If you are really interested in how last names are formed properly, e.g. in when to use -s or -ar or -a or -u as the genitive/possessive form of the parent's name, I recommend checking out my video on nouns: kzread.info/dash/bejne/f3p9w8OAdK6YoMo.html or see this old video for a summary of the genitive forms of different types of names: kzread.info/dash/bejne/ZnZm1diDn7m2aaQ.html As I post this in May 2018, I'm still getting many questions about God of War IV. I spoke to the press about the way Norse mythology is used in the game here: www.videogamer.com/features/how-to-put-a-god-in-a-game-a-deep-dive-with-the-experts-into-god-of-wars-antagonist and here: variety.com/2018/gaming/features/god-of-war-norse-mythology-1202823019/

@northstarvikings5360

6 жыл бұрын

I'd need to remember exactly how I spelled it, but I gave a friend who is a re-enactor the nickname of Ökklabítr since she is only about 4'10". It isn't 100% correct, but it got a laugh from an Icelandic friend of mine.

@HW-es4dg

6 жыл бұрын

Could you pleace do a video about the Jamtamót? It was the only republican council called "mót". Thanks ahead Kent

@marklapolla2638

6 жыл бұрын

Important stuff.

@TheRealKiloSloth

5 жыл бұрын

i have been looking for male old norse names that begin with "M" but am having a reeeally hard time finding anything. is it just not a common letter used? besides mjolnir, muninn, modi and magni i dont think ive ever even seen any norse word beginning with "M"! have any suggestions or input? appreciate any help!

@iddet8867

4 жыл бұрын

I have never heard this name before, but it obviously means someone who bites ankles. This is the beauty of the Icelandic language, it is still close enough to its roots that most often we understand the true meanings of our words.

It's worth mentioning that these names are still in use, my brother is named Ulf Bertil and I'm Mats Ingvar.

@northmanjourneys

3 жыл бұрын

What does mats mean in old Norse ? My last name is Matson so it derives from it

@matsnordstrom8584

3 жыл бұрын

@@northmanjourneys Mats is not an old Norse name, it's Christian. It's a Swedish variant of Matthew. It's probably an Anglicism of the Swedish patronym Matsson or son of Mats

@northmanjourneys

3 жыл бұрын

@@matsnordstrom8584 My mother has Swedish on her side and father Norwegian so from what I can gather a ancestor given name was Mats like yours and the family started to use the patronymic Matson as a new hereditary last name, sometime around 1800-1900 or on emigration to America from Scandinavia. It can only trace back maybe 7 generations. Weird they all adopted that tradition of a frozen Patronymic beside Iceland where the names are still ending in son sson and dottir

@heddwyncloakoftimekeep7744

3 жыл бұрын

@@matsnordstrom8584 you lot have amazing names and a great history

I'm an Icelander and as Mr. Crawford said we still have this naming system. It has been a little problem for me in dealing with formal communication with foreigners to remember that it is proper to address them with their family names, rather than simply using their given names as we do here in Iceland. As an example, our president's name is Guðni Th. Jóhannesson and I would address him as herra (herra meaning Mister) Guðni, instead of herra Jóhannesson. Actually, we never use herra (mr.) unless we are addressing someone with a higher stature, like a president or a bishop. Here in Iceland it is very resent that we use our mother's name as our parental second name. Many do because they honor their mothers more than their fathers, and change their names to a maternal second name. Also it is getting more common that children are raised solely by their mothers. Traditionally all Icelanders are given their father's name as a second name. Some Icelanders have family names, and this is getting more common. I suspect that in the future we will slowly abandon this old naming system, especially because our nation is fast getting more international in origin. I hope this is informative. English is of course not my first language so I hope I will be forgiven.

Concerning norse naming traditions, I'd say the story of the Kuli rune stone is pretty impressive. In 1913 the small windswept island of Kuløy, Norway, was visited by archeologists from the museum in nearby Trondheim. The farm was marginal but was back in norse times an important stop on the route up the coast, and was home to a large stone with a cross inscribed on it. It was owned by Tore Kuløy, who had a brother Hallvard - boys in the Kuløy family had always been named Tore and Hallvard. The archeologists took the stone back with them to the museum where it was placed on the back lawn. Then, nothing happens until 1956, when a Dr. Liestøl, passing the stone as a low sun hits it, notices that it's not only inscribe with a cross, but with runes: Þórir and Hallvarðr raised this stone in memory of Ulfljótr(?) ... Christianity had been twelve winters in Norway ... Þórir and Hallvarðr became Tore and Hallvard, through a thousand years of unbroken tradition. There is still a Tore and a Hallvard on Kuløy.

