Swanhild

Saxon

"battle swan"

Swanhild Origin and Meaning

The name Swanhild is a girl's name of Saxon origin meaning "battle swan".

An ancient name belonging to "the most beautiful of all women" in Germanic mythology, whose tragic story features in many northern European legends. The daughter of Sigurd and Gudrun, her jealous husband had her murdered after she was accused of infidelity, and was then himself killed by Swanhild's brothers.

On a less heavy note, the name also features repeatedly in German, Austrian and Scandinavian royal lines. And it appears in several works of art and literature as well, including the ballet Coppélia, Henrik Ibsen's play Love's Comedy, and the opera Hulda.

Swanhild feels rather unwieldy for a modern girl, but potential short form Swan feels right on trend.

20 Names Similar to Swanhild

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Swanhild.

• Basilia
• Appoline
• Hortensia
• Undine
• Tzipporah
• Scheherazade
• Ursuline
• Rosalba
• Belphoebe
• Persis
• Pelagia
• Mélisande
• Sheherazade
• Iphigenia
• Merope
• Myfanwy
• Philomela
• Eglantine
• Apollinaire
• Xanthippe

Famous People Named Swanhild

• Swanahild of Bavaria (8th century AD) second wife of the Frankish ruler Charles Martel

The name Swanhild in Pop Culture

• Svanhildr the beautiful daughter of Sigurd and Gudrun in northern European legend
• Swanhild character in Henrik Ibsen's "Love's Comedy" (1862)
• Swanhild sorceress in H. Rider Haggard's "Eric Brighteyes" (1890)
• Swanhild Eriksson character in S. M. Stirling's Emberverse series