  1. Ragnar: Warrior of counsel; the legendary Lodbrok of the sagas
  2. Leif US #917: Heir, descendant; Erikson reached North America around 1000
  3. Erik US #546: Eternal ruler; the Red founded Norse Greenland around 985
  4. Harald: Army ruler; borne by Fairhair, Bluetooth and Hardrada
  5. Ivar: Bow warrior; the Boneless helped lead the Great Heathen Army
  6. Björn US #829: Bear; Ironside was a legendary son of Ragnar. Say BYURN
  7. Knut: Knot; the Great ruled England, Denmark and Norway
  8. Svein: Boy, young man; Forkbeard seized England's throne in 1013
  9. Rolf: Famous wolf; the Viking Rollo, first ruler of Normandy
  10. Olaf: Ancestor's descendant; Olaf Tryggvason forced Norway toward Christianity
  11. Thorfinn: Thor and Finn; Karlsefni tried to settle Vinland
  12. Halfdan: Half Dane; a son of Ragnar who led the Great Heathen Army
  13. Rurik: Famous ruler; founder of the dynasty that ruled Kievan Rus
  14. Sigtrygg: True victory; Silkbeard was a Norse king of Dublin
  15. Ingolf: Ing's wolf; by tradition Ingólfr Arnarson settled Iceland first, in 874
  16. Freydís: Freyr plus dís, goddess; Erik the Red's daughter sailed to Vinland
  17. Gudrid: God plus beautiful; she sailed to Vinland and later visited Rome
  18. Aud: Wealth; the Deep-Minded led settlers to Iceland
  19. Gunnhild: War and battle; the Norwegian queen called Mother of Kings
  20. Sigrid: Beautiful victory; the Haughty, a queen of Swedish legend

Norse names that honor the gods

Vikings often put a god into a child's name: Thor, Ing (Freyr), or ás and guð, the words for a god.

  1. Thorstein: Thor's stone; among the most common Viking-age names
  2. Thorvald: Thor's rule; Erik the Red's father bore it
  3. Thorbjörn: Thor's bear; borne by many Icelandic settlers
  4. Thorkel: Thor's cauldron; Thorkell the Tall, said to have led the Jomsvikings
  5. Thorleif: Thor's heir; the god's name joined to leifr, heir
  6. Thordis: Thor's goddess; a frequent name in the Icelandic sagas
  7. Thora: Thunder, feminine of Thor. Say TOR-ah
  8. Thurid: Thor plus beautiful; a common saga name. Say THOOR-id
  9. Torgny: Thor's din, or roar; Thorgny the Lawspeaker of Heimskringla
  10. Haldor: Rock of Thor; still used in Norway and Iceland
  11. Ingvar: Ing's warrior; the Far-Traveled led a voyage east
  12. Ingeborg: Ing's help or rescue; a favorite of medieval queens
  13. Asbjörn: God bear; ás means one of the gods
  14. Asmund: God protection; ás plus mundr, protection
  15. Asger: God spear; a Danish form of Ásgeirr
  16. Åsa US #483: God, from áss; a royal name in the Viking age. Say OH-sah
  17. Gudbrand: God's sword; guð plus brandr
  18. Guttorm: God and respect, from Guðþormr; King Gorm's name may be a short form
  19. Thorarin: Thor's eagle; the god's name joined to arn, eagle
  20. Thorir: Thor's warrior; short, strong and saga-tested. Say THOR-ir
  21. Thorgrim: Thor plus grímr, a mask or helmet
  22. Asvald: God ruler; the Norse match for English Oswald
  23. Asgerd: God's enclosure, from áss and gerðr
  24. Gudbjorg: God and help or salvation, from guð and bjǫrg

Viking names from animals and nature

Wolves, bears, eagles, ravens and stone: the Viking world in a name.