@johanrunfeldt7174

2 жыл бұрын

Awsome!

I didn't even know I liked Old Norse anything, till I found your videos...

It makes me wish a lecture of old nordic nicknames. They were so discriptive of the caracter who wore them, that we imediatly get our fantasy hyped. Like Hårfager, Tveskæg, Hårderåde, Blåtand, Benløs, hin Spage and Grimsskallar - Skallergrimson. :) - Give us more!

Thanks very much, I am a British sailor in Norway and have fallen in love with the place. Language is a hurdle but you have helped a lot. Fair winds, Jerry.

Re: Gunnhildr/Hildigunnr Does that mean, theoretically, that a person living in that time/place could be named, effectively, Moon Moon?

@Wonky-Donkey

5 жыл бұрын

In Iceland there is the name Máni which means moon but I can't think of any that would translate to moon moon.

@valaaw8872

5 жыл бұрын

If they were named e.g. “Tunglmáni” (not a real Norse name but both words mean moon) then yes.

@livedandletdie

4 жыл бұрын

No, Gunnhildr and Hildigunnr is the only remaining example of this, unless you really twist the meanings of words, Steinnhallr or Hallsteinn, which is stone cliff and cliff stone respectively.

@SaszaDerRoyt

2 жыл бұрын

Damnit moon moon

@jpdalvi

2 жыл бұрын

I see...

Helgi is Oleg/Helga > Olga in slavic culture and means holy too :) cool video, as always, sir.

Ol’ Ragnar Shaggy-Britches.

I never understood why my professor of mediaeval germanic literature pronounced that name in the way he did, until I found Jackson on KZread! 😊

In last names of Spanish origin you’ll sometimes see the suffix “-ez” (eh-s/eh-th) this is of Germanic origin and means “son of”, an example my maternal lastname “Pérez” which means “son of peter” or “son of stone” the “Pér-“ part comes from vulgar latin “Petra” (stone=piedra in Spanish) which means stone and is related to the Latin name “Petrus” which means Peter.

@cheekybastard7798

5 жыл бұрын

Diego P. So howcome good old Jimmy Perez got a Spanish name if he grew up on Fair Isle?

@weepingscorpion8739

5 жыл бұрын

That's something that I've thought about myself but I'm guessing Jimmy had a distant Spanish ancestor. Which is not impossible. Oh, and if you like crime fiction, check out Chris Ould's books. Faroese-British detective as a main character. :)

@dershogun6396

4 жыл бұрын

this is because the Visigoths once ruled over the eastern part of iberia.

@jpdalvi

2 жыл бұрын

Had no idea about that. In Portuguese that ez turns into an es. Like Peres in.that case.

My mom worked with a woman from Iceland whose patronym was Thorsdottir, while the brothers all used Thorsson. I guess their parents brought them to the US as children, but they retained their patronyms.

My grandfather, Herman (Norwegian) almost named my mom Sigrid, but my grandmother changed it last minute to Andrea (Greek Name). Norwegians should stick to viking names. They're waay cooler.

@jacobandrews2663

6 жыл бұрын

Love your channel btw.

@jacobandrews2663

6 жыл бұрын

Hunter Sterling Andrea It's Greek, not Hebrew tho. Greeks are cool too I guess, But Vikings are waay cooler.

@ProjectThunderclaw

6 жыл бұрын

I'm Swedish, and to me a lot of these names just sound old-fashioned and lame. Sigrid isn't that bad, but if you named your child Torkel or Gudrun I'd wonder why you'd want them to sound like a dweeb or a grandma. It's similar to Dr. Jackson's example in his jun 2017 video on the subject; Oswald is in theory a cool name with a cool meaning ("divine power"), but in practice it just sounds dorky.

@jacobandrews2663

6 жыл бұрын

ProjectThunderclaw Yeah I guess, but then again, is more of a fashion matter, right? I mean, if everyone started to use old Norse names again then it would become the norm, and for foreign ears, names like 'Arnthor' would sound way more 'exotic' than an 'Anders' for instance.

@ProjectThunderclaw

6 жыл бұрын

Sure, it's pretty much all trends and personal taste/associations. But by the same token, if everyone and their dog was named Sigrid, you probably wouldn't think it was a very interesting name.

