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  2. Well I like Trygve (Trig-vee). It’s Norwegian and means trustworthy. The Old Norse version is Tryggvi. 🙂

  5. Knut, Baldr (Balder), Loki, Christopher, Arn, Regin, Erik, Eduard, Gunnar, Finn, Gustav, Henrik, Jacob (Jakob), Kai, Kent, Josef, Christian, Magnus, Ludwig, Olaf, Oscar, Kristoff. I could keep going….

  7. Bjorn meant “bear”, and Ulf meant “wolf”.
    Ginny liked Haakon, but it has been seen with 1 “a”, too.

    • Yes to both! Also love Beowulf. Two of my favorite romance heroes are Wulfric (Wulf) Bedwyn and Beowulf (Bey) Malloren.

  10. Agnarr: old norse – derived from agi “awe, terror” or ag “edge of a sword” combined with arr “warrior”.
    Brynjar: Old Norse elements bryn “armour” and arr “warrior”.
    Halvard: Old Norse name Hallvarðr, which meant “rock guardian” from hallr “rock” combined with varðr “guardian”.
    Sindri: Possibly means either “small, trivial” or else “sparkling” in Old Norse. In Norse legend this was the name of a dwarf who, with his brother Brokk, made many magical items for the gods.
    Stigander: Means “wanderer” in Old Norse.

  12. Valdemar. Danish male name. It comes from the russian name Vladimir. 4 danish kings was named Valdemar in the middle ages.
    Or maybe Erik. It is older then the middle ages, but it was still a popular name at that time. It comes from “Æinrikr”, that means ruler. Several danish, swedish og norweigan kings was named Erik in the middle ages.

    • Valdemar will be difficult to take serious for germanspeaking people like me… There is a funny rhyme (i think from a song) “Und er hieß Waldemar, weil es im Wald geschah…” Meaning: bis name was Waldemar, because he was ‘created” in the woods (=Wald). 🙂

  15. I like “Reyn” but I don’t know if it’s scandinavian (once, I read a book with that name and it was associated with a nordic Viking warrior so…)

  18. Hi! I think names like Einar, Osvald, Thorvald, Thorgerd, Thorgrim, and Jorun would be good. If you’re looking to name an antagonist character, names like Kjartan and Skallagrim might do.

  20. Benedikt! scandinavian version of benedict, and very medival religious :). could be shortened/modernized to Ben 🙂

  21. Here are a couple:

    Ragnvald/Rognvald: Scandinavian form of Old Norse Ragnvaldr, meaning “wise ruler.”

    Konstantin: Scandinavian form of Roman Latin Constantine, meaning “steadfast.” Compare with other forms of Konstantin.

    Niklas/Nikolaus: Scandinavian form of Greek Nikolaos, meaning “victor of the people.

    Sigvard: Scandinavian form of Old Norse Sigvarðr, meaning “victory guard.”

  23. Sorry, don’t know about Scandinavian origins, but I like Etienne [to remain on the Ladyhawke theme],
    Eric,
    Ludwig,
    Mathias,
    Janek,
    Lukas,
    Leon,
    Kain,
    Sebastian

  26. Well, I had a great grandpa who immigrated from Denmark named “Fritz,” which means , “free.” Also had a Danish great uncle named, “Ole,” (pronounced oh/ lee) which means “ancestor’s descendant,” which means pretty much not much at all!

    • Actually Ole is derived from the Old Norse name Óláfr, meaning “ancestor’s descendant”.

  29. Sigurd, Stein(translates into English as stone), Are, Alf, Lavrans(from laurentius) Konrad, Gunnbjørn, Torgeir, Andreas, Olaf, Ivar, Aslak, Øystein, Orm, Pål, Guttorm, Torkjell, Eiliv, Erling, Gunnar…

  33. Male Scandinavian Names

    ABSALON: Scandinavian form of Hebrew Abiyshalowm, meaning “father of peace.”
    AÐALSTEIN: Scandinavian form of Icelandic Aðalsteinn, meaning “noble stone.”
    AGNE: Scandinavian form of Old Norse Agni, meaning “edge (of a sword).”
    ALF: Scandinavian form of Old Norse Alfr, meaning “elf.” Compare with other forms of Alf.
    ALVIS: Scandinavian form of Old Norse Alvíss, meaning “all wise.”
    ANDERS: Scandinavian form of Greek Andreas, meaning “man; warrior.”
    ANLAF: Scandinavian form of Old Norse Ánleifr, meaning “heir of the ancestors.”
    ARKELL: Scandinavian form of Old Norse Arnkell, meaning “eagle kettle.”
    ARN: Variant spelling of Scandinavian Arne, meaning “eagle power.” Compare with another form of Arn.

    ARNE: Scandinavian form of Old Norse Árni, meaning “eagle.” Compare with another form of Arne.

    ARVID: Scandinavian form of Old Norse Arnviðr, meaning “eagle tree.”

    AXEL: Scandinavian form of Hebrew Abiyshalowm, meaning “father of peace.”

    BALDER: Scandinavian form of Old Norse Baldr, meaning “lord, prince.” In mythology, this is the name of a son of Odin and Frigg.

    BENEDIKT: Scandinavian form of Greek Benediktos, meaning “blessed.” Compare with another form of Benedikt.

    BIRGER: Scandinavian form of Old Norse Bergr, meaning “rescuer, saver.”

    BJARNE: Modern Scandinavian form of Old Norse Bjorn, meaning “bear.”

