300+ Viking Names

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."

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 Norse goddess who was one of the nine mothers of Heimdall. Atli, the masculine form, is related to the popular Hungarian name Attila.

This strong Norwegian name war goddess name, commonly heard in both midcentury Norway and Iceland, has never ventured far beyond its native culture.

Old Norse name that lives on more appealingly in modern times as Jalmari, short form Jari.

Once a short form of names containing this syllable, it is now used on its own, though we'd prefer Sven.

The exact meaning of Yrsa has been lost to history, but theorists have come up with two possible explanations. The first, more likely option, is that Yrsa is a younger variant of the name Ýrr, meaning "mad" or "furious" or "wild". The other theory is based on Yrsa's similarities to Ursa, Latin for "bear", and suggests Yrsa comes from an Old Norse word that means "she-bear".

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.

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'.

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.

Like Papa name Rudolf, Rolf never quite emigrated from the Bavarian Alps. You might want to move on to Rollo or Wolf.

More familiar in its K forms, where it's associated with football legend Knute Rockne, Canute has a tough, macho image.

Orm was a common name in the Viking Age, when children were often given names of animals. Animal names were thought to provide protection to those who had them.

Sif, or sometimes Siv, was the name of Thor's wife and is popular in modern Scandinavia. In Norse mythology, Sif was the goddess of fertility and agriculture.

Mythological goddess of fertility whose name seems, ironically, among the least attractive.

A striking Nordic name with ancient roots, Svala (and its less common variant form Svale) derive from the Old Norse name for the swallow. This could be a great choice for nature lovers and fans of Edith Piaf (piaf being a term for a swallow).