Odinist names for children

[Katia]

Well with all these new babies popping into our lives these days it seems, I thought I would start a thread about childrens names for Odinists. It would be nice to have a collection of names available as a glossary of sorts for expecting/new/hopeful parents. If you would, please share your child's name, or any names you are considering for future children, and the Odinic meaning of this name.
My daughter's name is Madison, and the meaning is as follows: A matronymic surname originally meaning "son of Maud." The given name Maud is a German short form of Matilda - which means "strength in battle" from the Germanic element maht meaning "might, strength" and hild meaning "battle."

[battleax]

Jurgen - German - Farmer

[aud_friggsdottir]

Hail Katia!

Great thread!!

Astrid; Norse: Divine strength in our baby name book, but the net says "fair, beautiful God" Oriana ; Celtic: Golden


Thora ; Norse: Dedicated to Thor Lorelei Norse: Destructive Force

Erika; Norse: Ever Powerful Dacey Gaelic: Southerner (although the baby name book said something else...but we can't remember...lol)

Gunnar Norse: Bold/Famous Warrior Lang Norse: Tall Man

Hakon Norse: of the High or Exalted Race or White God Tyr Obvious :)

Freydis Norse: Noblewoman Else Danish: Noble Holyoak English: someone who lived near an oak tree with religious associations.

Most of these names say Norse, but often say Germanic, Norse, and Old English...gee I wonder why :)

FFF
Kathy

[Der Einzelgänger]

Friedrich
Old Germanic name meaning "ruling in peace"

William
Old Germanic name meaning "determined protector"

Liam
Irish variant of William

[texas heathen]

Aidan- Firey one ? Celtic (Irish)
Cara- Friend Celtic (Irish) Dear Italion
Caitriona- Scottish for Cathy sorry don't know all the roots of it .
FFF
Clif AOR

[Lee]

Good timing Katia! As my wife and I have recently found out that we're having a baby this thread could be most useful!

Favourite for a boy at the moment is Eric, from the Old Norse name Eiríkr, derived from ei "ever" and ríkr "ruler".

Still thinking about a girls name.

[Hengest]

I have:

Hakon: From an exalted race

Odin: Ummmm.......

Taran: Celt equivalent of Thor

[æinvargR]

Varg (ON vargr)

That's what I would like to name a son if I ever have one. It means wolf these days, but originally meant something like thief or beast. But people called the wolf that (instead of it's real name ulf/ulv) so that the wolf wouldn't think someone was calling for it and thus come to your yard and kill your animals (speak of the devil and he'll appear, or in Swedish - speak of the trolls and they'll be standing in your door).

The wolf's orginal name Ulf is a quite common name for people. But today it's mostly 40+ year olds who bear it. Varg is unusual.

[Norsk Blod]

I have always thought that Freja is a wonderful sounding name for a daughter
(and taking a que from black metal.. :p ) I have always liked the way Samoth, and Silenoz sounds as names too. does anyone know where they come from and their meanings?

[texas heathen]

Here are a few I like,

Bestandan- Stands Beside
Durwin/Durwyn- Dear Friend
Rand- Shield
Rowe- Red haired
Cadman- Warrior
Dreng-Warrior
Farmon- Travler

Those are all of Anglo Saxon roots I think been awhile since I looked them up, was actually looking for something for myself :o that was not too pretentious (sp).
FFF
Clif AOR

[aud_friggsdottir]

The OR has an Old English name book....beautiful names....I will find and maybe post some good ones :)....specially since some folks are having babies :D!

WH :) Great minds think alike :p

[Tyr's Hand]

This site has a few Old english names

http://www.ealdriht.org/names/Englishnames.htm

[Liffrea]

There are still quite a few Old English names hanging around:

Edward
Edmund
Edgar
Alfred
Harold

I like Derek the Destroyer. :D

[Scramaseax]

I quite like Hereward after Hereward the Wake. I'd like any children I have to have a name that was unusual enough (compared to "normal" names these days) that people ask where it's was from and what it means, so they can say "it's Anglo-Saxon" etc. The name would either be Old English, Old Norse or Scottish Gaelic. Ealdriht.org also has Old Norse names (http://www.ealdriht.org/names/Norsenames.htm).

[Zelda]

Our son is named Tor.