    CAI: Variant spelling of Scandinavian Kai, possibly meaning “lord.” Compare with another form of Cai.
    CAJ: Variant spelling of Scandinavian Kai, meaning “lord.” Compare with another form of Caj.
    CAY: Variant spelling of Scandinavian Kai, meaning “lord.” Compare with another form of Cay.
    CHRISTOFFER: Scandinavian form Latin Christophorus, meaning “Christ-bearer.”
    CNUT: Variant spelling of Scandinavian Knut, meaning “knot.”
    DAG: Scandinavian form of Old Norse Dagr, meaning “day.” Compare with another form of Dag.
    DAGFINN: Scandinavian form of Old Norse Dagfinnr, meaning “day-Finn” or “day-wanderer.”
    DAVEN: Scandinavian name meaning “two rivers.” Compare with another form of Daven.
    EDVARD: Czech and Scandinavian form of Latin Eduardus, meaning “guardian of prosperity.”
    EGILL: Diminutive form of Scandinavian Agne, “edge (of a sword),” meaning “little edge.”
    EILERT: Frisian and Scandinavian form of German Eckhard, meaning “strong edge.”
    EINAR: Scandinavian form of Old Norse Einarr, meaning “lone warrior.”
    EMANUEL: Scandinavian form of Greek Emmanouel, meaning “God is with us.”
    EMIL: German and Scandinavian name derived from Latin Æmilius, meaning “rival.” In use by the English.
    ENOK: Scandinavian form of Greek Henoch, meaning “dedicated.”
    ERIK: Scandinavian form of Old Norse Eiríkr, meaning “ever-ruler.” Compare with another form of Erik.
    ERLAND: Scandinavian name derived from Old Norse örlendr, meaning “foreigner, stranger.”
    ERLEND: Variant spelling of Scandinavian Erland, meaning “foreigner, stranger.”
    ESBEN: Scandinavian form of Old Norse Ásbjorn, meaning “divine-bear.”
    EUTHA: Scandinavian name derived from Old Norse jôdh, meaning “child.”
    FINN: Scandinavian form of Old Norse Finnr, meaning “from Finland.” Compare with another form of Finn.
    FOLKE: Scandinavian form of Old Norse Folki, meaning “people, tribe.”
    FRANS: Dutch and Scandinavian form of Latin Franciscus, meaning “French.”
    FRITJOF: Scandinavian form of Old Norse Friðþjófr, meaning “peace-thief.”
    FRODE: Scandinavian form of Icelandic Fróði, meaning “wise.”
    GUNNAR: Scandinavian form of Old Norse Gunnarr, meaning “soldier, warrior.”
    GUNNE: Short form of Scandinavian Gunnar, meaning “soldier, warrior.”
    GUSTAV: Scandinavian form of Latin Gustavus, meaning “meditation staff.”
    H�KAN: Icelandic and Scandinavian form of Old Norse Hákon, meaning “high son.”
    HALDOR: Scandinavian form of Old Norse Halldórr, meaning “Thor’s rock.”
    HALLE: Scandinavian short form of longer names containing the Norse element hallr, meaning “rock.”
    HALVARD: Scandinavian form of Old Norse Hallvar�r, meaning “rock defender.”
    HALVDAN: Scandinavian form of Old Norse Halfdanr, meaning “half Dane.”
    HARALD: Scandinavian form of Old Norse Haraldr, meaning “army ruler.” Compare with another form of Harald.
    HELGE: Scandinavian form of Icelandic Helgi, meaning “holy; dedicated to the gods.”
    HEMMING: Scandinavian name derived from Old Norse hamr, meaning “shape.” The name may have originated as a byname for a “shape-shifter” or “werewolf.”
    HENNING: Pet form of Scandinavian Henrik, meaning “home-ruler.”
    HENRIK: Scandinavian form of Old Norse Heinrikr, meaning “home-ruler.”
    HERLEIF: Scandinavian form of Old Norse Herleifr, meaning “army descendant.”
    HJALMAR: Scandinavian form of Old Norse Hjálmar, meaning “helmet-warrior.”
    HJALMARR: Variant spelling of Scandinavian Hjalmar, meaning “helmet-warrior.”
    HOLGER: Scandinavian form of Old Norse Holmgeirr, meaning “spear island.”
    INGEMAR: Scandinavian form of Old Norse Ingimarr, meaning “Ing-famous.”
    INGMAR: Contracted form of Scandinavian Ingemar, meaning “Ing-famous.”
    INGOLF: Scandinavian form of Old Norse Ingólfr, meaning “Ing’s wolf.”
    INGVAR: Icelandic and Scandinavian form of Old Norse Ingvarr, meaning “Ing’s warrior.”
    IVAR: Scandinavian form of Old Norse Ívarr, meaning “bow warrior.”
    JAKOB: German and Scandinavian form of Greek Iakob, meaning “supplanter.”
    JARL: Scandinavian form of Old Norse Erlingr, the legend name of a mortal son of the god Ríg, meaning “earl, nobleman.”
    JOAKIM: Scandinavian form of Hebrew Yehowyaqiym, meaning “Jehovah raises up.”
    JOHAN: Short form of Latin Johannes, meaning “God is gracious.” In use by the Czechs, Finnish, Germans and Scandinavians.
    JON: Scandinavian form of Icelandic Jóhann, meaning “God is gracious.” Compare with other forms of Jon.
    JOSEF: Scandinavian form of Greek Ioseph, meaning “(God) shall add (another son).”
    KAI: Scandinavian name, possibly derived from Latin Caius, meaning “lord.” Compare with other forms of Kai.
    KAJ: Variant spelling of Scandinavian Kai, meaning “lord.” Compare with feminine Kaj.
    KENNET: Scandinavian form of English Kenneth, meaning both “comely; finely made” and “born of fire.”
    KENT: Contracted form of Scandinavian Kennet, meaning both “comely; finely made” and “born of fire.” Compare with other forms of Kent.
    KIM: Short form of Scandinavian Joakim, meaning “Jehovah raises up.” Compare with another form of Kim.
    KJELL: Scandinavian form of Icelandic and Old Norse Kettil, meaning “cauldron, kettle.”
    KNUT: Scandinavian form of Old Norse Knútr, meaning “knot.”
    KONSTANTIN: Scandinavian form of Roman Latin Constantine, meaning “steadfast.” Compare with other forms of Konstantin.
    KRISTIAN: Scandinavian form of Greek Christianos, meaning “believer” or “follower of Christ.”
    KRISTOFFER: Scandinavian form of Greek Christophoros, meaning “Christ-bearer.” Compare with another form of Kristoffer.
    LARS: Scandinavian form of Icelandic Lárus, meaning “laurel.”
    LASSE: Pet form of Scandinavian Lars, meaning “laurel.”
    LAURITS: Scandinavian short form of Latin Laurentius, meaning “of Laurentum.”
    LEIF: Scandinavian form of Old Norse Leifr, meaning “descendant, heir.”
    LELLE: Pet form of Scandinavian Lennart, meaning “lion-strong.”
    LENNART: Scandinavian form of Old High German Lewenhart, meaning “lion-strong.”
    LENNE: Pet form of Scandinavian Lennart, meaning “lion-strong.”
    LORENS: Scandinavian form of Roman Latin Laurentius, meaning “of Laurentum.”
    LUDVIG: Scandinavian form of German Ludwig, meaning “famous warrior.”
    MAGNUS: Scandinavian name derived from the latter part of French Charlemagne (“Charles the Great”), from Latin magnus, meaning “great.” Used infrequently by the Irish and Scottish. Compare with another form of Magnus.
    MIKKEL: Scandinavian form of Greek Michaēl, meaning “who is like God?”
    NEL: Norman French form of Scandinavian Njal, meaning “champion.”
    NENNE: Pet form of Scandinavian Lennart, meaning “lion-strong.”
    NIKLAS: Scandinavian form of Greek Nikolaos, meaning “victor of the people.”
    NIKOLAUS: Scandinavian form of Greek Nikolaos, meaning “victor of the people.” Compare with another form of Nikolaus.
    NJAL: Scandinavian form of Irish Gaelic Niall, meaning “champion.”
    NJORD: Scandinavian form of Old Norse Njörðr, meaning “strong, vigorous.”
    ODIN: Scandinavian form of Old Norse Óðinn, meaning “poetry, song” and “eager, frenzied, raging.” In mythology, this is the name of the chief god of the Aesir. Equated with Anglo-Saxon Woden.
    OLAF: Scandinavian form of Old Norse Óláfr, meaning “heir of the ancestors.”
    OSKAR: Scandinavian form of Old Norse Ásgeirr, meaning “god-spear.”
    OSVALD: Scandinavian form of Old Norse Ásvaldr, meaning “divine power” or “divine ruler.”
    OVE: Possibly a modern Scandinavian form of Old Danish Auwe, meaning “little edge.”
    PER: Scandinavian form of Latin Petrus, meaning “rock, stone.”
    PONTUS: Scandinavian form of Greek Pontios, meaning “of the sea; seaman.” Compare with another form of Pontus.
    RAGNAR: Scandinavian form of German Reginar, meaning “wise warrior.”
    RAGNE: Masculine form of Scandinavian Ragna, a short form of names containing the Old Norse element regin (“advice, decision, counsel”), hence “wise.”
    RAGNVALD: Scandinavian form of Old Norse Ragnvaldr, meaning “wise ruler.”
    RALF: Scandinavian form of Old Norse Ráðúlfr, meaning “wise wolf.” Compare with another form of Ralf.
    RANDOLF: Scandinavian form of Old Norse Randolfr, meaning “shield-wolf.” Compare with another form of Randolf.
    RASMUS: Short form of Latin Erasmus, meaning “beloved.” In use by the Scandinavians.
    RIKARD: Scandinavian form of Old High German Ricohard, meaning “powerful ruler.”
    ROALD: Scandinavian form of Old Norse Hróaldr, meaning “famous ruler.”
    ROAR: Scandinavian form of Old Norse Hróarr, meaning “famous spear.”
    ROGNVALD: Scandinavian form of Old Norse Rögnvaldr, meaning “wise ruler.”
    ROLF: Scandinavian form of Old Norse Hrólfr, meaning “famous wolf.” Compare with other forms of Rolf.
    RUBEN: Scandinavian form of Hebrew Reuwben, meaning “behold, a son.”
    RUNE: Scandinavian form of Old Norse Rúni, meaning “secret lore.”
    SEVERIN: German and Scandinavian form of Roman Latin Severinus, meaning “stern.”
    SIGFRID: Scandinavian form of Old Norse Sigfrøðr, meaning “victory-peace.”
    SIGMUND: Scandinavian form of Old Norse Sigmundr, meaning “victory-protection.” Compare with another form of Sigmund.
    SIGVARD: Scandinavian form of Old Norse Sigvarðr, meaning “victory guard.”
    SNORRE: Scandinavian form of Old Norse Snorri, meaning “attack.”
    STEFAN: Scandinavian form of Latin Stephanus, meaning “crown.” Compare with other forms of Stefan.
    STIG: Scandinavian form of Old Norse Stígr, meaning “wanderer.”
    SVERRE: Scandinavian form of Old Norse Sverrir, meaning “wild, restless.”
    TEODOR: Scandinavian form of Latin Theodorus, meaning “gift of God.”
    TOR: Scandinavian form of Old Norse Þórr, meaning “Thor” or “thunder.” Compare with other forms of Tor.
    TORE: Variant spelling of Scandinavian Tor, meaning “Thor” or “thunder.” Compare with another form of Tore.
    TORGNY: Scandinavian form of Icelandic Þorgnýr, meaning “Thor’s clash” or “thunder clash.”
    TORKEL: Scandinavian form of Old Norse Þorketill, meaning “Thor’s cauldron.”
    TORVALD: Scandinavian form of Old Norse Þorvaldr, meaning “Thor’s ruler.”
    TOVE: Unisex pet form of Scandinavian names starting with Torf- or Torv-, meaning “Thor” or “thunder.”
    ULF: Scandinavian form of Old Norse Ulfr, meaning “wolf.”
    ULRIK: Scandinavian form of Old High German Ulrich, meaning “prosperity and power.”
    VALDEMAR: Scandinavian form of Old High German Waldemar, meaning “peaceful ruler.”
    VALTER: Scandinavian form of German Walther, meaning “ruler of the army.”
    VERNER: Scandinavian form of German Werner, meaning “Warin warrior,” i.e. “covered warrior.”
    VIDAR: Scandinavian form of Old Norse Víðarr, meaning “forest warrior.”
    VIGGE: Scandinavian form of Icelandic Viggó, a short form of Nordic names beginning with Vig-, meaning “lightning.”
    VIKTOR: Scandinavian form of Roman Latin Victor, meaning “conqueror.” Compare with another form of Viktor.
    VILFRED: Scandinavian form of German Wilfried, meaning “desires peace.”
    VILHELM: Scandinavian form of Old Norse Vilhjalmr, meaning “will-helmet.”
    VILMAR: Scandinavian form of Old High German Wilmar, meaning “desires fame.”
    YNGVAR: Scandinavian form of Old Norse Yngvarr, meaning “Ing’s warrior.”
    YNGVE: Scandinavian form of Old Norse Yngvi, meaning “friend of Ing” or “worshiper of Ing.”

