Girl · Old Norse
Gunnhild
Say it: GOON-hild
Meaning
From Old Norse gunnr 'battle' and hildr 'battle', a doubled war element.
Certainscholars agree on this meaning.
A common Viking-age name that appears on runestones and in the kings' sagas, later revived in Norway.
Its wave through time
No birth counts are recorded for this name in the records loaded here: it has been given to fewer than five babies a year, or not at all, since records began.
Through the ages
- The Viking and Anglo-Saxon Age700 to 1100
- The High and Late Middle Ages1100 to 1450
- The Modern Age1880 to today
Used by
The family of the name
Other spellings: Gunhild
| Old Norse | Gunnhildr |
|---|---|
| Icelandic | Gunnhildur |
| Swedish | Gunilla |
Famous bearers
- Gunnhild, wife of Eric Bloodaxe, called 'Mother of Kings' in the sagas
Names worth a look
Where this comes from
- The Icelandic sagas and other Old Norse literature
- Viking Age runestone inscriptions
- Royal and noble genealogies
Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.
Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.