Germanic name

Germanic forenames are traditionally formed from two elements (dithematic).

For example, King Æþelred's name was derived from "æþel", for "noble", and "ræd", for "counsel". Many of these names are still used today, while others have fallen out of use completely.

Honorifics were often added after names, rather than before. For example, King Edmund was "Edmund cyning".

both as first and second element:

• beorht/bryht - bright (Byrhtnoth, Bertrand, Cuthbert, Albert, Albright, Robert)
• fred, ON friþ, OHG frid - peace (Dietfried, Fredegar, Ferdinand, Sigfrid)
• grim - savage, fierce (Grimbold, Herugrim)
• gund, gud, gyþ - battle, war (Gunther, Gunnhild, Haragund, Gudrun)
• her - army (Diether, Harold, Harry, Herbert, Herleif, Herman)
• hild - war (Gunnhild, Hildebrand, Hildegard)
• maer - famous (Chlodomir, , Filimer, Filimir, Marvin, Odomir, Ricimer, Theodemir, Thiudimer, Valamer, Valamir, Valdemort, Valdemar, Vidimir, Vladimir (name), Waldemar, Widemir, Wulfmar, Wulfomir)
• ric - ruler (Richard, Richimir, Roderick, Sigeric, Theodoric)
• sig - victory (Sigeric, Sigibert, Sigmund)
• wulf - wolf (Adolph, Beowulf, Cynewulf, Rudolph, Wulfstan)
• wyn - joy (Winston)

prefixes:

• ælf - elf (Ælfwine, Ælfric, Alfred)
• æðell, od, ead - wealth, heritage; noble (Odomir, Otto, Æthelflæd, (Æthelhard, Æthelred, Adelaide, Adolph, Albert, Ethel, Edgar, Edmund, Edward, Edwin))
• bliþ - cheerful (Blythe)
• ceol - keel, ship
• coen - fierce (Conrad, Curt, Koenrad, Kurt)
• cuþ - renowned (Cuthbert)
• cwic - alive (Cwichelm

• eald - old
• earn - eagle/erne
• ecg - sword (Egbert, Ecgbald, Ecgwine)
• fri - free
• gold - gold
• hæm, holm - home (Denholm)
• hæþ - heath (Heath)
• heah - illustrious
• hlud - fame (Chlodwig, Chlodomir, Chlodoswintha, Ludwig, Louise, Lewis)
• hreþ - victory
• hroþ- fame (Hrothgar/Roger, Hrodberht, Robert, Roderick, Rodger, Rodney, Roland)
• hyg - courageous (Hygelac)
• iaru - prepared
• ing - (Inga, Ingeborg, Inger, Ingrid)
• leof - desirable, friendly (Leofwine)
• liut - people (Liutger, Liutgard, Lutold)
• os - god (Oswin, Oswald, Oslac)
• raþ - clever
• seax - sword
• wig - battle (Wiglaf, Wigbert)
• wala, wæl - battle (Wel-nand^[1], Wala-man, Wala-rad, Wale-rand, Wala-runa, Wale-sinda, Wala-danc, Wala-helm, Wala-ram; hypochoristic Wallia, Walica)
• þeod - people (Theodoric, Derick, Detlef, Diether, Diethelm, Theobald, Dietlinde, Dietfried, Theudebert)

suffixes:

• bald - bold (Theobald)
• beorn - warrior
• beorg - walled town (Burke)
• brand - sword (Brand, Brant, Hildebrand, Theudebrand)
• ferþ - mind, soul, life, person
• flæð (f.) - beauty (Aethelflaed)
• gard (f.) - enclosure (Hildegard, Liutgart)
• gar - spear (Edgar, Hrothgar, Rodger)
• gifu - gift (Godgyfu, Godiva)
• helm - protector
• heit - rank, state (Adelaide)
• hun - young bear
• lid - gentle
• laf - survivor, heir (Wiglaf, Herleif, Detlef)
• mund - hand, protection (Edmund, Sigmund)
• noþ, OHG nand^[2] - courage (Byrhtnoth, Ferdinand, Wel-nand)
• ræð - counsel, wisdom (Alfred, Conrad, Tancred)
• run - rune, secret (Gudrun, Wala-runa)
• stan - stone (Stanley, Sten)
• swinþ - strength
• þryþ - force (Æthelthryth, Ermintrude, Gertrude, Thrúd, Trudy
• walh - foreign
• weald - power (Edwald, Harold)
• weard - guardian (Edward)
• wine - friend (Aelfwine, Ecgwine, Edwin, Erwin, Leofwine, Marvin, Oswin)
• wod, odhr - fury (Woðu-riðe)

See also

Look up Appendix:Old English (Anglo-Saxon) surnames in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wikisource has original text related to this article: Beowulf/List of Names

• German name
• German family name etymology
• German placename etymology
• List of generic forms in British place names
• Irmin
• List of names of Odin

References

• Kitson, P. R. (2002). How Anglo-Saxon personal names work. Nomina, 24, 93.
• Robinson, F. C. (1968). The significance of names in old English literature. Anglia, 86, 14–58.
• Wyld, H. C. (1910). Old Scandinavian personal names in England. Modern Language Review, 5, 289–296.
• Woolf, H. B. (1939). The old Germanic principles of name-giving. Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press.
• Olof von Feilitzen, The Pre-conquest Personal Names of Domesday Book (1937).
• E. Förstemann, Altdeutsches Namenbuch (1856; online facsimile)

External links

• Germanic names (behindthename.com)
• Ancient Germanic names (behindthename.com)
• Old Norse Names (vikinganswerlady.com)
• Names in the Low Lands before 1150 (.keesn.nl)
• Gothic and Suevic Names in Galicia (NW Spain) before 1200 (celtiberia.net)
• Germanic Names in the Earliest Runic Inscriptions (vikingrune.com)