    I like Vidar.

    • What a list! Huh…Curran’s last name is on the list. Hmmmmm…….do I sense a theme here?

        • I always did, too, until my mother became friends with a couple from Denmark. His name is Leif. I’ve since discovered that in Scandinavian countries, it is pronounced as ‘life’ or sometimes ‘layf’; only in the US do we tend to say ‘leaf’.

  40. Also, I think names like Bard and Rodolf are good. If you’re looking for warrior names, Gisli, Bolli, Halldor, Jokul, Ospak, and Gunnlaug might be good too.

  41. How about Gustav after Gustavus Adolphus the Great, who led his armies as king of Sweden from the age of 16 until his death in battle at 37 in 1632? He is often cited as one of the greatest military commanders of his time. A little past the medieval period, I know, but the name supposedly has its origins in medieval Slavic language with the name Gostislav, meaning “glorious guest”.

  42. Wolfgang/Wulfgang
    Ragnar/Ragnor
    Rutger (also going with the Ladyhawke theme, although that was the actor’s name, not a character)
    Rune
    Rolf
    Erik or Ulrik

  45. Not quite Norwegian but I think these have a certain medieval flair:
    Vaughn
    Gannon
    Colm

    My favorite Norwegian:
    Njall
    Finnvid
    Ivak
    Konal
    Vinandr
    Waels

  46. Beorhthric
    Hrothgar
    Arnfinnr (modernly Arnfinn)
    Arnbjorn
    Brandr (sword, fire)
    Egill (awe, terror)
    RAGNVALDR (reynold, reginald are related – advice/counsel + power/ruler)
    Erik (from eirikr, eternal ruler)

  47. I rather like the name Vincent (Latin to conquer) but then its my baby brothers name. French connections I believe not Scandinavian but hey, no-one is perfect… except the author lords, of course !!

  50. Toke (name of one of the Gods)
    Thorsten (Thor and stone)
    Orm (worm)
    Bjørn (bear)
    Rune (secret)
    Harald (army and ruler)
    Gorm (the one who honors God)
    Svend (a free man in the service of another)
    Knud (knot)
    Halfdan (half-dane)
    Arne (eagle)
    Birger (gardian)
    Bo (place to live)
    Frode (wise and smart)
    Leif (decendant)
    Sten (stone)
    Sune (son)
    Troels (Thors arrow)
    Ulf (wolf)
    Njal (giant)

    The names are all male names from the time of vikings, although several are still in use today. I found them on historic museum webpage in Denmark (www.natmus.dk). Hope this helps.

    Can I just say that I love your books. I own every single one and have read them again and again. Favorit author EVER !

      • Isn’t it Bjorn?

        In Sweden, the name is actually spelled and pronounced Björn, very rarely also Biörn. In Denmark and Norway, it’s spelled Bjørn. The letter ö / ø sounds like the i in “bird.”

        However, outside Scandinavia that letter is often substituted by o or oe. Hence Bjorn / Biorn.

  59. Gustav / Gustaf (staff of the Geats or Goths or gods)
    Orm (Snake)
    Inspiration: Gustaf Orm Skarsgard

  60. Ranulf, Arnulf, Clothar
    Arnulf of Metz is an ancestor of mine, and a saint, in part because of a miracle involving great quantities of beer!

  63. How about one of the wonderful variations of Eric? Aaric, Aric, Arick, Arik, Arrick, Eric, Erik…
    Branching off gets some cool names, too. Alrik, Arvid…

  65. Alaric. It’s old German, and it means noble ruler or king. It’s not Scandinavian, but still cool… I think anyway…

  66. I have a friend who’s husband’s name is Leif. She went full out with the theme and named their boy Bjorn ;). Also, Erik, Olaf, Iver, Kristoffer, Mikkel, Germund, Hayden, Halvor, Knudsen, Kjorstad… (pronouned k-nud-sen) Umm…wow, that’s like half the names in the town I live in (Yay Norwegian settlers!