  1. Ulf: Wolf; one of the most common Viking-age names
  2. Ylva: She-wolf; fierce, short and still used today. Say ILL-vah
  3. Ulfhild: Wolf and battle; a fierce name for a girl
  4. Arnbjörn: Eagle and bear; two strong animals in one name
  5. Arnstein: Eagle and stone; Old Norse ǫrn plus steinn
  6. Arnhild: Eagle and battle; ǫrn plus hildr
  7. Hrafn: Raven, the bird that served Odin. Say HRAHVN
  8. Hrafnkel: Raven and cauldron; hero of an East Iceland saga
  9. Orm: Serpent, dragon; a common Viking-age name
  10. Svanhild: Swan and battle; Sigurd's daughter in the sagas
  11. Hauk: Hawk; a sharp-eyed one-syllable name
  12. Kolbjörn: Coal-black bear; kol plus bjǫrn
  13. Sten: Stone; from Old Norse steinn
  14. Ask: Ash tree; the first man in Norse myth
  15. Frosti: Frost; a Finnish chief in the Ynglinga saga
  16. Hrefna: Raven, the feminine of Hrafn. Say HREV-na
  17. Birna: She-bear; a byname that became a girl's name
  18. Hrafnhild: Raven and battle, from hrafn and hildr
  19. Arnbjorg: Eagle and help, from ǫrn and bjǫrg
  20. Hallbjorn: Rock and bear, from hallr and bjǫrn

Norse mythology names

Gods and goddesses of the Viking age. Several are used as given names in Scandinavia today.

  1. Odin US #502: Frenzy, inspiration; chief of the Norse gods
  2. Thor: Thunder; the hammer-wielding god of storms
  3. Freyr: Lord; god of harvest, sunshine and peace
  4. Freyja US #772: Lady; goddess of love and beauty, with a cat-drawn chariot
  5. Frigg: Beloved; Odin's wife and queen of the gods
  6. Týr: God; the one-handed war god, root of Tuesday
  7. Sif: Kin by marriage; Thor's golden-haired wife
  8. Eir: Help, mercy; a goddess of healing
  9. Ullr: Glory; god of skiing, archery and hunting
  10. Forseti: Presiding one; god of justice and reconciliation

Viking surnames

Vikings had no fixed family names. A Viking surname was a patronymic, the father's name plus son or daughter, and many later became fixed family names in Sweden, Norway and Denmark. Iceland still uses the old system.

  1. Eriksson: Son of Erik; Leif the Lucky was Leif, son of Erik the Red
  2. Olsen: Son of Ole, a modern form of Olaf; common in Norway and Denmark
  3. Olsson: Son of Olof, the Swedish form of Olaf
  4. Gunnarsson: Son of Gunnar, battle warrior
  5. Sigurdsson: Son of Sigurd, victory guardian
  6. Haraldsen: Son of Harald, army ruler; a Norwegian and Danish form
  7. Thorsen: Son of Tor, a given name taken from the thunder god
  8. Halvorsen: Son of Halvor, from Old Norse Hallvarðr, rock guardian
  9. Knudsen: Son of Knud, the Danish form of Knut
  10. Iversen: Son of Iver, a Danish and Norwegian form of Ivar
  11. Svensson: Son of Sven, from Old Norse sveinn, boy or young man
  12. Thorvaldsen: Son of Thorvald, Thor's rule; the Danish sculptor Bertel bore it
  13. Ingvarsson: Son of Ingvar, Ing's warrior
  14. Björnsson: Son of Björn, bear; Icelandic strongman Hafþór Júlíus bears it
  15. Ragnarsson: Son of Ragnar; what the sagas call Ragnar Lodbrok's sons
  16. Leifsson: Son of Leif, heir; still an Icelandic patronymic
  17. Einarsson: Son of Einar, lone warrior; common in Iceland
  18. Helgason: Son of Helgi, holy; an Icelandic patronymic
  19. Magnusson: Son of Magnus, great; Norway's kings took the name from Charlemagne
  20. Eiríksdóttir: Daughter of Eirik; how Freydís, Erik the Red's daughter, was known
  21. Sigurðardóttir: Daughter of Sigurd; borne by Iceland's first woman prime minister

Real Viking bynames and nicknames

Vikings added bynames to tell people apart. Each of these belonged to a real or legendary Viking.

