ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1951 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1951 ************************************ From: "Sara L Friedemann" 14 Feb 2000 Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked for help creating an authentic Scandinavian name for a Viking woman with the surname , and said you were looking for a given name that did not contain the elements or . You also asked about the name . Here is the information we have found. There are a number of popular feminine names that do not have the elements or in them. Here are a few suggestions, and how they are pronounced: [1] Valger{dh}r \VAHL-gairdhr\ Yngvildr \U"NG-vildr\ Vigdi/s \VIGH-dees\ Jo/runn \YOE-roon\ Steinunn \STAIN-oon\ In these names, the slash represents an accent over the previous letter, {TH} represents the letter thorn, which looks like a and a

superimposed on each other, and {dh} represents the letter edh, which looks like a backward <6> with a cross bar. In the pronunciations, represents the sound of the German u-umlaut in , represents the \th\ sound in , \YOE\ rhymes with , and the \oo\ is pronounced as in . If none of these names appeal to you, we recommend you look at the following article: "Viking Names Found in the Landna/mabo/k" http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/landnamabok.html Also, if you write us back and let us know what initial letters or sounds most appeal to you, we would be happy to make a list of other suggestions. In your period, Norse names were written in runes. Please write us again if you would be interested in knowing the runic spelling of your name. appears to be a modern name, its origin dating to c. 1900. [2] We recommend that you not use this name. The most similar name we found from your period is . [1] Your choice of byname is fine. In a document from Iceland dealing with events in the 9th century, we find eleven examples of men named . [1] The correct byname meaning "daughter of Gunnarr" would be . [3] We hope that this letter has been useful to you, and that you will not hesitate to write again if any part was unclear or if you have further questions. Research and commentary on this letter was provided by Hartmann Rogge, Arval Benicoeur, Talan Gwynek, and Lindorm Eriksson. For the Academy, ~Aryanhwy merch Catmael, 14Feb00 --------------------------------------- References: [1] Aryanhwy merch Catmael, _Viking Names Found in the Landna/mabo/k_ (WWW: self-published, 1998) http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/landnamabok.html [2] Kruken, Kristoffer, ed. _Norsk personnamnleksikon_, 2nd ed. (Oslo: Det Norske Samlaget, 1995). s.n. Ardis [3] Fleck, G. (aka Geirr Bassi Haraldsson), _The Old Norse Name_, Studia Marklandica (series) (Olney, Maryland: Yggsalr Press, 1977).