Scandinavian names for women and men: list

Northern peoples themselves are placed in difficult conditions by nature, so they have long been accustomed to living in a coordinated and friendly manner to solve problems. And the tradition of giving children certain names comes from the distant past, which is why so many of them are not only beautiful and sonorous, but also ancient. We will get acquainted with the male and female Scandinavian names, their meaning and origin.

general information

Like many other nationalities, the Scandinavians believe that the name given to a person at birth will largely determine his fate, endow him with certain qualities. Therefore, they resemble their choice very responsibly. Most of the Scandinavian names are associated with the mythological views of the northerners, many variants come from the names of objects of the animal and plant world, often there are two parts, each of which brings its own connotation of meaning.

For men

Residents of the north, proud Vikings, led a dangerous life, full of bloody wars and magnificent feasts, on which wine poured river. To some, such a world may seem barbaric, for others - filled with romance. In any case, such traditions could not but affect the male Scandinavian names, each of which endowed its owner with certain traits of character. Here are a few examples:

• Agmund - protecting from punishment.
• Alfgeir is the spear of an elf.
• Anders is a brave one.
• Ansgar is the spear of Ases, the supreme deities of the Scandinavian pantheon that inhabit Asgard. At their head was the great Odin.
• Burnt is fearless.
• Vardi is a faithful friend who can help in any situation.
• Westgeir means the western spear. There was also a Scandinavian male name Westmar, meaning "land of the West."
• Georg - owning the land.
• Goody is kind.
• Dyarvi is a daredevil.
• Ingemar - earned his fame in battle.
• Olaf is the next.
• Steinmod is a stone that gives courage.
• Eyvind is the wind that brings happiness.

These are the northern names of men, but it should be noted that their list is by no means complete. The Scandinavians are surprisingly inventive, which is why the names for the boys are unusual, beautiful, and noble.

Theme of mighty animals

Often, the source of Scandinavian male names became representatives of the fauna world, who deserved respect in creating fearless northerners. Here are a few examples:

• Arnbjorn - an eagle and a bear, a man named so endowed with courage, fearlessness, willingness to go into battle with a powerful opponent.
• Arnulv is a wolf eagle, also the name of a real warrior, seasoned in battle and ready to risk his life.
• Asbjorn - Asov bear, the animal was revered in the north as a powerful companion of the gods, sometimes even Odin appeared in his guise.
• Audulv is a rich wolf, consists of two roots - “aud” - welfare, “ulv” - a wolf.
• Björn is just a bear, but Webjörn is a name meaning "holy bear".
• Valgard is a falcon's defense.
• Greenolv is a green wolf. Hunnulw is a wolf who takes part in battles. Ingovolv is the king’s wolf.
• Yon is a dove.
• Kjarval is a peaceful whale.
• Orm is a snake.
• Svan is a snow-white swan.
• Ulvbjorn is a wolf-bear.
• Hauk is a hawk bird.

It was believed that such names endow the boy with valor and courage, which, of course, could help him become a real warrior and take his place in the halls of Valhalla after a heroic death in battle. Now times have changed, so such old Scandinavian names are not held in high esteem, they have given way to more modern European variants.

Beautiful options for girls

Of course, women in the north are no less hardy than men, therefore, often the meaning of their names was also the primary source of animals or birds, for whom the struggle for existence is a familiar state. Here are some examples of female Scandinavian names:

• Adela is noble.
• Astrid is divine beauty.
• Benedict is a shrine.
• Brinhild is a warrior.
• Vigdis is the deity of war.
• Ingeborga - hurrying to the rescue.
• Inga is overbearing.
• Kia is a believer.
• Rebecca is enticing, leading to a trap.
• Svanhild, Svanhild - the battle of the swan.
• Susanna is a noble lily.
• Freya is a sovereign.
• Hilda - battle, battle.

Names are very diverse, unusual. It should be noted that the barbarian pagan traditions turned out to be so strong that even the adoption of Christianity could not change the traditional Scandinavian female names, they retained their relevance. The church, seeing that the northerners categorically refuse to name their children in honor of the saints, went on a trick: some of the heroes of Scandinavia were canonized, so their names were included in the name book. Until now, in Norway and Denmark, girls are sometimes called very beautiful and unusual. Some of the options were used even by Slavic peoples.

Sound options for real men and true ladies

Among the names of Scandinavian origin there are many beautiful, modern ones that can be used to name boys, not even necessarily northerners. Examples are quite numerous, some of them are presented in the table.

These are the variants of the names of men and women that came from the countries of Scandinavia. They sound beautiful, have worthy value, therefore they are often used not only in the north, but also in the countries of Europe, America and even Russia. Many Scandinavian names have a formidable, warlike meaning associated with religion or battle. One can note such a feature of the names - the presence of one or two syllables, three or more complex variants are extremely rare.

For the strongest women

The list of beautiful Scandinavian names contains many that sound very unusual, for example, Auda, meaning “prosperity”. It is interesting that even the variations for girls among the proud northerners are saturated with the spirit of war, physical strength and weapons. Here are some examples:

• Arnkatla - helmet of the eagle.
• Asgerd is the protection of the deity.
• Bera is a bear.
• Sigga is the winner.
• Una is lucky.
• Frigg is the wife of Supreme God Odin.

These are some of the female names of Scandinavia.

Features of construction and use

Regardless of the sex of the newborn, the father had to name it, but often in the name of the child there were two components at once, from the father and from the mother. Even modern variations have managed to preserve their beauty and originality, since the northerners did not go along the beaten European path, but preferred to salute the centuries-old traditions. Therefore, such names as Birgitta - towering, Vigdis - under the auspices of the goddess of war, Ilva - the she-wolf, Henrika - the zealous mistress, housekeeper, Hulda - kept a secret.

However, the Scandinavian names do not always have such a long history and deep meaning. Some residents of Denmark and Sweden call their daughters Anne, Mary, Christine, Elizabeth, Ewami - these options are popular all over the world.

Modern tendencies

It is interesting that the culture of the name has been preserved to the greatest extent in Iceland, where a naming committee operates that strictly monitors the name of babies and can prohibit the use of a foreign name. In this country, it is highly desirable to use exactly the ancient variations that were mentioned in the folk epos. But the Swedes and Norwegians often turn to borrowings from England and France.

So, we learned that most of the Scandinavian names belong to those times when people believed in formidable gods and the magical connection of a person with an animal - a totem. That is why so many boys and girls have a direct relationship with some kind of animal protector, most often endowed with strength, power and courage. Of course, modernity has invaded the tradition of naming children, so beautifully sounding ancient names are becoming less and less popular, giving way to pan-European names.