  1. Ironside: Járnsíða in Old Norse; borne by Björn, a legendary son of Ragnar
  2. Fairhair: Hárfagri; Harald, remembered as the first king of all Norway
  3. Bluetooth: Blátönn; Harald of Denmark, namesake of the wireless technology
  4. Forkbeard: Tjúguskegg; Svein of Denmark, who took England's throne in 1013
  5. Hardrada: Harðráði, hard ruler; Harald of Norway, killed at Stamford Bridge
  6. The Boneless: Beinlausi; Ivar, a leader of the Great Heathen Army
  7. Snake-in-the-Eye: Ormr í auga; Sigurd, a legendary son of Ragnar
  8. Hairy Breeches: Loðbrók; Ragnar's byname, from his shaggy trousers
  9. The Red: Hinn rauði; Erik, who founded the Norse settlements in Greenland
  10. The Lucky: Hinn heppni; Leif, after he rescued shipwrecked sailors
  11. The Deep-Minded: Djúpúðga; Aud, a leading settler of Iceland
  12. Silkbeard: Silkiskegg; Sigtrygg, a Norse king of Dublin
  13. The Far-Traveled: Víðförli; Ingvar, who led a voyage toward the Caspian Sea

How to pick the right name

Read the two halves

Most Viking names join two words. Once you know a few, like björn (bear), ulf (wolf), stein (stone) and hild (battle), you can read the meaning of almost any Norse name.

Pick a modern spelling

Old Norse Bjǫrn became Björn in Sweden, Bjørn in Norway and Bjorn in English. Choose the spelling that is easiest to read and say where you live.

Add a patronymic

Vikings had no family surnames. They added the father's name: Leif Eriksson was Leif, son of Erik, and Freydís Eiríksdóttir was Erik's daughter. Iceland still names people this way.

Use bynames for characters

For stories and games, a real-style byname such as the Red or Ironside gives a character instant history. Our Viking name generator can suggest more.

Viking names: 170 ideas from Nomezo

Save this list for later

Pin it to a naming board, or tap the heart next to any name to keep it in your favorites on this device.

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Viking names: what the records show, and how they live on

By The Nomezo Editors · Updated October 25, 2026 · How we research names

Viking names are known from two kinds of record: runestones carved at the time, mostly between 950 and 1100, and Icelandic books written down two or three centuries later. Most names have two parts, such as Þor + steinn, “Thor's stone”, but the Norse did not combine parts freely, so an invented compound sounds plausible rather than real.

Many of these names are alive today: as baby names in Scandinavia and the US, and as surnames that grew out of the old “son of” pattern. The finder above shows how many US babies got each one in 2025.

  1. Step 1Start with a real nameThe sections above are real names from sagas, runestones and myth.
  2. Step 2Know the most common onesThor- names dominated the Iceland settlers' book.
  3. Step 3Add a byname or a patronymicLeif Eriksson was Leif, son of Erik.
  4. Step 4Check how it sounds todayFreya and Astrid are rising US baby names; Ragnar is rare.

The most common Viking names

The best count comes from Landnámabók, Iceland's Book of Settlements. In the list sorted by Sara L. Uckelman, Thor- names dominate both columns. These are Icelandic settlers, so treat the ranking as a guide to the Norse world rather than all of it. About 3,000 runestones survive, but 94% of them commemorate men, so women's names are less well recorded.

Most common names in Landnámabók
Men's nameMenWomen's nameWomen
Þorsteinn (Thorstein)83Þuríðr (Thurid)58
Þórðr (Thord)72Þorgerðr (Thorgerd)42
Þorkell (Thorkel)58Þórdís (Thordis)40
Þorbjǫrn (Thorbjorn)55Helga36
Þórir (Thorir)55Þórunn (Thorunn)34
Þorgeirr (Thorgeir)51Guðrún (Gudrun)24
Helgi50Þóra (Thora)23
Þórarinn (Thorarin)45Valgerðr (Valgerd)20
Ketill (Ketil)44Yngvildr (Yngvild)20
Bjǫrn (Bjorn)42Vigdís (Vigdis)19
Þorgrímr (Thorgrim)41Þorbjǫrg (Thorbjorg)19
Grímr (Grim)32Jórunn (Jorunn)17

Counts from Geirr Bassi Haraldsson's The Old Norse Name, as listed by Sara L. Uckelman.