  72. Rorek/ Hrorek/ Rurick – the Varangian Viking who founded Stary Novgorod and Ladoga and the Rurickovichi Dynasty in Russia. It means “famous leader”. I was living in Moscow when my son was born and the nurses called my 4.6 kilo/ 10 pound munchkin a little bogatyr and told me how lucky it was to have him born on President Putin’s birthday (sigh), and between that and the guy theoretically being in my husband’s family tree, we named him Rorek.

    The Viking Answer Lady also has a list of Old Norse men’s names at http://www.vikinganswerlady.com/ONMensNames.shtml

    • 01:13:25 Thank you, Gunnar, Gunter, Hans, Jan and Phil.

      Sorry, one of my guilty favorite movies . . .

  75. One of the fun things about medieval reenactment…
    These are mostly from http://www.vikinganswerlady.com. If you go to her website, you can check for meanings. She’s got a name construction guide that explains how to make the patronymic, too.

    Aðalbrandr, Alfarr, Álfgeirr, Arnketil, Balki, Bjarnheðinn, Dagfinnr, Dað, Einarr, Eldjárn, Gandálfr, Haraldr, Hrólfr, Jarli, Knut, Kormákr, Leifr, Njáll, Ósvaldr, Ragnarr, Sigurðr, Skáldi, Svartabrandr, Tófi, Tveggi, Úlfkell, Valbjorn

    If it would be useful, I know an absolutely wonderful lady in Austin who often translates stuff into Old Norse for reenactors.

  77. Some names from my Sweetie who likes to read things in Swedish
    Kairn , Erik, Arvid, Leana, Danjel, Elin, Ulrika, Johan, Harald, Nil, Lill-Märta (the Lill means little so could be left off)

  85. Oh a fun task! I’m actually from Scandinavia – and a history major ? I especially love Karl and Johan, but also Erik (already though used elsewhere in the genre) and Magnus are good names! All are names of old Swedish kings, and they have been already in use since before the 10th/11th century (and still are today!). I also like Gustav and Sten (actually means a rock in Swedish) ? happy name hunting!

  87. I’ve always loved the name Ansel, Ashley is an old school guy name I like that alot. wolfric, is nice . Lol slSnorri images me giggle. I like Stwn, and I know another author has a female by the name dagmar but it’s actually male.

  91. Tor, Torvald, Hrothgar, Gunnulf, Ragnar, Roald, Ralf, Hakon (with a ringed “a”) or Haakon. Ooh, how about Lennart? };{P>

  92. So … my husband’s name is Stein but pronounced “Stain” it is Norwegian for stone. More specifically it is Trondish. Trondish is a dialect spoken in Trondelag which is where Trondheim is located. I learned far too late, after taking several Norwegian classes, that Trondish is not understood by anyone else in the country of Norway. Think of it as the Norwegian version of a southern accent with lots and lots of slang. My father in law is named Steinar ( pronounced “stain are”).
    My husband’s grandfather’s name was Per pronounced “pear” I always used to joke that though it was a perfectly respectable Norwegian name, in America he would probably have to fight every day in school. Of course that would make for a very strong protagonist.

    Good luck. Looking forward to meeting your characters.

  93. I really like
    1. Arne (although not really medieval) but meaning derives from eagle.
    and
    2. Torvald – From the Old Norse name Þórvaldr, which meant “Thor’s ruler” from the name of the Norse god Þórr (see THOR) combined with valdr “ruler

    This site (see below) gives the meaning/origin of Nordic names and, possibly of more use to you, the earliest documented usage of the name.

    E.g. https://www.nordicnames.de/wiki/Arne

  94. Wulfric, Garrick, Warrick (Johanna Lindsey’s ’80 romances had a slew of medieval and viking heroes but now I can’t remember them).

  95. OK I dated a guy when living in Switzerland, his name was Rainer. See below as it’s German and Scandinavian. ..he was sooooo romantic too! Google says: Rainer is the German form of the Germanic name Raginheri (Scandinavian Ragnar), composed of the two elements ragin (“advice”) and heri (“army”).

  96. I went to school with a total hottie named Hjalmer. Sort of sounds like Yalmer. Yum.

  97. These are some names from my family tree, they are from Sweden and Denmark.
    Ake
    Nils / Niels
    Kiel
    Peder
    Johan
    Mats
    Asle
    Lars
    Jens
    Mads
    Juste
    Sverd
    Esper
    Michel
    Jonas

  100. Watch Golden Girls and listen for the names in Rose’s stories. I know Sven is one for sure. 🙂

  102. Odin – Norse god
    Orvar – means arrow
    Sigurd – victory and guardian
    Adalsteinn – noble stone
    Trygve – trustworthy

  108. Digging through my family tree:

    Anders, Knut/Knud, Even, Ole, Torgun, Joran, Halvor, Sebjorn, Torgrin, Torsten, and Gunder.

    Gotta love the last names these made too “Sebjornsdatter” and “Sebjornson”, etc.

  110. If it for a bad guy, these names make me giggle:
    Asbjorn, Asser, Cnut, Gunnvor, Helgi, Snorri, Svein

    If is for a manly man character:
    Wulfstan, Thorfinn, Sakse, Gunnbjorn, Ingjald

    good luck!

  111. Roika, Tyr, Odin, Thor, Frey, Bragi, Baldur, Buri, Niord, Hoder. I asked my dad, and then had to listen to many glorious tales of how they died. Etc. 🙂

  116. Anders
    – From my Norwegian family tree and according to web, it is the Scandinavian “equivalent of the Greek Andreas (‘manly’).”

  118. I like Anders (for Andrew)

    Einarr (“warrior” or “one alone”)

    Soren

    And the classic Severin Snape. lol

  119. All names obtained from http://www.behindthename.com/names/usage/scandinavian

    Suggestion #1
    ALVAR
    — GENDER: Masculine / USAGE: Swedish, Estonian
    — Meaning & History: From the Old Norse name Alfarr, formed of the elements alfr “elf” and arr “warrior”.
    — Variations: Alfher (Ancient Germanic), Alfarr (Ancient Scandinavian), Elvar (Icelandic)

    Suggestion #2
    ASGER
    — GENDER: Masculine / USAGE: Danish
    — Meaning & History: From the Old Norse name Ásgeirr, derived from the elements áss meaning “god” and geirr meaning “spear”.
    — Variations: Ansgar, Ansigar (Ancient Germanic), Ásgeirr (Ancient Scandinavian), Osgar (Anglo-Saxon), Ansgar (German), Ásgeir (Icelandic), Ansgar, Asgeir (Norwegian), Ansgar (Swedish)

    Suggestion #3
    EINAR
    — GENDER: Masculine / USAGE: Norwegian, Icelandic, Swedish, Danish
    — Meaning & History: From the Old Norse name Einarr, derived from the elements ein “one, alone” and arr “warrior”. This name shares the same roots as einherjar, the word for the slain warriors in Valhalla.

