300+ Viking Names

Ada, yes. Ida, maybe. But Oda, a Scandinavian version of Odelia, not really. To English speakers, it sounds too much like "odor".

Signy — also spelled Signe — would make another distinctively offbeat alternative to Sydney. Signy appears in Norse mythology as the twin sister of Sigmund.

Freyr is the Norse god of fertility, sunlight, and peace. He features prominently in the Icelandic mythology collections the Poetic Edda and the Prose Edda, and is considered an ancestor of the Swedish royal family.

A masculine name in Choctaw culture. In English, it resembles the feminine name Hallie.

Lasse is a Top 100 name in Germany and is well used throughout Scandinavia and The Netherlands, but English speakers will have problems with the pronunciation, which is LAH-say. Neither lass nor Lassie would be acceptable manglings.

A cute but rare feminine variation of the Norse thunder god (and Marvel superhero) name Thor.

Sunna was a mythological goddess of the sun. As a mythology name that easily translated into English yet is unique and uplifting, Sunna feels like an all-around winner.

A common Scandinavian name, but hard to imagine being used elsewhere.

Björn is a pervasive Swedish name that can be found on popularity charts throughout Northern Europe and now in the US as well. There are too many renowned Björns (and Bjørns and Bjorns) to list them all here, but an early bearer is Björn Ironside, Viking chief and king of Sweden. Modern associations include tennis great Björn Borg, who helped popularize his name in the 1970s, and Björn Ulvaeus, one-quarter of the Swedish band ABBA.

If you're looking for a Euro-chic alternative to Max, Mats is a strong possibility. It's a fading classic in Norway, but is popular in the Netherlands and Belgium, where short names are the height of style.

Short form of Alfred that had fallen out of favor, but could come back alongside Alfie and other clunky old-style nicknames like Gus and Ike.

This intriguing Scandinavian name is associated with Roald Dahl, author of the juvenile classics James and the Giant Peach and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. You can honor an ancestral Ronald just by dropping that middle 'n'.

Difficult name familiar here mainly via D. H. Lawrence's Women in Love.

An attractive Nordic name most common in Iceland. It was derived from the Old Norse elements bryn, meaning "armor," and her, "warrior" or "army."

Nanna is a name from Norse mythology that is among the Top 30 names in contemporary Denmark. Popular in Norway in the 19th century, Nanna may also be considered a short form of a range of names, from Anna to Johanna to Marianne. As widespread as it is in Scandinavia, though, it's hard to imagine Nanna making a mark as a girl's name in modern day America, given its use as a name for grandmothers.

Unless you're Nordic, probably best to stick with Michael if you want to avoid a life of confusion and misspelling.

Kåre was a common name in Norway in the early 20th century — today it's associated with the grandfather generation.

Norse god who's the son of light plus historic diplomat Dag Hammarskjöld and author Dag Solstad combine to boost this Nordic name's appeal, but this could be difficult in English-speaking countries where the obvious tease will be "daggy Dag."