Jackson, MS crew checking in

My grandmother’s name was Judith Johnson, but her father’s last name was Johansen, they emigrated right before, during, or after WWII, so that must be the reason they changed it. Germans and people who seemed like Germans weren’t very welcomed in the U.S. in the 40s

@aadarshbalireddy2939

3 жыл бұрын

I think what's more likely is that the name was anglicized by the officials at Ellis Island/wherever else she emmigrated. It happened really often, with names like "Iowan" becoming "Jones". Most americans at the time would have had German ancestry and often even names, so I doubt the name alobe would have created that much of a stigma.

@workingmothercatlover6699

2 жыл бұрын

@@aadarshbalireddy2939 my husband has ancestors who came through Ellis Island. They were not very happy that their name got changed from McPhearson to Peterson. From how often he tried to correct people, I guess people didn't want to try to say it right.

Slightly annoyed you skipped the last male suffix, "-leifr"... wanted to hear you pronounce "Þorleifr", as my name is actually Torleif... 😕

I am from Sweden. My second name is Holger. Got it from my grandfather Holger. Its from the old norse name Holmgæirr. Its two words. Holm and gæirr. Holme means islet or single combat (holmgång). Gæirr means spear.

Lol, Jackson is a nice place in Colorado, but in Mississippi 😂. Nice video series, I’m enjoying it.

My surname had to have been a nickname of an ancestor. Köpke derived from Köpken, which is a Old Low German name meaning Little-Cup. 🤔

Thank you 😀

Very nice.

I hadn't given it much thought but 'Svan' indeed seems more common in women's names in Iceland. But once I saw this video it clicked in my head. OF COURSE 'svan' is more common in women's names! Swans are elegant, beautiful, but also quite aggressive birds. Of course a father would think: "Of course my little girl is a Svanhildur or a Svanfríður". Svanhildur = Swan battler = elegant beautiful aggressive battler. Svanfríður = Swan beautiful = elegant beautiful aggressive beautiful. It's a shame that the Old norse names are declining in popularity in Iceland and in the other Nordic countries (I think). People these days prefer giving their kids 'international' sounding names like Alexander or something. Why not give them both? My name is good example of this. My name is Jón Oddur Halldórsson. Jón comes from the christian Bible (English counterpart: John) but Oddur (refers to a weapon) is a Norse name. I got the best of both worlds!

@lanaharlow2515

6 жыл бұрын

‘Svan’ as a reference reminds me of the Kartvelian group of people who from the country of Georgia. I wonder if there is any link with Norse, or just coincidental.

Excellent.

One of your best videos. Congratulations

Your videos are very informative. Thank you.

Love your books and your videos. I always appreciate the time and effoet you put into giving us snippets of info. :)

Extremely helpful video Dr Crawford! Shared on the Midgard Musings Facebook page. Hail!

Thanks for the time guide. .....and those calling birds..... I can't get over how lovely they make the video!

Very informative. Thank you.

Excellent! Thank you Dr. Crawford! Loved hearing you reference the Old Norse of my name - Kjell. I appreciate that you take the time and effort to make these informative videos, and that you put them out there for us for free. Being of Scandinavian heritage I find your channel to be an excellent resource for educating myself on Scandinavian history. Thank you again!

Good stuff Maynard (Hippy Lexicon C20).

So many awesome sounding names- Valgeror sounds particularly bad ass- "Slain-embrace"!

My grandmother is named Valborg, which is kinda cool :P

@spruce117

5 жыл бұрын

That's cool!

Great video. It's interesting to find out what some of my Norwegian​ family names might mean.

It's interesting how dithematic names (from two roots) are often have the same elements in all Indo-European languages. E.g., Germanic Hl-/Hr- (fame) as in Hlodwig (Ludwig) or Hrólfr (Rollo) is a cognate with Greek -Cles, like in Themistocles or Cleopatra. As a matter of fact, in Slavic the same root would be -Slau, hence the element in my own name, Vladislav. 😅

I'm trying to build legitimate bynames for my characters in a novel, (obviously, all Vikings,) and it's really difficult building names which service the purposes I need them for without mucking up grammar - or the language, in general. These videos are a life-saver, but I still have a headache, haha!

