Viking Last Names: What Real Norse Surnames Looked Like
Short answer: Vikings did not have fixed family last names. A person used a patronymic: their father’s first name plus -son or -dóttir, so Grímr’s son was Grímsson, and a nickname often came on top.
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- Updated November 1, 2026
How Viking last names really worked, from -son and -dóttir endings to nicknames, plus English surnames that come from Old Norse.
I wrote this guide and read every source linked at the end of it on November 1, 2026. Each name, ending and date comes from one of them, and where two sources disagree, as with Denmark’s 1828 and 1856 dates, I say so. The surname table follows one feature that draws on the Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain, and I kept its hedges. Page last updated November 1, 2026.
Did Vikings have last names?
Not the kind you have. A Viking’s full name was usually a given name plus a patronymic, which is the father’s name with an ending that means son or daughter. Viking Answer Lady puts it plainly: “The Vikings did not use surnames as we understand them.” Because each generation’s patronymic points to its own father, no single family name was passed down unchanged (Viking Answer Lady).
The extra labels had a practical job. The pool of given names was small, so a name on its own did not point to one person. A patronymic narrowed it down, and a nickname often finished the job. A University of Aberdeen item on an article by Keith Ruiter, a doctoral candidate in Scandinavian Studies, makes this point, and so does the abstract of Paul Peterson’s dissertation on Old Norse nicknames.
Patronymics: the -son and -dóttir system
A patronymic is the father’s first name with -son (“son”) or -dóttir (“daughter”) added, and the father’s name goes into the genitive form first. Both Viking Answer Lady and NordicNames describe it that way. The genitive ending changes from name to name, so Snorri becomes Snorrason, Sturla becomes Sturluson and Grímr becomes Grímsson.
| Father | Patronymic | Meaning | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Snorri | Snorrason | son of Snorri | Viking Answer Lady |
| Sturla | Sturluson | son of Sturla | Viking Answer Lady |
| Grímr | Grímsson | son of Grímr | Viking Answer Lady |
| Skallagrim | Skallagrimson | son of Skallagrim | Viking Answer Lady |
| Hakon | Hakonardottir | daughter of Hakon | Viking Answer Lady |
| Þórsteinn | Ægileif Þórsteinsdóttir | daughter of Þórsteinn, from Landnámabók | Viking Answer Lady |
| Ófeigr | Aldís Ófeigsdóttir | daughter of Ófeigr, from Landnámabók | Viking Answer Lady |
Because the ending comes from the father’s own first name, it changed every generation. A matronymic, built from the mother’s name, was very rare. Viking Answer Lady counts only 34 Icelandic women whose sons used their mother’s name, with examples such as Eilif Guðrunarson and Hrafn Guðrunarson. Iceland still builds names on patronymics. The Personal Names Act says everyone bears a patronymic or matronymic unless they are entitled to a family surname, and that “no new family surnames may be adopted in Iceland.” Since 2019, people registered as neither male nor female can use the gender-neutral ending -bur (“child of”) instead, Iceland Review reports.
Bynames and place names: the other labels
A byname was a descriptive nickname. Viking Answer Lady says bynames were given by other people, were rarely used by the person themselves, and were almost never used to their face. Most were “mostly derogatory in some way,” though a few praised a trait. The page sorts them into eight kinds: physical characteristics, habits, temperament, occupation, place of origin, biographical, inherited and other. Examples are Borkr digri, “Borkr the Stout,” and Þórsteinn þorskabítur, “Cod-Biter.”
The National Museum of Denmark adds that a byname could show where someone came from, as with Bjarke the Norwegian, who lived in Denmark, or mark something notable they owned, as with Asgot with the Red Shield (Danish Museum). Our Viking nicknames guide has a long list of recorded ones.
| Label | How it worked | Example | Passed to children? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Patronymic | Father’s first name plus -son or -dóttir | Hakonardottir | No. It followed each father’s name. |
| Byname about a trait | A descriptive nickname, usually given by others | Borkr the Stout | Mostly personal |
| Byname about origin or possessions | Where you were from, or what you owned | Bjarke the Norwegian, Asgot with the Red Shield | Mostly personal |
One caveat from Viking Answer Lady: “inherited” is one of the byname types, and a child named after a dead relative with a common name could also pick up that relative’s byname, according to an 1893 source it quotes. So bynames sometimes ran in a family, but the page does not say how often.
When fixed family surnames began
Fixed, inherited family names came to Scandinavia much later, and by law. NordicNames gives the years when patronymics gave way to mandatory hereditary surnames: Denmark in 1828, Sweden in 1901 and Norway in 1923.
| Country | Year | What the sources say | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Denmark | 1828 | King Frederik VI issued a decree that everyone should have fixed family names. A law in 1856 made it mandatory. | Danish Museum |
| Denmark | 1828 | Listed as the year hereditary surnames became mandatory. | NordicNames |
| Sweden | 1901 | Hereditary surnames became mandatory. | NordicNames |
| Norway | 1923 | Hereditary surnames became mandatory. | NordicNames, NordicNames |
| Iceland | Still in use | Everyone bears a patronymic or matronymic unless entitled to a family surname, and no new family surnames may be adopted. Since 2019, -bur is an option for people registered as neither male nor female. | Personal Names Act, Iceland Review |
The two Danish rows disagree on whether 1828 or 1856 was the point it became mandatory, so I list both. Either way, it was long after the Viking Age.
