Runes are the Viking alphabet. A rune is a symbol that stands
for a sound.
The runic alphabet was called the Futhark, and there were
various versions of it. The original Elder Futhark had 24 runes. In
Iceland, it was reduced down to 16-18, while the anglo-saxons
expanded it up to 32 runes.
A google search of "Futhark" will show what they looked
like.
The Futhark was called "Futhark" because of the first six runes.
Fehu, Uruz, Thurisaz, Ansuz, Raido, Kenaz.
F-U-Th-A-R-K, just as the roman "alphabet" is called that
because of the first two letters. Alpha-Beta.