Names That Mean Battle

From the land that brought us Viggo, we now have Villads. Not as punchy as the romantic sounding Viggo, but infinitely better than the name it derives from: Willehadus.

Form of Swanhild

Diminutive of the Czech name Vojtech, a cognate of Polish Wojciech.

Creative surname choice, associated with the great French postimpressionist Edouard Villard.

Popular in its native country, also used in Serbia and Macedonia as Borko.

Variant of Marisa

An elaboration of Marisa, a combination of Maria and Louisa. The meaning of Maria is uncertain, but theories include "drop of the sea" (from Hebrew roots mar "drop" and yam "sea"); "bitter" (from Hebrew marah "bitterness"); and "beloved" (from the Egyptian root mr).

Short form of Harvey, variation of Harve.

A halfway house between full-on Anglo-Saxon Eoforhild, and the modern-day version Averil. Everild makes for an interesting blend of medieval with the on-trend "Ever" sound.

This popular old Swedish name is not one that would appeal to many modern American parents, though shortening it to Nilla helps.

Kasey was a modestly popular choice among Millennial babies, particularly girls.

One of the rare English surname names originally derived from a female given name: Eoforhild (Everild), meaning "boar battle". Also spelled Averill, it's an extremely rare choice today, but shares sounds with fashionable Ava and Avery.

A popular Scandinavian name which ranked consistently in Norway's Top 100 in the middle of the 20th century. The Danish version of the Oscars are named the Bodil Awards, after two famous Danish actresses Bodil Ipsen and Bodil Kjer.

This variation removes the d from the original spelling, making it even rarer. Clotilde may not see much usage in the US, but it is currently Number 431 in France.

Variant of Cadoc, a Welsh saint's name.

Wybert is a medieval variation of the Old English name Wigberht, from the components wig, meaning "battle," and beorht, "bright."

An ancient Welsh name belonging to an early modern king and saint, among others. The Irish cognate, Cathal, is more widely known.

At the very least, shorten it to Hilda.

Derived from the Germanic element badu "battle" combined with Old Norse hildr "battle", this name belonged to a 7th-century English saint who became queen of the Franks after being sold to them as a slave.

Hawise is a medieval name that started with Hadewidis. In France, Hadewidis evolved into Haueis, which then became Hawise when the Normans brought the name to England. Hawise and Hawis were also somewhat common in 19th-century Wales.