14:20 You know, we sort of still do this in English. Sometimes when I'm in my mother's hometown (I didn't grow up there and visit infrequently so most people there don't know me) I say "I'm [my first name] [my (father's) last name], I'm [my mother's first name] [my mother's last name before she was married]'s son," because that name is well-known and carries some weight there (her father and grandfather were very well-known, well-liked, and well-connected there).

I so much admire and am grateful for your videos. Thank you from the heart for putting in the effort and for your motto: information, no agenda. In other words: authenticity, no bulls hit. Thanks, Mr. Crawford.

I like the idea of an intro

Old Norse names are so beautiful.

What happened to the 30 minute video that you had? With the white board and all the names and meanings, that one was amazing man!

This is so helpful as I am 13 generations deep in my Norwegian Ancestry tree. I was so confused about so many ... dotters each different in the same family. Very helpful !!

@lisashaw6740

4 жыл бұрын

Hey!!! I have been looking into my heritage for quite some time now. Isn't it neat how we can see who was who's father just by reading their lastname?! Dotter and Son tells you the gender! It's so interesting, I started to make a game of it before I clicked a new leaf I would guess their first name based on the current leaf I was on...EG... Olafsdotter, I would guess the name was Olaf! It is so interesting to find more info on where we are from!

The patronym system was abandoned here in Norway abt 90 years ago. We have old people here on the countryside that still uses their fathers name in addition to their fixed last names (usually the farm they lived on). My g grandfather was just known as T.O (Torje Olson) his entire life, and people still remember him as T.O :)

In this video you've addressed personal names, patronyms and descriptive bynames. Does Old Norse also have locative bynames?

in the Slavic languages the Norse Helga and Helgi would go on to become the slavic names oleg and Olga if anyone was curious about where they came from those two names Olga and oleg.

I discovered your channel today and I love it! Really interesting and I can learn a lot of things I have 2 questions concerning this topic, if anybody would be able to help me - I am creating a roleplay in which my character supposedly speaks Old Norse. His name is Fálki, his father's name is Bwulf (he was created in another story with less attention to names). My questions are: 1- Would Fálki's last name be Bwulfsson, or do I need to pay attention to the declension? 2- I wanted to give my girlfriend's character an Old Norse nickname, and I went with "red fury". Her character's hair is red and her armour is red and gold, so I naturally went with Rauðr - and móðr which seems to be translated as fury as well as courage. I assumed the nickname would then be Rauðmóðr, but I'm absolutely not sure if it needs any modification. Besides, I saw that móðr is a masculine noun and you use it in this video as a male suffix; could it still be used for a female nickname? A huge thank you to whoever could give me the real spellings

interesting as usual - thank you Dr Crawford. :) must be a nightmare trying to trace your family tree though. my maternal line - on both sides (i.e. my grandmother's parents and their parents etc) had a tradition where the middle name, esp for males, was the mothers maiden name e.g George Grierson Cork

Thank you for everything you do. How can I get started on leraning the language?

My parents were set on giving me my grandfather’s name, Bernhard, when I turned out to be a girl. All my grandmothers were still alive and they didn’t like my great-granny’s name, Martha, so they called me Eva. I’m not that fond of the name, because it reminds me of Christianity too much and originally comes from a part of the world I’m not particularly drawn to (too damn warm). So for my KZread-name (nobody will ever know it’s not my real name haha) I chose my grandfather’s name which I should’ve gotten, Bernhard (“bear-strong”), admittedly I left out the “strong”, and changed it to the Norse name for bear. Because I prefer the weather up north, I’ll move there sometime, maybe Norway, or maybe just Scotland (I LOVE the language there. Scottish is the best english ever). And my last name is just the English version of “Langfuhr”, which is where my grandpa grew up. Now it’s called “Wrzeszcz”, idk, but I don’t speak czech.

@faarsight

4 жыл бұрын

Fun fact about the name Eva, in one of the versions of the biblical creation story Eve is said to be created from Adams rib. This is born from a failure to understand a Sumerian pun, Eve means "life" in Hebrew and is a translation of the Sumerian word "ti" which can mean either life or rib. The Sumerian form would be Ninti, lady life or lady rib.

@zionthedragon8866

4 жыл бұрын

You partly contradicted yourself, and scottish language is not like English, related to English, and at one point mainland scottish HATED the Vikings. Also, your thinking of tropical climate, not just "south" because past the equator, everything is flip-flopped, thus the "south" there is as could as the "north" in norway. Finally, you said "no one will know......" yet you, openly in this comment (prior to you possibly editing this), self defeat yourself by telling everyone on here that it's not your real name. So oof?