[Asbrandsson OR]

Hello,

Mel and me are soon to have a son - Oct 23rd is the due date. Now we are trying to figure out a good name for him, but it is pretty hard. Any help would be appreciated.

Asbrandsson OR

[battleax]

I was going to name my son Thorin but my wife axed it. Also way to go with the future son.

Thorin Battleax Becker lol

jk with the battleax. Thats name would be more fitting for my wife

[Wolf_of_Victory]

It's funny, I have two friends one called Haakon and the other called Astrid.

I've always liked taking old Nordic prefixes and suffixes and combining them to create a unique name, though I usually find out later that it's indeed a real name, just not as common as Bjorn or Haakon. I've always been a fan of the names Magnus, Erik, Leif, Bjorn, Gunnar, Sigurd, and a few others.

[sonofodin_3/75]

We named our daughter "Ashlyn". I had never heard that name prior to naming her. The name came to me one day out of the blue and with that the die was cast.

Something we have done in our family for several generations is this: if you have a son then his middle name will be his fathers first name and for a daughter her middle name will be her mothers first name.

"O wise man, do not grieve. Better for every man to avenge his friend rather than lament for him overmuch. Each of us endure the ending of life in this world. Let those who can therefore achieve glory before the coming of death. That is the finest lot for the warrior when life is over." -Beowulf

[Teufelhunden]

a bit off topic but I always wanted to name a cat Blood bucket, hmmm maybe if I have a son ....... ok I went too far lol.. :D

[Liffrea]

It was traditional amongst the Anglo-Saxons to name a child after a departed relative. In that way their spirit would return in them. My mother died when I was young. Her name was Joy. My brother gave his daughter's middle name as Joy. So I like to believe that my mothers spirit lives on in her. A bit soppy I know.

[Teufelhunden]

WE did that with out daughter,
my wifes great grandma was Julia Rose , so we named her after this lady :)

[Asbrandsson OR]

Hello,

Mel's father is named Antol Barath, he is Hungarian. So we gave Corbin Antol for a middle name. Now for his brother there is no male name that comes from a relitive that stands out or that I like. So he will probably get a middle name that is new. I would like to call him Aden or Hayden for a first name and I am not sure what a good middle name will be, but Mel does not like either one so I think that it is still at the drawing board stage.

Asbrandsson OR

[ensonulv]

If I were a celebrty I'd name my kids "blanket & Apple" :lol:

[Asbrandsson OR]

Hello,

It is now a couple of days before Mel's due date and I think that we finally have a name, it will be Drake Barath.

Asbrandsson OR

[Somerled]

When I do have children a boy would be named Somerled (Summer Wanderer/Viking) after his father (me obviously) or Walter (ruler of the army), after my father. A girl I think Freyja. I'm sure my future wife will have her own ideas.

Here's a site that may be on some help to expecting parents.

Behind the Name (http://behindthename.com/usage.php)

[Berserker]

Is it ok to name your child after one of the gods? Is it not seen as disrespectful?
I only ask because it was suggested on another site that that may be the case.
I hope this is not the case, as I have named my youngest daughter Freya, not because I think she is a God reincarnate, but out of respect, and that maybe she will take on some of Freya's trates.

[pinlighter]

I have seen many Odinists do it :)

[Asrekyr OR]

We have used both for first and middle names of our children. We have a daughter named Thora,which means dedicated to Thor. We also have a son with his middle name being Tyr. I look at it as being a sort of offering. Our other childrens names are all old Norse/Odinic names. The problem with children being named after relatives is the perpetuation of biblical names like Matthew,David ,Samuel ect. If we are truly part of a re-awakening we should embrace it on all levels and make changes where possible. Its not disrespect to loved ones with these biblical names, after are they are still our loved ones and our folk, it is however very symbolic to our faith.

FFF

[Yippy]

If it's not okay then half of scandinavia is in trouble.

I named my youngest son Ian Thor. Ian is the irish version of John, I'm not irish but my wife likes the name, so it stuck. I was so surprised she didn't laugh when I suggested Thor that I didn't want to take any chances looking for a derivative :)

I've heard that some germanic tribes thought it was pretentious and dangerous to give a gods name to your child. I suppose it depends on your ancestry. Personally I felt like Thor took it as the honor was intended.

