Scandinavian names and their meanings

Scandinavia is a land of mysteries, magic and magic. Starting from the 12th century BC, the territories of Northern Europe began to be inhabited by hunter-people who, together with some animals, moved here after the ice age. Today the history of Scandinavia is directly related to the legends about the Vikings - a people who are at war and capable of trading. Starting from the 8th century AD, they took a direct part in the development of new lands, where they formed colonies. They believed in the gods, the strength of the warrior and honored the beasts. It is generally accepted that Scandinavian peoples are Danes, Swedes, Norwegians. Some historians also refer Finland and Iceland to Scandinavia.

The language of the Scandinavians until a certain period of stratification and conquest of its territories was unified. This, of course, influenced the Scandinavian names, their formation and significance. In turn, there were dialects, but the common language was considered Old Norse. Subsequently, the alphabet, originally numbering 24 runes, in some territories was simplified, having shrunk to 16. Nevertheless, just like the Slavs, the Scandinavians had a name directly related to the status, characteristics, family craft of a person.

Most Scandinavian male names did not differ from women's. The basis of any name can be distinguished by such characteristics:

1. The name is derived from the name of the deity. Most often - it's the god of fertility, military abilities, thunder (Frey, Tyur, Thor). For example, Bergborr or Freybjorn is an assistant to Thor and Bear Frey. In this case the Scandinavian women's names were distinguished by the postfix dis (say, Geirdis or Gunndis - from the names of the goddess of the spear and goddess of battles).

2. The name is derived from the name of the animal. For a basis took the revered animals, which were considered sacred. The most common is the bear (Bjon). This beast was revered as the most powerful and dangerous, symbolizing courage and strength. He was one of the essences of the main Scandinavian god Odin. In the female initial version, this name sounded like Bera or Birna. Also popular were the Scandinavian names, which contained the name of a wolf, a crow, an eagle and a wild boar. The last name Jöfurr (boar) was given to people of the upper class, investing in it the notion of a ruler or leader. Eagle (derivatives ari, örn) acted as a defender, a good warrior. Raven (hrafn) - Rafnhildr (raven of battle) is a soul, memory and luck.

3. The name associated with military operations, the protection of the people. Given the variety of military attributes, the Scandinavian names associated with the military case are the most common basis. Here the main were such concepts as battle or battle (gunnr, hildr, leikr), which were connected with certain directions (sea, land, professional); War (víg), was mainly composed with such concepts as the desired, the great, the glorious; Military attributes: helmet, spear and sword (gríma, geirr, brandr) were combined with the notions of valor, courage, and the level of the warrior's abilities.

4. Scandinavian names - ethnonyms (defining belonging to a certain people). This included Finns (Finns), Danes (Danr), Goths (Gautr) and Flemings (Flaemingr).

The names of the ancient Scandinavians are found in different nations today. And they all contain certain concepts and have meanings confirmed by a rich Scandinavian history.