People who had no surname did something simple. They froze their father’s patronym so their children could inherit it. NordicNames says only the “son” forms generally survived, so the surnames that came out of this almost all end in -son. In Norway, farm names also worked as addresses first, then got frozen as hereditary surnames that stayed put when a family moved. The page gives no date for that.
English surnames that come from Old Norse
Norse settlers left words and names in English, and some became surnames. Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine lists them in a feature that draws on the Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain. The table keeps the magazine’s hedges, because several of these have more than one possible origin.
| Surname | Old Norse source, as given | Note from the source |
|---|---|---|
| Askew | eikiskógr, “oak wood” | Found mainly in northern and eastern England |
| Gill | gil, “deep glen, ravine” | Common in north-west England |
| Holt | holt, “wood, thicket, grove” | No regional note given |
| Kirby | kirkja (“church”) plus bȳ (“farmstead, village”) | Combines two Norse words |
| Kerr | kjarr, marsh or swampy woodland | For someone living by one |
| Wroe | vrá, “nook, corner of land” | For someone living in an isolated place |
| Kay | kei, “left-handed” | Began as a nickname |
| Clegg | Middle English clege or Old Norse kleggi, a gadfly or horsefly | Two possible sources |
| Raven | hrafn, “raven,” through a Middle English personal name | Especially common in Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk |
| Skinner | skinn, hide | Someone who stripped hides for fur or leather |
| Thorburn | Þorbiǫrn, from Þórr (Thor) and bjǫrn (“bear, warrior”) | A personal name |
| Osborne | Partly late Old English Ōsbern, an Anglicisation of Ásbiǫrn (“god” and “bear”) | Only partly Norse. Particularly common in Cornwall |
| Hammond | Hámundr | The page says it may have been used in Normandy |
| Osmond | Ásmundr | Popular among Normans, so the route is Norman as well as Norse |
| Findlay | Mostly the Gaelic Fionnlagh, reinforced by an Old Norse name from finn and leikr | Not solely Norse |
| Coulson | kolr (“swarthy, dark-complexioned”) plus sveinn (“lad”) | The page says “in some cases” |
What a Norse-looking surname does not prove
Having one of these surnames does not make you a descendant of Vikings. The same feature notes that Norse people did not pass down surnames from generation to generation. That is a good reason for care: a surname’s Old Norse origin does not by itself show a line of descent. Several entries above also arrived through Normandy or a Gaelic route. Nothing on this site claims Viking ancestry for anyone, and the names here are for stories, games and curiosity.
Choosing a Viking last name for a character
- Start with a patronymic, since it is the most historically honest option. Pick a father’s name from the names and meanings guide, put it in the genitive and add -son or -dóttir. The table above shows how the ending shifts.
- Add a byname if you want the person to feel real. Something other people would say about them works better than something they would say about themselves. The nicknames guide shows the range.
- Add a place if the character travelled. Origin bynames like Bjarke the Norwegian are recorded, and the settlement name generator builds place names from real Norse endings.
- If you need a fixed family name that runs through generations, know that it is a later idea, not a Viking one. It works fine for fiction. The surname generator builds patronymic, place and epithet surnames, and the trait surname generator builds hyphenated ones.
Frequently asked questions
Did Vikings have last names?
Not fixed family surnames. A person was known by a given name plus a patronymic, which is the father’s first name with -son or -dóttir, and often by a nickname as well. Viking Answer Lady says the Vikings did not use surnames as we understand them.
What is a Viking last name for a girl?
A patronymic ending in -dóttir, meaning daughter, added to the father’s first name. Recorded examples include Hakonardottir and Ægileif Þórsteinsdóttir, who was the daughter of Þórsteinn.
Is Lothbrok a last name?
It is a nickname, not a surname. Lothbrok comes from loðbrók and means shaggy trousers. A University of Aberdeen item notes that the TV series Vikings left the nickname unexplained and used it almost like a surname.
Do Icelanders still use the Viking naming system?
Yes, in the form of patronymics. Under Iceland’s Personal Names Act, everyone bears a patronymic or matronymic unless they are entitled to a family surname, and no new family surnames may be adopted. Since 2019, people registered as neither male nor female can use -bur (child of) instead of -son or -dóttir.
Does a Norse surname mean I am descended from Vikings?
Not by itself. Norse people did not pass down surnames from generation to generation, so a surname’s Old Norse origin does not show a line of descent. Some surnames of Old Norse origin also reached England through Normandy or Gaelic routes.
Keep reading
- Viking Nicknames: Real Bynames and What They Meant
- Vikings TV Show Names: What They Mean and Who Was Real
- Real Old Norse Names and Their Meanings
- Viking surname generator
- Trait surname generator
- Viking clan name generator
Sources
- Viking Answer Lady, Old Norse Names
- Viking Answer Lady, Old Norse Women’s Names
- National Museum of Denmark, Viking names
- NordicNames, Patronym
- Iceland, Personal Names Act No. 45/1996 (English translation, which may not include later amendments)
- Iceland Review, Icelandic names will no longer be gendered (2019)
- NordicNames, Norwegian Surnames
- Danish American Archive and Library, Fixed Family Surnames
- Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine, Viking surnames (Molly McGee, 2026)
- University of Aberdeen, Ragnar Shaggy-Trousers and Eystein Foul-Fart (2016)
- Paul R. Peterson, Old Norse Nicknames (University of Minnesota Ph.D. dissertation, 2015)