[æinvargR]

Is it ok to name your child after one of the gods?It wasn't okay in Scandinavia, and I'd think the same went for other Germanic lands. A child was never given just a god's name, it was only used together with another name as in Þórbiǫrn. It may be okay for "christian atheists" to use names of old gods because to them they aren't gods, but no one names their child God, right? I think it looks weird and disrespectful with children named after gods.

[Yippy]

I assume you have some evidence that it wasn't okay, I'd be interested in that. I read somewhere about it being frowned upon in germany, but that was a second-hand source so I wouldn't trust it. Obviously I'm looking at 500+ years after heathenry had been subdued, but the history of names in scandinavia doesn't seem to support the idea that it was frowned upon to me, at least in terms of the number of people named, for example, "Thor".

[æinvargR]

I assume you have some evidence that it wasn't okay, I'd be interested in that.Well, try to find a human named Þórr, Óðinn, Freyr &c in the sagas or on runestones. I've also read on a Swedish website with names and their meanings that in heathen times no one got just the name of Þórr, only together with other names, as I wrote in the earlier post.


the history of names in scandinavia doesn't seem to support the idea that it was frowned upon to me, at least in terms of the number of people named, for example, "Thor".According to the same website, people began naming their children Tor at the end of the 18th century and the name gained popularity during the romanticism of the 19th century. Not an unbroken name tradition; they looked in nationalistic spirit into the history of the people and picked up the name of a former god. Torbjörn (Þórbiǫrn) has an unbroken chain of tradition however (according to that website)—cool that it survived conversion and everything. I don't know about other put-together-names.

[pinlighter]

Any more suggestions for girls' names? A friend wants a nice "Norse or Celtic" name for her coming baby girl. :)

[Yippy]

Brynhild :)

[Fenris]

Celtic Female: Avalon, Deidre, Sheila, Brigantia, Brighid, Rhiannon (I personally love this name),

Norse Female: Astridr, Bergdis, Friða, Guthrun, Heidrun, Sigrid, Sigrun, Thora, Tyra, Vigdis

[Fenris]

I find this site in particular to have a pretty good selection, it has a stupid amount of popups and ads all over it though unfortunately. If necessary I could yank the source for the relevant pages and slap them up on a site somewhere?

http://www.20000-names.com

I would have edited this into my prior post but the 15 minute time limit expired. :D

[pinlighter]

Thanx friends :)

[Thrungva]

My daughter's name is Valkyrie Bryn- I think we all know what a Valkyrie is; Bryn short for Brynhild. Gods i love her name. heehee.

[Thrungva]

Hit the button before i did my son's name.

His name is Ian Stuart Gregory. Not quite Odinic, but i still like the first and first middle name.

Ian Stuart because he was named after this guy that sings in this band. haha.
Gregory is my father's name. My ex was trying to get on my father's good side, i think, by adding his name as one of the middle names. Did not work. Gregory is Latin and means vigilant watch. Scottish and Latin, hmmm what was he thinking?

[XxPinoxX]

Hail Katia!

Great thread!!

Astrid; Norse: Divine strength in our baby name book, but the net says "fair, beautiful God" Oriana ; Celtic: Golden


Thora ; Norse: Dedicated to Thor Lorelei Norse: Destructive Force

Erika; Norse: Ever Powerful Dacey Gaelic: Southerner (although the baby name book said something else...but we can't remember...lol)

Gunnar Norse: Bold/Famous Warrior Lang Norse: Tall Man

Hakon Norse: of the High or Exalted Race or White God Tyr Obvious :)

Freydis Norse: Noblewoman Else Danish: Noble Holyoak English: someone who lived near an oak tree with religious associations.

Most of these names say Norse, but often say Germanic, Norse, and Old English...gee I wonder why :)

FFF
Kathy

Aww this is a lovely thread :), I especially like the name Oriana, If I ever have a daughter I may just name her that :yes:

[Osmaegen]

This site has a few Old english names

http://www.ealdriht.org/names/Englishnames.htm

There are also Old Norse ones:

http://www.ealdriht.org/names/Norsenames.htm

[XxPinoxX]

There are also Old Norse ones:

http://www.ealdriht.org/names/Norsenames.htm

there are some nice names on that list, and some that are incredibly tricky to say :D

[Johnny]

My boys are Blake (Old norse Dark one) and Haydn ( Anglo saxon Hedged valley)

[Galloglaich]

Gwyneth Aislinn (Welsh/Gaelic): White wave (or white browed)/ Vision or Dream

Aleister Liam (Gaelic): Defender, Conqueror/ Determined guardian

Aonghus Ruairidh (Gaelic): Exceptional, outstanding/ Red King

These are just basic etymological meanings, many of these names are also connected with mythological/legendary figures that help add connotative meaning to a name. Also, in my family the middle name is traditionally the name we call each other, therefore we do the same with my children.