How “son of” became a surname

Vikings had no family names. A child took the father's name plus -son or -dóttir, so Leif Eriksson's son would be Leifsson. Those patronymics froze into fixed surnames much later: Denmark ordered it in 1828, Sweden passed its Names Adoption Act in 1901 and Norway required a hereditary surname from 1923 (Wikipedia). Iceland still uses -son and -dóttir today, and since 2019 non-binary people may use -bur (Wikipedia).

In the US, most of these surnames arrived with English spellings. The 2020 Census shows how far the anglicized forms outnumber the Scandinavian ones:

Scandinavian surnames in the 2020 US Census
English spellingUS rankScandinavian spellingUS rank
Olson#166Olsen#571
Larson#257Knudsen#3,801
Erickson#402Eriksson#20,622
Swanson#439Svensson#26,789

Source: US Census Bureau, 2020 surnames.

Viking names as US baby names today

Norse names are having a moment in the US, helped by myth, games and TV. These are the figures for babies born in 2025.

Viking names given to US babies in 2025
NameBabies in 2025US rankTrend
Freya1,746 girls#176Most babies came in 2022; the spelling Freyja ranked #772
Astrid818 girls#376Most babies in any year came in 2024
Odin604 boys#502Most babies came in 2022
Erik549 boys#546Most babies came in 1980, when it was a top-100 name
Gunnar462 boys#612Most babies came in 2015
Bjorn298 boys#829Filed without the ö, as all SSA names are
Ivar133 boys#1,384More babies than in any earlier year
Ragnar52 boys#2,561Still rare, despite the TV show

Source: US Social Security Administration, 2025 data.

Saga names and TV names

Lagertha

From Lathgertha in Saxo Grammaticus, a 12th-century Danish history. Historians generally consider her largely fictional, and the Old Norse form Hlaðgerðr is a modern reconstruction.

Wikipedia: Lagertha

Floki

Loosely based on Hrafna-Flóki, who in Landnámabók found Iceland by following ravens and gave the island its name.

Wikipedia: Hrafna-Flóki

Bluetooth

Harald Bluetooth united Denmark and Norway. In 1996 an Intel engineer borrowed his byname for a wireless standard, and its logo joins his runic initials.

Bluetooth SIG: origin of the name

Sources

Frequently asked questions

What are the most famous male Viking names?

Ragnar, Leif, Erik, Björn and Ivar are the best-known male Viking names, thanks to Ragnar Lodbrok, Leif Erikson, Erik the Red, Björn Ironside and Ivar the Boneless.

What are good female Viking names?

Astrid, Sigrid, Freydís, Ingrid, Gudrun, Dagny, Helga and Ylva are real female Viking names from Old Norse that still work well today.

What does Björn mean?

Björn means bear in Old Norse. Animal names were popular with Vikings: Ulf means wolf, Ylva means she-wolf and Hrafn means raven.

Did Vikings have last names?

Not family surnames. They used a patronymic, the father's name plus son or daughter, so Leif Eriksson was Leif, son of Erik. Those patronymics are the Viking surnames still used today, such as Eriksson, Olsen and Sigurðardóttir.

Are Viking names still used today?

Yes. Erik, Ingrid, Astrid, Leif, Sigrid, Gunnar and Liv are still familiar across Scandinavia, usually in modern spellings, and Astrid was among Norway's ten most popular girls' names in 2025. In the US, Freya ranked #176 and Astrid #376 in 2025.

What is the most common Viking name?

In Landnámabók, the record of Iceland's settlers, the most common man's name is Þorsteinn (Thorstein), borne by 83 men, and the most common woman's name is Þuríðr (Thurid), borne by 58.

Is Lagertha a real Viking name?

Lagertha comes from Lathgertha in Saxo Grammaticus's 12th-century history, and historians generally consider her largely fictional. Its Old Norse form, Hlaðgerðr, is a modern reconstruction.

Why do Scandinavian surnames end in -son and -sen?

They were once patronymics: Erik's son was Eriksson. Denmark, Sweden and Norway turned them into fixed family names in 1828, 1901 and 1923; Iceland still uses -son and -dóttir as patronymics today.

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