@Lightningnova01

2 жыл бұрын

@@zionthedragon8866 Scotts is a sister language to English. They are almost the same language. Whilst Old English was the language spoken by the Saxons that had moved into the British Isles, Scots was the language spoken by the Angles that had moved further north into what is now Southern Scotland and North-East England, which was known as Northumbria. Quite the misnomer, considering 'English' is derived from 'Angles' and Scots has nothing to do with the celtic Scots; as it's another Germanic language.

@zionthedragon8866

2 жыл бұрын

@@Lightningnova01 I am aware, BUT the context they seem to be using it in is that its a TYPE of english language like a dialect, which it's not, and even then, being a sister language, it's wrong to call it a type of english when compared to scots more closely. t's like saying "French is the best spanish" due to them also being a sister language. It's not true, and even then it's not nice to do that to the other languages. Lastly, they never said/made certain it was scots or scottish gaelic they were talking about, and most people are more aware of the latter than the former, so even if I was to make that mistake, not all of it would be my fault as they never clarified which scottish language (as there are 3 apparently, one being a more "nordic" descended one) they were referring to. But yes, I do know what you mean.

One thing: the ei- suffix is also possibly from proto-Germanic aiwa-, meaning forever, age, eternity, etc. and is also seen as a suffix in common words like eilífð meaning eternity. So Eiríkur could instead be forever-king

Boyfriend (Icelandic) told me all names in Iceland means something. All. That's why when I got here I found funny people named Dagur (days)

@user-B_8

10 ай бұрын

If you look into it, most names from most places around the world, means something. So, it wouldn't surprise me if yours does too..? Try to Google *"name" meaning/origin,* and I'm sure it will pop up immediately. 😉

In Old Norse did they have place names like they do in modern Scandinavian names instead of patronymics. For instance one of my ancestors in Sweden has the last name Kumlien as in a village called Kumla.

It's very fascinantic! Could you make example of two names for me? One which means water or sea and the other desert or sand?

Very informative. Thank you. Trying to figure out the meaning of name Arvid. I see "ar" could possibly mean eagle, man, or warrior. What about "vid"?

Any chance I can get a link to all the lists you posted during this video? I'm guessing they are handouts or from a website?

West Germanic names work the same way with the compounds. Like my first name Hendrik from “hend” (related to hand via umlaut) “ruler” and “rīk“ powerful, which is a very common suffix, also in Old East Germanic. This name was borrowed into many other languages Germanic tribes were in contact with, Enrique, Henri, etc. ‘Henno” is an Old Frisian ‘endearing’ version of it. My middle name “Sikke” is a Frisian form of the root “sigi” victory (German Sieg, Dutch zege etc.). Last name means of the family of Brand (common root: shining) in Old Frisian.

I enjoyed the video, I would however have liked you to have explained the name erikr that you mentioned. Witch is oalso my name(Eirik)

so Jorunn is equal to the Greek Philippos ?

Thank you. I am tracing lineage on the last name Bergerson. My ancestor's birth was registered in Valer Hedmark in 1833. I am stumped. Should I be looking for Bjargarson?

Hi, just out of interest regarding what you said about 'surnames' in Old Norse being more about identification than inheritance I'm curious about something I've read recently. I have recently been reading Bernard Cornwell's Saxon stories which is about the invasion of the Great Heathen Army and 3 of the sons of Ragnarr Lothbrok (Ubba, Halfdan and Ivarr) appear using the 'surname' 'Lothbrokson', which seems to make sense considering Ragnarr Lothbrok's reputation and the fact in this context they are leading the Great Heathen Army to avenge Ragnarr Lothbrok (if we accept the sagas at face value and circumvent the debate about the historicity of Ragnarr Lothbrok) and therefore they would want to identify as the sons of THE Ragnarr Lothbrok not just a Ragnarr. Is there any evidence of this in the sagas or other sources that anyone is aware of or is this a modern creation?

Is there any source on the slides with the name elements used in this video, or are they self-made for this video?

Most of these are still used in Denmark and while some of them are not that popular anymore, there seem to be an resurgence use of these names again which is great.