On another note, it is interesting to see how each of my children embodies the meaning of their name to some degree. My beautiful 11 year old daughter, Aislinn, lives her life as if she is from some otherworldly vision or dream. The essence of my son Liam has indeed played a role in safeguarding the traditions of my family (too long to explain). My youngest, Ruairidh, is the ruddiest little bugger that I ever saw (& he certainly thinks he's the king).

[Nikolai]

Well, it may not be my real name, but my authentic re-enactment name is Wulfgar, i think its Anglo Saxon for Wolf Spear, just in case it takes the fancy of any parents-to-be.

[XxPinoxX]

Well, it may not be my real name, but my authentic re-enactment name is Wulfgar, i think its Anglo Saxon for Wolf Spear, just in case it takes the fancy of any parents-to-be.

But imagine the stick the poor child would recieve at school :p

[Zwarte Hagal]

So, I am new here ..... but we (Werkgroep Hagal) maintain a list with Germanic names .... http://www.hagal.be/zinnige_voornamen.htm

The list is still growing!

(Zinnige Voornamen = Names that make sence)

[SKINGIRL-NS]

Hello referring to the names because my husband is called ERNUST and my daughter is called BLANCA is in Spanish (WHITE in English Bianca is in Italian), and my cat named FRIGGA woman Odin and mother of Balder.:)

[MoonKnight]

Hit the button before i did my son's name.

His name is Ian Stuart Gregory. Not quite Odinic, but i still like the first and first middle name.

Ian Stuart because he was named after this guy that sings in this band. haha.
Gregory is my father's name. My ex was trying to get on my father's good side, i think, by adding his name as one of the middle names. Did not work. Gregory is Latin and means vigilant watch. Scottish and Latin, hmmm what was he thinking?Great last name aswell.

[Bilskirnir]

me and my fiancee are working on starting a family... we've got a few names picked out... but the one i want to share now is the name we have chosen for our first born son... his name will be Tristan Eirík...
Tristan is of celtic/pictish origin, and it is derived from the brythonic name Drust or Drustanus, but however the modern form possibly comes from the french word "triste" meaning sad or sorrowful... but im my case we didn't pick the name for its meaning, we picked the name for its heroic meaningness in the arthurian tales. Tristan was one of Arthurs knights.

and Eirík... posted earlier, i see.. means Eternal Ruler...

i myself will be leagally changing my name to Ásbjørn.... this comes from two old norse words... Áss or Oss meaning Gods, and Bjørn meaning Bear... so literally "Bear of the Gods" or "the Gods Bear"..... now i have am chosing to do as the icelanders do and make my childrens surnames, patronymic surnames... so my son(s) will be Ásbjørnsson and my daughter(s) Ásbjørnsdóttir ...or however it may be spelled... Ásbjörn, Ásbjørn, Ásbirni, Ásbjarnar, etc. whatever... I am however deciding to keep my families Clan/Sect Surname, which in Dunne... Irish of origin, mean Brown, in gaelic, but was also used as the word "outsider or foreign" it was used to describe the viking raiders, and earlier saxon pirates

[ullrs_echo]

I have been wondering how or if Nick and I could change our last name to something else when we get married.... Nick is adopted and it's just not right for the male to take the female's name. He is Irish on both sides of his biological family but they are not note-worthy and carrying on an adopted name seems like an imposter. So why not come up with our own? Can that be done?

[Bilskirnir]

You can do it at the courthouse, i believe. it should be that way for all states. its just like changing your first name legally. ask for the documents, fill them out and wait.