    Suggestion #4
    OSBORN
    — GENDER: Masculine / USAGE: English
    — Meaning & History: Derived from the Old English elements os “god” and beorn “bear”. During the Anglo-Saxon period there was also a Norse cognate Ásbjörn used in England, and after the Norman conquest the Norman cognate Osbern was introduced. It was occasionally revived in the 19th century, in part from a surname that was derived from the given name.
    — Variations: Ásbjörn, Bjarni (Ancient Scandinavian), Osbeorn (Anglo-Saxon), Asbjørn, Esben, Bjarne, Ebbe, Espen (Danish), Ásbjörn, Bjarni (Icelandic), Asbjørn, Espen, Bjarne, Ebbe, Esben (Norwegian), Asbjörn, Esbjörn, Bjarne, Ebbe (Swedish)

    Suggestion #5
    GUDBRAND
    — GENDER: Masculine / USAGE: Norwegian, Danish
    — Meaning & History: From the Old Norse name Guðbrandr meaning “god’s sword”, derived from the elements guð “god” and brandr “sword”.
    — Variations: Gulbrand (Norwegian), Gulbrand (Danish), Guðbrandr, Gulbrandr (Ancient Scandinavian)

    Suggestion #6
    HÅKON
    — GENDER: Masculine / USAGE: Norwegian
    — Meaning & History: Modern Norwegian form of the Old Norse name Hákon, which meant “high son” from há “high” and konr “son, descendant”. This was the name of seven kings of Norway.
    — Variations: Haakon (Norwegian), Hákon (Ancient Scandinavian), Hagen (Danish), Hákon (Icelandic), Håkan (Swedish)

    Suggestion #7
    INGVAR
    — GENDER: Masculine / USAGE: Swedish, Icelandic, Norwegian, Danish
    — Meaning & History: From the Old Norse name Yngvarr, which was derived from the name of the Germanic god YNGVI combined with arr meaning “warrior”.
    — Variations: Yngvar (Norwegian), Yngvarr (Ancient Scandinavian), Ihar (Belarusian), Igor (Croatian), Igor (Macedonian), Igor (Polish), Igor (Russian), Igor (Serbian), Igor (Slovene), Ihor (Ukrainian)

    Suggestion #8
    LUDWIG
    — GENDER: Masculine / USAGE: German
    — Meaning & History: From the Germanic name Chlodovech, which was composed of the elements hlud “famous” and wig “war, battle”. This was the name of three Merovingian kings of the Franks (though their names are usually spelled in the Latinized form Clovis) as well as several Carolingian kings and Holy Roman Emperors (names often spelled in the French form Louis). Other famous bearers include the German composer Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) and the Austrian philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951), who contributed to logic and the philosophy of language.
    — Variations: Lutz (German, diminutive), Chlodovech, Clodovicus, Ludovicus, Clovis, Hludowig (Ancient Germanic), Alojz, Alojzije (Croatian), Alois, Ludvík, Luděk (Czech), Ludvig (Danish), Lodewijk, Louis, Lowie, Ludo (Dutch), Alajos, Lajos (Hungarian), Lúðvík (Icelandic), Ludis, Ludvigs (Latvian), Liudvikas (Lithuanian), Ludvig (Norwegian), Alojzy, Ludwik (Polish), Alojz (Slovak), Alojz, Alojzij, Ludvik (Slovene), Ludvig, Love, Ludde (Swedish)

    Suggestion #9
    MAGNI
    — GENDER: Masculine / USAGE: Ancient Scandinavian, Norse Mythology
    — Meaning & History: Derived from the Old Norse element magn meaning “mighty, strong”. In Norse mythology this name is borne by a son of Thor and the giant Járnsaxa.
    — Variations: Magne (Norwegian)

    Suggestion #10
    RAGNVALDR
    — GENDER: Masculine / USAGE: Ancient Scandinavian
    — Meaning & History: Old Norse name composed of the elements regin “advice, counsel” and valdr “power, ruler”
    — Variations: Raginald, Reinald, Reinhold (Ancient Germanic), Ragnvald (Danish), Reino (Finnish), Reinhold (German), Ragnvald (Norwegian), Ragnvald (Swedish)

    Suggestion #11
    RUDOLF
    — GENDER: Masculine / USAGE: German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Polish, Czech, Hungarian, Slovene, Croatian, Russian, Armenian
    — Meaning & History: From the Germanic name Hrodulf, which was derived from the elements hrod “fame” and wulf “wolf”. It was borne by three kings of Burgundy, as well as several Habsburg rulers of the Holy Roman Empire and Austria. Anthony Hope used this name for the hero in his popular novel ‘The Prisoner of Zenda’ (1894).
    — Variations: Rolf, Rodolf (German), Rolf (Swedish), Rolf (Norwegian), Rolf (Danish), Rudi (German diminutive), Ruedi (German diminutive (Swiss)), Rudi (Hungarian diminutive), Hrodulf, Hrolf (Ancient Germanic), Hrólfr, Hróðólfr (Ancient Scandinavian), Hrothulf, Hroðulf (Anglo-Saxon)

    (Note: you may want to avoid “Hrothulf”, as I have used that for a character in a short story I wrote.)

  120. Jarkko is a Finnish name I like. (and he was a lovely gentle man).

    I also love Timo, and the men I knew called this were he lovely too

  123. Ulrik or Alarik/Alrik. Both are Scandinavian variations of the German Ulrich (which can be a first or last name). Meaning: Heritage (Uodal-) & powerful (-rich). Often listed as a variation of Wulfric (wolf-ruler) if you need an animal connection, though that’s not the origin. There were two Princes Ulrik of Denmark (ruling 1603-1624 & 1624-1629), and the Legendary Kings of Sweden include one Alaric/Alrek and two Alriks.

    • Not to mention “the seeker of serenity, the protector of Italian virginity, the enforcer of our Lord God, the one, the only, Sir Ulllrrrich von Lichtenstein!” from A Knight’s Tale.

  124. Please don’t take ludwig. Anybody with a german background will view it as a modern name because it is still given to a lot of children and second: the last two bavarian kings were called ludwig. There is just to much history and I would giggle for minutes after every time I red the name

  129. I like Viggo
    It menas fighter or battle

    If You need nordic inspiration I can recommend namn.se

  133. Absalon – Father of Peace
    Benedikt – Blessed
    Emil – Rival
    Fritjof – peace thief
    Halvard – rock defender
    Henning – home ruler
    Konstantin – steadfast
    Mikkel – god like
    Osvald – divine power
    Rasmus – beloved
    Ulrik – prosperity abd power
    Valter- ruler of Army
    Vilmar – desires fame
    Yngvar – Ings warrior

  136. Some Swedish names:

    Vilhelm
    Valdemar
    Ulf
    Yngve
    Åke
    Örjan
    Sten
    Torbjörn
    Torsten
    Torvald
    Tage
    Rolf
    Rune
    Sigvard
    Björn
    Ola
    Olof
    Ragnar
    Ragnvald
    Mårten
    Kjell
    Knut
    Lars
    Lars-Erik
    Per
    Per-Olof
    Göte
    Dag
    Alfred
    Alf
    Alrik
    Assar
    Gert
    Gerhard
    Harald
    Halvar
    Hjalmar

  140. Hi, I went with names I like, with Scandinavian flair: Einarr, Gunnarr, Jorundr and my favorite Ingwar.

    Have fun!

    Laurence

  142. I like Terje. It is Norwegian origin in the Scandinavian category. It means; Thor’s Spear. I thought it could be easily shortened to Ter(Tear) or Je.

    Just like the name.

  146. – Ivar
    – Sigurd
    – Björn

    (like Ivar the Boneless and Sigurd Snake-in-the-eye, the sons of Ragnar Lodbrok)

  148. I like Klaus as a warrior’s name
    Harald is also very good and is actually the name of the king who brought christianity to Denmark.

  151. Christer (a friend from Swedens name), Or Nils, or B(funny looking O)rge if you are looking at last names…thing “son” as in Odinson, or Thorson.

  152. I come from Orkney and there are a lot of old Norse names still used even now:

    Thorfinn
    Magnus
    Erland
    Sigurd
    Harald
    Balfour
    Rognvald (pronounced Ronald)

    Haakon (old Norse King – http://www.orkneyjar.com/history/haakondeath.htm)

    The Orkneyinga saga has a few stout Norse names as well! I can only find a wiki page but might let you see if you like any of the names to research further – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orkneyinga_saga

    Google map Orkney and you will see a lot of Norse names on islands, streets and roads as well.

