Most Old Norse names are compounds created by adding two words together, usually words associated with weapons, war, gods, or predatory animals. Some words are more common as the first element of a name (prefixes), while others are more common as the second element of a name (suffixes). Suffixes are specifically male or female, while the same prefixes can be used with either.
Prefixes and suffixes can be mixed and matched almost any way, so you can make e.g.
Sigmund (victory-hand, a man's name) and Sigrún (victory-rune, a woman's name), etc., using the same prefix but different suffixes.
Common Prefixes:
Arn-, eagle
Ás-, god
Bryn-, armor
Ein-, one/alone
Guð- (Guth-), god
Gunn-, battle
Har-, army
Hrafn-, raven
Hroð- (Hroth-), fame
Ragn-, god
Sig(r)-, victory
Víg-, battle
Þór- (Thor-),
Thor
Common Suffixes in
Men's
Names:
-ar(r)*, warrior
-björn, bear
-geir(r)*, spear
-mund(r)*, hand
-ólf(r)*, wolf
-stein(n)*, stone
-(v)ald(r), power
*Names with an (-r) following have an -r in the nominative form, which may be in addition to an -r at the end of the name itself. Names with an (-n) following have an extra -n in the nominative form instead of an -r.
Common Suffixes in
Women's Names:
-björg, help
-dís, goddess
-gunn(r)*, battle
-heið(r)* (-heith), bright
-hild(r)*, battle
-ríð(r)* (-rith), beautiful
-rún, rune
-unn, love
*Names with an (-r) following have an -r in the nominative form.
Old Norse
Lesson 1 (
General Intro.):
http://youtu.be/yfWoqIryYa8
Old Norse
Lesson 2 (Pronunciation): http://youtu.be/4rajv8BSzRI
Old Norse Lesson 3 (
Nouns): http://youtu.be/mxzw2kUbC_I
Old Norse Lesson 4 (Names): http://youtu.be/JmZBwcBgZhU
Old Norse Lesson 5 (The Verb "
To Be"): http://youtu.be/Tc1e2s5tN4Y
Old Norse Lesson 6 (
Verbs,
Part One): http://youtu.be/SushZdCFMVs
Old Norse Lesson 7 (Verbs,
Part Two): https://youtu.be/s8HlkKeq5Yk
Old Norse Lesson 8 (I-Mutation): https://youtu.be/UjiV0dc_cn4
Old Norse Lesson 9 (Verbs, Part Three): https://youtu.be/zJKtWRWXcXA
Old Norse Lesson 10 (Verbs, Part Four): https://youtu.be/AXYen51D8U4
Old Norse Lesson 11 (I-Mutation, Part Two &
Family Nouns): https://youtu.be/PaJlkFGQoQ8
Old Norse Lesson 12 (Adjectives, Part One): https://youtu.be/8xu6CNU67ps
Old Norse Lesson 13 (
Weak Nouns): https://youtu.be/1L-0cWYgozA
Dr.
Jackson Crawford is an experienced teacher of Old Norse and
Modern Icelandic. He is currently an instructor at the
University of California, Berkeley, and taught for several years before that at
UCLA.
Dr. Crawford's new, contemporary translation of the
Poetic Edda—the most important source for the stories of the
Norse gods and heroes—is available at http://www.amazon.com/Poetic-Edda-Sto
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- published: 05 Apr 2016
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