[ullrs_echo]

hmmm... now to come up with a name... :D

[Bilskirnir]

Ive seen most folks chose the name of their "most patron" god or goddess, or a varient of their name, or something that that god or goddess was called..

like me... i think... i think when i do change my name the full name will be Ásbjørn Hrafntýr Þórmarsson

meaning.....
Ásbjørn -- Bear of the Gods /or/ the Gods' bear
Hrafntýr -- Raven-God (Odin) /or/ Týr's Raven
Þórmarsson -- Famous-Thorr's son /or/ the son of Famous Thorr

Ás - the Gods aka. the Æsir
bjørn - bear
Hrafn - raven
týr -the god Tyr or use it in its archaic form, derived from anicent german "tiuz" meaning God
Þór - Thorr
mar - from the old norse "MariR" meaning Famous

Ásbjørn Hrafntýr Þórmarsson
so to look at it... this puts all 3 of my patron gods into my name

[ullrs_echo]

Ive seen most folks chose the name of their "most patron" god or goddess, or a varient of their name, or something that that god or goddess was called..

like me... i think... i think when i do change my name the full name will be Ásbjørn Hrafntýr Þórmarsson

meaning.....
Ásbjørn -- Bear of the Gods /or/ the Gods' bear
Hrafntýr -- Raven-God (Odin) /or/ Týr's Raven
Þórmarsson -- Famous-Thorr's son /or/ the son of Famous Thorr

Ás - the Gods aka. the Æsir
bjørn - bear
Hrafn - raven
týr -the god Tyr or use it in its archaic form, derived from anicent german "tiuz" meaning God
Þór - Thorr
mar - from the old norse "MariR" meaning Famous

Ásbjørn Hrafntýr Þórmarsson
so to look at it... this puts all 3 of my patron gods into my name

You have really thought this out. Intresting. I will have to do some studing up on lanuages and meanings more...

[Archer]

Names like first-middle-last are recent inventions anyhow. You can have a name or five names, it's all the same.

I have read that many (like Cooper, Hooper, Carpenter, Plumber, Smith, Chandler, Fisher, etc.) were just a person's trade. Other names were for paternity, like the Russian -ov, -off or -ova or "son" and the end of a Scandinavian name.

One more thing, I think it is most traditional to have a name bestowed rather than taken.

I have an adopted brother who's original first name is now his middle name (he never had a last name, as an orphan). My family claimed and named him so he has our mark on him now. I will be honest and say that I have never treated him exactly as my natural siblings, but I still expect that he will honor our name since we raised him and gave him a home. But his only true name is the one his birth-mother bestowed on him before dying.

[ullrs_echo]

I don't know we might take it I just feel like an imposter or something.... a fake really.

[RampantLion]

You can legally change your name to almost anything, I've seen people on the news who have had their names changed to domain names. Honestly, a name is only a name and Nick shouldn't be ashamed of an adopted parent's name. A last name is a great legacy to carry on, but it's also nothing to be embarrassed about.

[ullrs_echo]

Nick's not ashamed for say he just feels like he doesn't fit in... I don't know though lately he's had a change of heart towards his family though. I think he's a woman sometimes ha ha ha

[Scott]

I myself will be leagally changing my name to Ásbjørn.... this comes from two old norse words... Áss or Oss meaning Gods, and Bjørn meaning Bear... so literally "Bear of the Gods" or "the Gods Bear"..... now i have am chosing to do as the icelanders do and make my childrens surnames, patronymic surnames... so my son(s) will be Ásbjørnsson and my daughter(s) Ásbjørnsdóttir ...or however it may be spelled... Ásbjörn, Ásbjørn, Ásbirni, Ásbjarnar, etc. whatever... I am however deciding to keep my families Clan/Sect Surname, which in Dunne... Irish of origin, mean Brown, in gaelic, but was also used as the word "outsider or foreign" it was used to describe the viking raiders, and earlier saxon piratesIt is good to see that I am not the only one whom has seriously considered this type of thing and made the decision to go through it! Nate you were right what you posted on my Myspace LOL we do have a lot in common! It's good to see your hear brother! Hail!

[cat452]

My son's name is Kriegan, taken from both ON and German...
German, obviously, Krieg= war, destructive power.
ON, Regn= Power of the Gods.

It can be taken to mean 'power of Ragnarok' or 'destructive power of the Gods', depending on the personal interpretation. :cool:

[SirThorgil]

Bravo. Just wish I had of seen this before my wife and I chose a name for our boy. Now that we have been using it it just seems weird not to call him Payton. But since my wife isn't heathen but wiccan I doubt I will get much say in the matter (gotta keep the peace right?) But payton will have a heathen name just as I do. So Ill look through here and see what I like.