@jrgenkleist-christensen254

6 жыл бұрын

But I have a question. Bjarki comes from birch according to you. Doesn't it come from bear? I read that other places

@AndranikMuse

6 жыл бұрын

I did a bit of research in wiktionary for the etymologies and it looks like Bjorn and Bjarki are from the same PIE word *bʰer but then they got separated to *bērō in Proto germanic which developed into bjorn/björn/bjørn and *berkaną which went to bjarkan, bjarki

can you talk about customs like "holmgangr," and how to pronounce it?

@user-pm1gb2eo1s

5 жыл бұрын

jax parra The “o” in “holm-“ is most likened to the pronunciation of the “o” in “role.” The “a” in “gangr” is pronounced like the “a” in “father”, the “gn” as in “finger” and the “r” is triller.

Just like in the other Scandinavian countries, most of these names are still common here in Sweden (mostly given to the older generation, but a lot of them are making a comeback). Also, it seems to be common to give your child three first names. I'm currently 35 weeks pregnant, and the baby (boy) will be named "Sixten", which is another spelling of Sigsten (meaning victory rock/stone). I also love the names Hilding (after my great-grandfather), Stig (my grandfather) and Kjell (my father), but my husband doesn't agree. 😅

I have read that the Icelanders could trace their ancestry (pre-internet) back further, despite the change of last names at each generation, more so than other European nations. I suppose in analysis, that is because they were more contained as an island nation far away from mosr countries with fewer immigrants. If we still had the same system I would be Colin Wallisson and my father Wallace Alexanderson. Cool! When did the use of occupations or locations become popular as surnames? I think maybe in England it came with the Norman invasion of 1066.

@colinp2238

6 жыл бұрын

I actually said that the report that I had read was pre-internet so there must have been written records that date back. The report that I was citing did not say how the Icelanders knew their ancestry but just that they did. I had assumed maybe from family bibles or personal records had forgotten about state or parish records but thank you for the information.

@TheOlafurskulason

6 жыл бұрын

Yeah, most of that data comes from church records that survived through the centuries. The churches would record all births along with parentage, as well as people's deaths. Ofcourse a lack of immigration and mobility helped, but in general people tended to be born, live and die in roughly the same area.

Isn't Jorunn Boar-love (as in wild boar) and not horse?

5:55 Could you please explain what qualities were believed to have with these animals? You mentioned swans are aggressive. I can imagine bears are strong and powerful. What about ravens? Were they seen as smart? (I am just randomly guessing)

@vergakot

3 жыл бұрын

Well Óðinn (Odin) had two ravens named Huginn and Muninn meaning Thought and Memory. There job was to bring Óðinn news from the outside world.

Hello Mr. Crawford, which literature are you using for reference? I would love to read more about the topics you address in your videos, including phonology, cultural customs like name giving and others. I'd appreciate this a lot. I studied four semesters of north European studies once, lead a group of Norwegian enthusiasts at another university and find the time to get back into the topic. Thank you and all the best. J. Bärhold

@jkoperski9925

Жыл бұрын

Maybe you mentioned this somewhere but I am new to your channel. More than just watching (your) videos I like to put my nose into books and get this exciting feeling of learning something new in my quiet times. (The nose part is a German idiom.) All the best.

Well can u help me? I know stain means one who wanders and jolfr means wolf. If i put them together does Stianjolfr mean wandering whole or wolf that wanders? Thanks in advance

Go back far enough, and something like this prevails over most of northern Europe. Certainly it did in Ireland where my ancestors came from. My last name is the Anglicization of Ó Conchobhair. Ó meaning "grandson of" or "descendant of," and in this case grandson/descendant of someone named Conchobar (the i gets added in in front of that final R because it's the genitive form). Mac means "son of" and Ní means "daughter of" (e.g. Mairead Ní Chonaill -- Mairead, daughter of Conall [there's that genitive again]). In Europe, between the 11th and 17th centuries these patronymics either froze into family names, as my family's did, or people took family names from where they lived, or from their occupation (e.g. Smith, Thatcher, Wainwright, Fletcher, etc.). Iceland has probably remained the exception to this, and kept with patronymics because the population remained small enough that it didn't become unwieldy.

My new granddaughter has the middle name is Legeratha like from the tv show Vikings

My maiden last name was Jensen. There's another version "Jenson". Both are super popular where I live, but the -en is more popular. So is Jen a popular name once? Because there are a LOT of people with this surname.

My aunt's name is Sigrun. I'm going to call her "Victory-rune" from now on.