  153. Amhlaoibh – this Is the irish spelling of the Scandinavian name Olaf. In medieval times the Scandinavians came to Ireland and a lot of irish people gaelicised their names or took Scandinavian names as surnames or first names. Amhlaoibh as a first name is pronounced “owe-lee-ov” here.
    The name means ‘an old one’ or in more direct translations becomes ‘relic’. As a surname it also exists here as MacAmhlaoibh which means ‘the son of Olaf’ or ‘the son of the old one’ or ‘son of the Relic’ if you want it to have Christan connotations to a saint Olaf.

    All the first names that follow are still in use today in Ireland and some exist too as surnames. Adding Mac to before the name makes it the “son of…” While adding Mac Giolla …” Before the name makes it the “son of the servant” of whoever.

    Iomhar – it is the irish for the scaninavian Ivar. There should be a fada over the I. Pronounced “ee-were” it is associated here with meaning ” he of the army of the yew Bows” the name comes from an irish tale “cogad gaidel re galaib’ which tells of the vikings invasion of Ireland. They used yes bows to great effect and later intermarried with irish people, some children of these unions became, iomnhar. Literally the sons of the yes bowed army men.

    Raghnall- irish for scandinavian rognvald. It means strong. It is pronounced rahn-all

    Leoid- irish for Ljotor. There should be a fada over the o. A particularly interesting name because there is no j letter or sound in the irish language and the Scandinavians using it must have confused the medieval irish. It means the ugly one. Pronounced le- oh-du

    Torcall Irish for torkel – meaning Thor’s cauldron pronounced tore-hal

  156. I like “Arvid”.
    From the Old Norse name Arnviðr, derived from the elements arn “eagle” and viðr “tree” (Ancient Scandinavian) :-).

  157. Ulf –> Wolf
    Björn –> Bear
    Truls –> Tor + “Arrow”
    Sighsten –> Victory + Stone
    Sven –> Young man
    Botvid –> “improve or heal” + “forest / trees”

  158. I like Carel, usually Anglicized to Karl. It was Linneus’ given name. A friend named her Maine coon cat after him 🙂

  159. Ragnar
    Ivar
    Bjorn
    Sigurd
    Arne
    Einar
    Sven
    Gunther
    Eric
    Olaf
    Odin
    Hakon
    Nails
    Magnus
    Ulrich
    Siegfried
    Knut
    Went to imdb.com and went down the cast list of the tv show “Vikings”.

  163. I really like Finjas ( the warrior) and Kilian ( the war) and named my sons accordingly.
    If you are looking for older names that are not that often used :
    Medard
    Arvid
    Endris
    Marten
    Cunnrad
    Silvan

  164. Balder- bearer of light
    Destin- determined
    Eirik- king forever
    Hagen- the highest son
    Jerrik- king forever

  167. I really like Ragnar,Torvald.
    Bjorn is verry well known but sounds nice.
    Rudolph -like the famous deer ; )

  171. What about:

    ERIC – English, Swedish, German, Spanish
    From the Old Norse name Eiríkr, derived from the elements ei “ever, always” and ríkr “ruler”. A notable bearer was Eiríkr inn Rauda (Eric the Red in English), a 10th-century navigator and explorer who discovered Greenland. This was also the name of several early kings of Sweden, Denmark and Norway. This common Norse name was first brought to England by Danish settlers during the Anglo-Saxon period. It was not popular in England in the Middle Ages, but it was revived in the 19th century, in part due to the children’s novel ‘Eric, or Little by Little’ (1858) by Frederic William Farrar.

    FREDERIK – Danish, Dutch
    Danish and Dutch form of FREDERICK. This was the name of nine kings of Denmark over the past 500 years, alternating each generation with the name Christian.

    KRISTOFFER – Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish
    Scandinavian form of CHRISTOPHER. From the Late Greek name Χριστοφορος (Christophoros) meaning “bearing CHRIST”, derived from Χριστος (Christos) combined with φερω (phero) “to bear, to carry”. Early Christians used it as a metaphorical name, expressing that they carried Christ in their hearts. In the Middle Ages, literal interpretations of the name’s etymology led to legends about a Saint Christopher who carried the young Jesus across a river. He has come to be regarded as the patron saint of travellers

  174. Actual Historiacal names –
    Olaf
    Svein Forkbeard, king of Denmark
    Magnus the Good
    Harald
    Cnut

  177. HALLBJÖRN m Ancient Scandinavian, Icelandic
    Derived from the Old Norse elements hallr “rock” and björn “bear”.
    Meaning rock bear.

  178. Well not Scandinavian but near it. Medieval Estonia and as we were part of Vikings at that time so it may be of interest.
    All names is phonetically written as we write phonetically not as English do. Estonian language is most similar to Finish though we do not understand each other but some words are similar.

    Lembito – today this name has changed to Lembit or Lembitu and its not very common name any more but all know it as it was name of one of the famous nobles here.
    Meme – rare name but would not be odd today too if you write it Meeme.

    Maniwalde, Tabelinus, Unnepewe, Kyriawanus, Tabelinus, Wytamas, Wottele, Culle, Env, Muntelene, Tappete, Yalde, Melete, Cake – today W is not used in our own words and V is used instead. Y is also not used any more in our words its ü or i (if it is at the end of the word). C is not used any more either its either S or K depending of how it was pronounced. Before I investigated medieval Estonian names I have heard only Manivald and Tabelus as similar names of this list and I don’t know anyone named like that in real life.

    Ylle medieval mans name in Estonia but today its written Ülle and it is common woman’s name now.

    People had only one name at that period so no surname. You may ad location name to a person if there was need of it.

    The fun thing is that you can find out how many people have certain names in Estonia – http://www.stat.ee/public/apps/nimed/ its official statistics here. Sadly all is in Estonian but I think you still be able to understand it with help of google translator.

  179. INGÓLFR m Ancient Scandinavian Old Norse form of INGOLF.
    RAGNVALDR m Ancient Scandinavian Old Norse name composed of the elements regin “advice, counsel” and valdr “power, ruler” (making it a cognate of REYNOLD).
    RÁÐÚLFR m Ancient Scandinavian Derived from the Norse elements ráð meaning “counsel” and úlfr meaning “wolf”.
    VÍKINGR m Ancient Scandinavian Old Norse form of VIKING.
    SINDRI m Norse Mythology, Ancient Scandinavian, Icelandic. Possibly means either “small, trivial” or else “sparkling” in Old Norse. In Norse legend this was the name of a dwarf who, with his brother Brokk, made many magical items for the gods.

    • As wolf? in Estonian unt means wolf and well adding o is quit common in some dialect. As Finish and Estonian is related it may be like that.

  183. Alaric was a Viking king he succeeded Alrec and his brother was Eric (my brother spells his Erik) and my relatives are all Kaare (Corey)

  184. My favorite Scandinavian family is the Skarsgard family. They happen to be prolific when it comes to male children and they happen to love traditional Scandinavian names (some more Scandinavian than others): Alexander, Sam, Valter, Gustaf, Kolbjorn, Ossian, Bill, and Stellan. There’s middle names too: Johan, Istvan, Gunther, Hjalmar, Casper, Orm.

    Hope this helps!

