77 Viking Baby Names for Girls and Boys (With Meanings)

Viking names draw much of their character from Old Norse, the language spoken across Scandinavia during the Viking Age. Some names in this list appear in Old Norse sources or belonged to historical figures, while others are later Scandinavian forms connected to the same naming tradition.

If you have Scandinavian roots or simply love the sound of these names, you’ll find Viking names for girls and boys below, along with their meanings or the figures associated with them. The list includes gods and goddesses, people from history and legend, and names shaped by Old Norse naming traditions.

What Is a Viking Name?

“Viking name” is a convenient modern label rather than one precise historical category. This article includes names recorded in Old Norse or Viking Age sources, names belonging to historical and legendary figures, and later Scandinavian forms derived from the Norse naming tradition. Mythological figures and later name forms are identified in their entries.

Viking Girl Names

9 Names From Norse Mythology for Girls

These names belong to goddesses and other female figures in the surviving Norse myths. Because their roles can vary by source, the descriptions below use their best-supported associations.

1. Eir — Eir is a Norse figure associated with healing.

2. Freyja — Freyja was the goddess of love and fertility.

3. Frigg — Frigg was the wife of Odin and the goddess of foresight and motherhood.

4. Hel — Hel, a daughter of Loki, rules the realm of the dead that shares her name.

5. Idunn — Idunn keeps the apples that preserve the gods’ youth.

6. Saga — Sága appears in Old Norse sources as a goddess who drinks with Odin at Sökkvabekkr.

7. Sif — Sif is Thor’s wife and is best known in Norse mythology for her golden hair.

8. Sigyn — Sigyn was the wife of Loki.

9. Skadi — Skaði is a jötunn and goddess associated with mountains, hunting, and skiing.

6 Names From Viking History and Norse Legend

Some women in this section are documented historical figures, while others are known primarily through medieval sagas and chronicles. Each entry notes that distinction.

1. Aud and Unn — Aud, also called Unn the Deep-Minded, was a prominent Norse settler remembered in medieval Icelandic sources.

2. Freydis — Freydis Eiriksdóttir, a daughter of Erik the Red, appears in two Vinland sagas that portray her very differently.

3. Gudrid — Gudrid Thorbjarnardóttir appears in the Vinland sagas as a traveler to North America and later as a pilgrim to Rome.

4. Lagertha — Lagertha is a legendary shieldmaiden described by Saxo Grammaticus, who wrote several centuries after the Viking Age.

5. Sigrid — Sigrid the Haughty is a queen from saga tradition whose historical identity remains uncertain.

6. Thyra — Thyra was a 10th-century Danish queen and the mother of Harald Bluetooth. She is named on the Jelling stone raised by her son.

4 Viking Girl Names Connected to Strength and Battle

These Old Norse names contain elements associated with battle, weapons, or strength.

1. Brynhild — This Old Norse name combines elements meaning “armor” and “battle.”

2. Gunhild — War, battle

3. Hilda — This name is connected to the Old Norse word for “battle.”

4. Hjordis — This Old Norse name combines elements meaning “sword” and “woman.”

14 Old Norse and Scandinavian Girl Names

This group includes names recorded in Old Norse as well as familiar Scandinavian forms that developed from them.

1. Astrid — This Old Norse name combines elements meaning “god” and “beautiful.”

2. Drifa — Snowfall, snowdrift

3. Frida — This name may come from the Old Norse Fríða, meaning “beautiful.”

4. Helga — Divine, holy

5. Ingrid — This Old Norse name combines the name of the god Ing with an element meaning “beautiful.”

6. Katla — Kettle, cauldron, or helmet

7. Liv — This Old Norse name means “protection” and was later associated with the Scandinavian word for “life.”

8. Olga — The Russian form of the Old Norse name Helga, meaning “holy” or “blessed.” The form developed through contact between Norse and East Slavic cultures.

9. Revna — Raven

10. Signe or Signy — New victory

11. Thurid — This Old Norse name combines elements meaning “Thor” and “beautiful.”

12. Tora — This name comes from the Old Norse Þóra, a short form of women’s names containing Thor.

13. Tove — This Scandinavian name probably developed from elements meaning “Thor” and “beautiful.”

14. Ulfhild — This Old Norse name combines elements meaning “wolf” and “battle.”

Viking Boy Names

16 Names From Norse Mythology for Boys

1. Alvis — Meaning “all-wise,” Alvis is a dwarf who seeks to marry Thor’s daughter in the Old Norse poem Alvíssmál. Thor keeps him talking until sunrise, when he is turned to stone.

