Names and Name-Giving in the Viking Age

King’s College 2004 v Mistress Gunnvör sílfrahárr

Descriptive Bynames – Physical Characteristics

The most common type of descriptive byname is the comparison byname, where the person is felt to resemble something in either appearance or movement

vComparison to animals is the most common type of byname in this category, i.e., brimill (“large seal”), brúsi (“he-goat”), galti (“boar”), hani (“rooster”), hjörtr (“hart, stag”), kettlingr (“kitten”), kráka (“crow”), merr (“mare”), rostungr (“walrus”), etc., but also dúfunef (“dove nose”), geitleggr (“goat-leg”), kamphundr (“whiskered dog”), ormstunga (“worm-tongue, serpent tongue”), selnasi (“seal-nose”), etc.

vComparison to inanimate objects also common, i.e., bíldr (“axe”), drafli (“cooked curds”), drómundr (“a type of ship”), hatti (“hood, cowl”), karkr (“stunted tree”), kváran (“shoe”), naddr (“nail, spike”), skökull (“cart pole”), etc.