  187. From the two whole seconds I did research on the world wide web, Vikings were often named after animals or after the god, Thor. (Well, that name is already Marvelously overused!) So….
    Bjorn = bear
    Orm = snake
    Ulf = wolf
    Compounds = Gorm, Gunulf, Styrbjorn, and Ulfbjorn <–MY FAV ♡ <–
    Bynames reflect family relationships (father or mother), locations, or attributes.
    Bynames Ex father = Olaf* Haraldsson and Olaf* Tryggvasson, Thorgils Leifsson, Thorvald Asvaldsson and his grandson, Thorvald Eiriksson. *Unless you need to build a snowman.
    Bynames Ex mother = Aud the Deep Minded, Erik Bloodaxe, Erik the Red, Jorunn Skaldmaer ("poetry-maid"), Leif the Lucky, Olaf Kyrre ("the Quiet"), Svein Forkbeard, and Ulf Crow.
    Source: http://www.peiraeuspubliclibrary.com/names/medievalnames/scandanavian.html
    I don't know if this info dump was helpful, but it had me smiling over my morning cup of Joe. PS: I am a forever fangirl!

  192. Fredrik
    Gerlach
    Gunnar
    Henerik
    Johannes
    Klaas
    Larse
    Morten
    Mikael
    Magnus
    Rutger
    Sigmund
    Torgeir
    Ulrik

  193. Ms. Andrews,
    There’s a website that I like to use when feeling inspired to write but am stuck on names. Based on your recent name requests, I thought that you might find the site () helpful too.
    This site lets you both generate random names (first, middle, &/or surnames), and search lists of names within a specific genre or nationality. You can sort by any combination of gender, country of origin, and/or genre (ex. fantasy names, historic names, biblical names, goth names, etc). When you click on a name, you can also get a little blurb on the name meaning and origins, if you’re interested. I love the idea of giving your fans a chance to add input by letting us suggest names too, but just in case you ever needed to come up with a name faster or more independently, I thought that you might enjoy this site. Hope that it helps!

    • Apparently your blog deletes web addresses when posted, so you can also find the site by googleing “Behind the Name” if you want to.

  194. Rorric. I believe in the Scandinavian it means red. Or you could shorten it and call him Rori or Red.

  195. Medieval England had a lot of Edward, William, Henry – so with a Scandinavian twist but still being pronounable for most of us – Edvard, Eric, Gustof, Guilliam, Gunnar, Henrik and I like Magnus + Thoren too.

  197. In memory of a friend “Arno” a very strong, quiet, compassionate man. He had an awesome accent and a wicked smile!

  200. Ooh. What fun. Here’s suggestions to get started. I’m trying HARD not to pull from LOTR 🙂

    Valgeir – a combo of “val” and “geir”. Val is those dead in Vallalla, and geir stands for spear or spear head.

    Amice – old French roughly translating as “friend”

    Jehan – old French version of Joffery or plain old John.

    Otto –

    Rolf –

    Joceran – m. French. from old German “gaut” meaning great and Hram meaning “raven”. = Great Raven!

    Gautr – old Scandinavian meaning = to Goth or Tribe, in Danish it might be Gustaf or Gustav

    Snorri like the LOTR dwarves !

    Hildir

    Stórólfr

    Hakon – (one of my faves)

    Agis – meaning “terror”

    Varinn – “watchful”

    Warajr – “Defender”

    Farfaleu – ok, its not really a name, but it is fun! meaning “crazy” in old med. French

    Ozurr – Viking name, runic form Asur

    • Cannot do Rolf! Rolf was the disloyal Nazi in training who turned in the vonTrapp family. I think most Americans have that association with Rolf. . .

    • Nice list.

      Ragnar, LOL. Anyone who has played Skyrim will instantly recognize that one. The bards in the taverns sing a song about “Ragnar the Red”.

    • These are my favorites from the site below: most are Old Norse + others that are also Scandinavian.

      Arild Ruler of the army. Old Norse
      Arvind Eagle’s Tree. Old Norse
      Dag Day. Old Norse
      Einar Lone warrior. Old Norse
      Finn. From Finland. Old Norse
      Folks Tribe . Old Norse
      Garth. Keeper of the garden. Old Norse
      Haakon or Hakon Chosen son. Old Norse
      Halvard Guardian of the rock. Old Norse
      Ingvar He who is foremost. Old Norse
      Ivar or Iver Archer’s bow. Old Norse
      Jarl. Nobleman. Old Norse
      Marten or Morten. Warlike. Swedish
      Nels Victory of the people Norwegian
      Also Nils in Swedish, or Niels in Danish
      Ragnar Powerful army. Norwegian
      Rune Secret lore. Old Norse
      Rolf. Famous wolf. Swedish
      Steinar. Stone warrior. Old Norse
      Tait. Cheerful. Old Norse
      Vidar. Forest warrior. Old Norse
      Von. Hope. Old Norse

      I got these from this website:
      http://babynameguide.mobi/scandinavian-baby-names.aspstrGender=M&strAlpha=Z&strCat=Scandinavian&strOrder=Name

      Hope these help!
      Patti

    • But Frøy is the male version, he is one of the norse gods of the Vanir also called Yngve or Yngve-Frøy. He is a fertility deity and Freyas male counterpart. As such he is the god of the harvest and wealth.
      🙂

  206. Dag – (means “day,” and I happen to love this character in the Sharing Knife series by Lois McMaster Bujold)
    Einar – (one who fights alone)
    Eirik – (king forever)
    Hakon – (the highest son)
    Gunnar – (army)
    Leif – (successor)
    Raul – (as wise as a wolf)
    Viggo – (battle)

    • I had no idea that Skyrim used so many actual real, medieval names for the characters for the Nords. But I have seen more than 1 I recognize from the game here listed.

  210. Ragnar, Soren, Steiner,Ulrik/Ulrich, Hakon. Those are my favorites. Aloysious is technically one, but that’s my ridiculous wonderful silly boyfriend’s name. No one will know how to pronounce it. Some people don’t even try. He got called Allison once. That’s why he goes by Al most of the time. A short anecdote about the perils of names with awesome older roots.

    • Aloysious used to be popular in Ireland in the last 50 years – not now though as we seem to be into the ‘D’s – Daire / Darra, Donnagh, Donnacha, Darren …

  212. Klemmens – Merciful
    Oskar – Spear of the Gods
    My favourites though would be
    Mikkel – Who is god like or
    Konstantin – Resolute ?

  213. Loke, Tor, Alf, Folke, Thorkild, Sindri, Regnar/Ragnar, Fenris, Sigurd, Gerd, Hakon, Bjørn/Bjorn, Frej/Freyr, Sten, David, Frederik, Christian, Valdemar, Asbjørn, Eiríkr, Harald, Rolf, Roar, Knut/Knud, Olaf, Raul, Clemens and many more…;)

    • Loke/Loki – Norse trickster god
      Tor – Norse thunder god
      Alf – Elf
      Folke – Guardian of the people, a person stronger than other people
      Thorkild – Thor’s thunderbolt/Thor’s weapon
      Sindri – “to spark/sparks”
      Regnar/Ragnar/Reinar/Reiner/Rejnar/Rejne – strong or powerful
      Fenris – the Fenris wolf from Norse mythos
      Sigurd/Sigurt (Sigismund/Sigmund) – winner of victory, victory, peace through victory, hero who killed the dragon Fafnir/Fafner in Norse mythology
      Gerd – relates to the word “gård” which means farm
      Hakon – High and old son
      Bjørn/Bjorn – bear
      Frej/Freyr – Norse god of fertility, love and beauty, the name means seed and grain…
      Sten – stone
      David – hebrew, beloved/loved
      Frederik (Friedrich) – german name, means peace – ruler (Danish kings have carried this name for a long time)
      Christian – greek/latin christianus meaning follower of god. For 500 yrs 10 (ish) Danish kings carried this name.
      Valdemar – slavic/russian (Vladimir), name of a Danish king, sovereign of the world (ish)
      Asbjørn – bear of the gods
      Eiríkr – ‘ei’ means ever and ‘rikr’ means ruler
      Harald – leader/ruler of the army, ruler, army
      Rolf/Ralf/Ralff/Ralph (Raul – Radulfr) – protector, wolf, council wolf
      Roar – from hróð, means famous…
      Knut/Knud – kind
      Olaf – from old Norse Áleifr, meaning ancestor’s descendant
      Clemens – merciful, gentle
      …