It's funny that a lot of these names are still in use in Denmark (with moderated spelling)

Wonder if “Bjorn Borg” is explained by this video

Do any of you wonderful people know was there any rune/symbol for luck or summoning good fortune? I'm thinking of a tattoo and need some real historically proven background.

Also bf's name is Járngrímur meaning Iron Mask

I've done a lot of research, but I've never heard anyone pronounce the Old Norse word "fjölð". Even though I've been slowly learning from these videos, I still would benifit greatly from actually hearing the word pronounced correctly. Does anyone know where I can find the pronunciation or how I can request it to be pronounced by someone for me to hear? Thanks!

@blackphillip5757

6 жыл бұрын

The "j" sounds like the i in "visa". The "ö like the o in "door" and the "ð" like the "th" in "Then". So something like "Fee-oolth". Check out some of Dr Crawford's videos on Old Norse for a complete explaination on how it was (most likely) pronounced. Alternatively you can look for a guide on Icelandic pronunciation since a lot of people take that as being close enough to old norse to be a valid way to read it.

The vowels kinda confuse me. Especially the "ó". Sometimes you pronounce it like the English "o" in "OK", and sometimes like the Swedish "å". Is there a reason for that? And the "o" and "ó" seem to sound the same sometimes. And the "ei" diphthong sometimes just sounds like a long "e".

What is the old Norse version of Robert?

Hello. I find this Video very interesting! I'm kind of obsessed with Nordic Mythology, Vikings, ect. I really did enjoyed watching this informative Video. May i ask if you could be so kind to translate for me "Stormbear" as a Norse Name? I would appreciate it.

asbjorn kinda sounds bearlike when you pronounce it, I wonder how many ancient cognates there are between old languages

@TacticalSquirrel

2 жыл бұрын

Yeah, Asbjörn/Asbern/Osborne translate to God-Bear.

When Denmark was transitioning to 'official' surnames, the wife wouldn't change her name to her husband's, but she would change it to what her children's would be (so e.g. in marrying a Soren, she would become Gjertrud Sorensen)

@Thrym865

6 жыл бұрын

You might see that in censuses from the late eighteen hundreds but in fact she would more likely be called Gjertrud Sørens (Sørenskone/Søren's wife). I have seen this over and over in records from the sixteen hundreds. I have only seen the suffix -kone in the very oldest records (from the fourteen and early fifteen hundreds). If her husband had a proper surname (not a patronym), she might have used that with the addition of -s (or -i if it was a latinized surname, for instance Jensenius -> Jensenii).

@cheekybastard7798

5 жыл бұрын

Sounds like someone had a daddy kink.

I am not sure what "Grímur" means... but did read (in a book by a woman from Norway) that it means "ugly" Skalli means bald... so SkallaGrímur means bald and ugly.... As far as I have been told (taught) Skalla was added to his "rightful" name after he lost his hair...

Do you have any knowledge about how "Inga" came to be a male name in Norwegian? It is still a female name in German (and as far as I can remember my Icelandic, it is female in Icelandic, too). That is really quite odd...

@maroon2k

5 жыл бұрын

Alisen12 - But it isn't... Today "Inga" is the female form, "Inge" is the male form in Norwegian, Swedish etc...

@Alisen12

5 жыл бұрын

@@maroon2k ah sorry tgen I confused it . In German Inge is also a female name. And Gerd is a male name in German but a female name in Norwegian. Very confusing...

what means wild boar ?

Funny, the Amish still use the son/daughter designation. Not in official name but in conversation. The guy’s name might be Matt Weaver, but when talking you might say, “I saw Matt yesterday. Which Matt? Andy’s Matt.” Meaning Andy’s son Matt.

Dr. Crawford, how do I become you? (I'm actually serious though) I'm going to college and very much want to become a historical or comparative linguist, philologist, etc. Eventually I'd love to end up as a full professor at a university somewhere good. May I ask how best you think I should go about doing so? I was considering double-majoring in Classics (Latin and Greek) and Linguistics. I would really really appreciate any advice or tips you could give me if you have the time! Thank you!

@joelm33

5 жыл бұрын

He did a video about it :)

👍

Wow it’s mutch names who sound and look Swedish. The viking language is very alike👍🏻

Bjorn (Bjarn) already means "brown" and is already a kenning so that the name of this fearsome creature isn't used directly. Btw, I saw Oddr but not Odd. Are they the same name?

@weepingscorpion8739

5 жыл бұрын

Yes. The languages on the continent lose this -r, so there the name is just Odd. In inflection this -r also disappears so in Old Norse, Faroese, and Icelandic the accusative and dative forms are Odd and Oddi.