2. Balder — Balder is a son of Odin and Frigg whose death is one of the central events in Norse mythology.

3. Borr — Borr was the father of Odin.

4. Bragi — Bragi was the god of poetry in Norse mythology.

5. Forseti — Forseti was the god of justice, truth, and law.

6. Frey — Frey was the Norse god of fertility.

7. Hermod — Hermod rode to Hel in an attempt to bring Balder back after his death.

8. Loki — Loki is a trickster figure in Norse mythology.

9. Magni — A son of Thor in Norse mythology, Magni’s name means “strength” or “power.”

10. Njord — Njord is the father of Freyja and Freyr and a god associated with fertility, wealth, seafaring, and fishing.

11. Odin — Odin is one of the principal gods in Norse mythology and is associated with wisdom, war, magic, and poetry.

12. Thor — Thor was the son of Odin and the Norse god of thunder.

13. Tyr — Tyr is associated with war and law and is known for sacrificing his hand when the wolf Fenrir was bound.

14. Ullr — Ullr is associated with archery, hunting, and skiing.

15. Váli — Váli is a son of Odin who avenges Balder’s death.

16. Vidar — Vidar is a son of Odin and the jötunn Gríðr. In Norse mythology, he avenges Odin during Ragnarök.

8 Names From Viking History and Norse Legend

This group includes documented rulers and explorers as well as legendary saga figures. Each entry notes whether the person is historical or known mainly from later tradition.

1. Björn — This Old Norse name means “bear.” In medieval saga tradition, Björn Ironside is a son of Ragnar Lodbrok and a warrior who raids with his brothers. Details of his life are legendary rather than firmly documented.

2. Erik — This name comes from Old Norse elements meaning “alone” or “unique” and “powerful” or “ruler.” Erik the Red was a Norse explorer and settler who led a group from Iceland to Greenland in the late 10th century.

3. Halfdan — Halfdan means “half Danish.” Halfdan was a Danish king who invaded England in the 9th century and captured York.

4. Harald — Harald Bluetooth was a 10th-century king of Denmark. The Jelling stone credits him with winning Denmark and Norway and making the Danes Christian.

5. Ivar — The origin of this Old Norse name is debated. One interpretation combines elements meaning “yew” and “warrior” or “spear.” Ivar the Boneless appears in medieval tradition as a son of Ragnar Lodbrok and is often associated with a leader of the Viking Great Army that invaded England in 865. The meaning of his epithet remains uncertain.

6. Leif — From the Old Norse name Leifr, Leif means “heir” or “descendant.” Leif Erikson was a Norse explorer associated with a voyage to Vinland in North America around the year 1000.

7. Ragnar — This Old Norse name combines elements meaning “counsel” or “decision” and “warrior.” Ragnar Lodbrok is a legendary Viking figure whose adventures and death in a snake pit are recounted in medieval Norse tradition.

8. Sigurd — This Old Norse name means “victory guardian.” Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye appears in saga tradition as a son of Ragnar Lodbrok. He should not be confused with Sigurd Fafnir’s Bane, the legendary hero who killed the dragon Fafnir.

4 Viking Boy Names Connected to Strength and Battle

1. Asger — God, spear

2. Einar — This Old Norse name means “lone” or “outstanding warrior.”

3. Gunnar — This Old Norse name combines elements meaning “battle” and “warrior.”

4. Roar — Fame, spear

16 Old Norse and Scandinavian Boy Names

1. Andor — A later form of the Old Norse name Arnþórr, formed from elements meaning “eagle” and “Thor.”

2. Arne — Eagle

3. Asmund — This Old Norse name combines elements meaning “god” and “protector.”

4. Bo — The resident

5. Dag — Day

6. Elof — This Swedish form of Eilif comes from Old Norse elements meaning “lone” or “outstanding” and “heir.”

7. Flóki — This Old Norse name means “tuft” or “lock of hair.”

8. Frode — Clever, wise

9. Gustav — The origin of this name is debated. It may mean “staff of the Geats” or “support of the Geats,” though another theory traces it to the Slavic name Gostislav. The name may have reached Sweden through royal contact during the late Viking Age.

10. Magnus — This Latin name means “great” and has a long history of use in Scandinavia.

11. Olaf — This Old Norse name combines elements meaning “ancestor” and “heir” or “descendant.”

12. Rune — This name comes from an Old Norse element meaning “secret knowledge.”

13. Sven — This Scandinavian form of the Old Norse Sveinn means “young man.”

14. Torsten — Thor and stone

15. Trygve — Trustworthy

16. Ulf — Wolf

Viking names can carry a great deal of history in just a few syllables. You may find the right choice in Norse mythology, the sagas, or a later Scandinavian form with Old Norse roots. What matters most is choosing a name that feels natural for your family.

For more origin-based ideas, see our lists of Scandinavian baby names, Celtic baby names, and Irish baby names. You can also visit our Baby Names Hub for names from other cultures and styles.