  217. Skarsgård
    Åke
    Nyqvist
    Lars
    Mikkelsen
    Týr (accented acute y) – one-handed god of Battle and Bravery
    Fenrir – the Wolf
    Viðarr -(accented d) God of stealth and revenge
    VALDIMÁRR – Valdimir
    STÍGANDR – means wanderer
    RAGNVALDR -composed of the elements regin “advice, counsel” and valdr “power, ruler”
    Charlemagne
    SIGFRØÐR – Siegfried
    VÍKINGR – old Norse for Viking
    TRYGVE /TRYGGVI – Trustworthy

  219. I like Viggo ( think LOTR!), also Grim, Eyjolf, Asved, Einar,Floki, Lief, Styr (a fav!) , Tyrkir, and Wulfstan

  224. Tapio (also called Tapsa)
    Sahba
    Mikko
    Bergen
    Timka (an old Finnish version of Timothy)
    These are nice names from Finland and Sweden…

  227. Gunnar from the Scandinavian Gunnarr. It comes from gunnr (war) and arr (warrior) so I think you’ll have the kickass factor down with this name. But, if you’re looking for a name that sounds pretty, how about Leif?

  232. I vote for either Erik or Thorstein. My grandfather’s family came from Norway, and those were the top choices for my younger brother. They went with Erik after Erik the Viking.

  234. Torsten – my husband wanted to name our youngest this after his Norwegian great great grandfather. Thankfully our youngest is a girl and a Katy.

  238. Have no idea, where they come from or mean, but you asked for male names, and these are the ones that jumped into my head,

    Talon, Zoren, and Traven, Seomond.

    WHyde these no clue

  239. Here’s a bunch of Norse/old Norwegian names. These were used during early medieval times. After christianity was introduced around 1000-1200 AD, a few more christian names became common as well, though the names from the list below were (and are still) in use throughout all the medieval years:
    Agmund
    Arnulf
    Bjørnar
    Brynjulf
    Børge
    Eigil
    Eirik
    Erlend
    Finnbjørn
    Gaute
    Gullbrand
    Guttorm
    Hallgrim
    Hallvard
    Jostein
    Leif/Leiv
    Magnar
    Oddbjørn
    Ragnar
    Roar
    Steinar
    Sveinbjørn
    Torgeir
    Vebjørn
    Øystein
    Øyvind

  248. I feel it necessary to point out a lot of these names are Old Norse, or “fornnordiska”, rather than medieval. Old Norse is the period before medieval. By the time the medieval era rolled in Christianity was starting to gain strength and converting more people from the Norse beliefs. You notice a different theme in names with this change. All comes down to, roughly, are you looking for names originating before 1000 A.D. or after?

    As for some name suggestions.
    Bengt
    Jakob
    Joakim
    Peder
    Ivar
    Lars
    Klas/Clas
    Henrik
    Erik
    Filip
    Krister
    Nils

  249. I’m Danish. These names were pretty popular during the Viking age and during Middle Ages in DK and they’ve made a comeback recently for little boy names.

    Erik
    Magnus
    Henrik
    Andreas
    Olaf
    Jakob
    Niels
    Kristian
    Joakim
    Jesper
    Ivan
    Jens
    Hans
    Gorm
    Halfdan
    Frederik
    Anders
    Ove
    Børge
    Loke
    Laus
    Sune
    Esben
    Åge
    Ulf
    Toke
    Arne
    Frode
    Harald
    Knud
    Kåre
    Leif
    Søren
    Birger
    Bo

    Hope it was helpful. The focus was on nature and the Gods and specific skills one was born with when naming a child.

  254. My great grand father was Norwegian and his first name was Knute. Though he was called Kaye in America. I love your books and look forward to many more!

  257. Peregrine, Perry for short. It’s Latin, not Scandinavian, and stands for ‘one who travels’. Also a falcon, of course. Particular favourite of mine.

  258. Reinhardt was my grandfather’s name. He was Danish. Lars is a good one, easy for anglos to pronounce!
    Gorm the old was the first Danish king. He had sons Canute and Harald, maybe more. They were around in the 900s, so definitely medieval.

  261. I once went to a party in Florida where I met Magnus and Thor. The chairs in the house were so large that I sat back and my feet stuck straight out in front of me. Large guys!

  266. I vote for Sigrid or Harald, with a sympathy vote for Æthelred (the Unready).
    Good luck- all the comments are so great, not sure how you’re going to be able to pick just one!
    ~Sarah

  268. Some names from my Norwegian family history: Ole, Nels, Hallvard, Ingebrikt, Tor, Ivar, Kristen, Viar, Ola, Sjur, Erik, Torsten, Berge, Ørjan, Aslak, Jon, Askjel, Mass, Arnbjorn, Lauris, Johannes, Nils, Lambrigt, Anders, Torgeir, Styrkår, Jakob, Torkild, Knut, Sten, Gregar, Reier, Endre, Tord, Hans, Stein

    I’ve got more if you need any. These names are from the 1500s to 1800s. I’m not too sure of the pronunciation on some of them, but a j is usually a y sound.

  272. Here’s Egil Daven,Kai,Henrik, Erlend, Mikkel,Niklas, Oskar, Rune, Tor, Tove, Vilmar, All Scandinavian Names…lol

  273. Thorgrim 🙂
    its actually part of my last name which is Thorgrimsen, the “sen” in the name is for son which a lot of scandinavien surname ends in. An old name tradition here about. used to be that all children would be named after their parents, so for instant my name should be Heidisdatter, or Tomsdatter (daughter of Heidi or Tom). they still use this tradition on Iceland.

  277. Let me just pull out my family tree:
    Harkon Rasmussen
    Rasmus Hoeim
    Fritz Rasmussen
    Niel Fredrikdauther
    Widso Rasmussen
    Yüka Hoiem
    Thorston Fredrikdauter
    Charkh ( rhymes with shark)

  281. Kim – I grew up with a friend (male) whose parents were Swedish (father) and Finnish (mother). It was a fiery and passionately (lovingly) combative match. They named their son Kim – can also be short for a full name Joakin.

  282. Halfdan, Kresten, Thorbjoern, Thorkild, Ragnar, Mads, Karl, Gorm, Knud, Thorvald, Niels, Loke, Svend…

  286. I like Kennet–means handsome. I named my son Kenneth, which is the Scots version.

    Einar–lone warrior; Einarssen would be an interesting last name. Gotta love Scandinavian naming traditions.

  288. Björn, Balder. Frej, Sören, Leif, Lars, Torsten, Ewald, Nils, Gunnar, Erik, Torvald, Anselm, Ansgard, Lage and Hilding

    My favorit is Ansgars. Hi from sweden

  289. Erik, Arvid, Björn, Börje, Esben, Gerald, Gert, Sven, Lars, Esbjörn Snorre, Sten, Karl, Oddvin, Trygve, Torbjörn, Torsten, Gunde, Eskild, Ture, Fred, Rune, Åke, Brage, Birk, Alve/Alvar, Vidar, Dag, Per, Ola, Sune, Asbjörn (we really like variations of björn(bear)), Birger, Bo, Dag, Danne, Folke, Kaj, Kalle, Knut, Nils, Njord, Dan, Love

    Mostly swedish names

  290. I didn’t see an Olaf or Yan (sound like Jan but with Y sound). My grandfather was Clarence, or my dad’s middle name was Arden.

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