In the early 1900s there was a census in Norway, where everyone was given "official" names which were inherited by their children, grandchildren and so on. Up until that, the tradition of patronyms had been going on probably for a thousand years or more. I discovered this when I started looking up my ancestors and the "family name" I thought was some eternal mark of my clan turned out to be the name of the "husmannsplass" where my great-great grandfather (whose name was formed with a patronym) and his family lived at the time of the census. "Western" naming conventions were well established in the cities by then, but the more rural areas of Norway were incredibly isolated by todays standards, only reachable by days of hiking over mountains or sailing in dangerous waters. Then suddenly Norway was industrialzed and roads and tunnels were built everywhere, which opened these areas up to the government and the world, and so the census was held and the naming traditions were "finally" modernized out of existence.

@joelm33

5 жыл бұрын

Thats too bad.. You and your family could bring it back :) Eg skal gøre det samme med min kone

So... how odd is it that my great grandfather was Asbjorn Asbjornson?

So when a son doesn't know his father, he would take his mother's name? Any idea why the patronym is preferred?

@danielknowles3051

6 жыл бұрын

The patronym was most likely preferred because men were often where a son would get his legacy.

@caspian8650

6 жыл бұрын

Daniel Knowles Yeah I got that, I'm wondering at the social causes of this. Also, I'd be curious to see if daughters took their father's names as often as sons.

@RashmikaLikesBooks

5 жыл бұрын

@@caspian8650 yeah, daughters often just add the suffix -dottir to their surname. So if her father's name is Peter, and her name is Sarah, she'll be Sarah Petersdottir. (sorry for using English names: they're just what comes to mind.) it's just a general practice.

I was supposed to be named Sunniva, which is possibly an old English name, but my mom won out (so Katharina) :D A relative of mine is a man called Sigbjørn, which means Victorious Bear. Talk about native American name, huh?

Did "pagan" suffixes/prefixes such as Þór- become any less common after the conversion to Christianity?

@cognomen9142

6 жыл бұрын

Not true, for example here in Jämtland it wasn't until the reformation (1500's) that Norse names became significantly less popular than, say, 500 years earlier. But as soon as the process started it went quick and in the 1600's it was only such names you mentioned that survived (like Olav, Eirik etc. from kings and saints). For example, here are all names mentioned in a document from Sproteid, 1500 (found in Dipl. Norv.): Pedher j Sandha, Olaff Stenson, Torkil i Moo, Pedher i Hagha, Paal i Risom, Pedher Andersson, Erik i Sidhe, Gumundh i Grytha, Magnus i Hagha, Pedher Martenson, Yrian Karlson, Kætil i Gotistadh, Pedher Nilson, Michil i Grimeness, Olaff Svenson, Anderss i Stomnegerdh, Anderss Olson, Rek i Ass, Greiss Martenson, Erik i Byom, Sigurd i Hara, Laffrens i Hasiø, Jenss i Hakassengh, Øndh i Otarssiø, Kæthil Olson, Radgerdh, Anundh i Tandhe, Yrian i Hoff and Anders Gudleffson. Compare with the names mentioned in a document from Sproteid, 1560 (found in Dipl. Norv.): Lasze y Huszaaszum, Per Michillsønn, Eriick Ollsønn, Faste Rickordszønn, Niellsz Paallsønn, Eriick Tomesønn, Erick y Staure, Per Gundersønn, Andirs Jeppesønn, Niells Eriicksønn, Hendrick Siurdsønn, Erik Andirsønn, Andirs y Gaagsaas, Oluff Ollsønn paa Hwattem, Oluff Niellsønn, Oluff Hallstensønn, Paall Jngullsønn, Lasze Niellsønn, Gwndir Jonsønn, Lasze Larszønn, Jon Torsøn, Andirs Persøn, Karll Felixsønn, Per Andirssønn, Oluff Persønn paa Tramstad, Lasze Biørnsønn and lagmand Chrestiern Niellsøn. As you can see, in two generations the native Norse names went from 48% (14/29) in 1500 to 41% (11/27) in 1560. And the names from 1560 are from the very beginning of the reformation assuming they were in the middle age.

Recently I just found out my last name comes from old Norse. My last name is 'Haskins'.

Kratos should have named his son Sveinn @10:51

Selling old Norse and old Norse accessories