Meanings, structure and honest sourcing for 27 recorded Anglo-Saxon names — the people who bore them, the elements that build them, and the poems that made some of them famous — plus 3 modern compositions, labelled as exactly that.
This is a curated list, not an exhaustive catalogue: thousands of Old English personal names are recorded in charters and chronicles. It is also not a name generator. Historical names are labelled as such, poem names are labelled as literature, and the few modern compositions at the end are creative, not historical — the labels say so on every card.
Every name carries exactly one label. Historical record means real Anglo-Saxons bore the name — it appears in chronicles, charters or histories. Literary means the name is genuine Old English but its famous bearer is a character in a poem, not a documented person. Composed, not recorded means we assembled the name from attested elements following the historical pattern — plausible, but creative, and never to be cited as history.
The building blocks
Most Old English names are dithematic — two meaningful elements joined into one. Æðelrǣd combines æðel (“noble”) and rǣd (“counsel”); Ēadgār joins ēad (“prosperity”) and gār (“spear”). Families often shared elements: Alfred the Great was Ælfrǣd, his father Æðelwulf, his daughter Æðelflǣd. Not every name fits the pattern — Hild (“battle”) and Bēda are single elements, and a few famous names are not Old English at all: Cnut is Old Norse and Cædmon is probably Celtic. Entries below say so where that is the case.
The themes
The recurring building blocks of dithematic names. Meanings follow Bosworth–Toller, An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (online); the “seen in” examples are recorded names that use each element.
æðel
noble
Seen in: Æðelrǣd, Æðelstān, Æðelflǣd
ēad
prosperity, good fortune, blessing
Seen in: Ēadweard, Ēadmund, Ēadgār
rǣd
counsel, advice
Seen in: Ælfrǣd, Æðelrǣd
stān
stone
Seen in: Æðelstān, Wulfstān, Friðestān
weard
guardian, watchman
Seen in: Ēadweard, Ælfweard
mund
protection, protector
Seen in: Ēadmund, Sigemund
gār
spear
Seen in: Ēadgār, Hrōðgār
wine
friend
Seen in: Godwine, Æðelwine
wulf
wolf
Seen in: Æðelwulf, Wulfstān, Bēowulf
heard
hard, hardy, brave
Seen in: Æðelheard, Sigeheard
sige
victory
Seen in: Sigeberht, Sigeheard
hild
battle, war
Seen in: Hild, Hildeburh
burg/burh
fortress, fortified place
Seen in: Æðelburh, Werburg, Burgred
gifu
gift
Seen in: Ælfgifu, Godgifu, Æðelgifu
wynn
joy
Seen in: Ælfwynn, Wynflæd
friþu
peace
Seen in: Friðestān, Friðuswīþ
beorn
warrior, nobleman (a poetic word; the “bear” sense comes from Old Norse)
Seen in: Beornwulf, Beornrǣd
ælf
elf — a supernatural being
Seen in: Ælfrǣd, Ælfgifu, Ælfwynn
os
a god, a divine being
Seen in: Oswald, Oswine, Osmund
Historical record
Names borne by real people — kings, queens, earls, saints and scholars — and recorded in the documents of the period. Spellings follow the normalised Old English forms (with long-vowel marks) that dictionaries use.
Alfred the Great (r. 871–899), king of Wessex, defender against the Vikings and patron of learning and translation. The name survives in modern English as Alfred.
Source: Bosworth–Toller, An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (online), s.vv. “ælf”, “rǣd” · Wikipedia: Alfred
Æthelred II, king of the English (r. 978–1016). His later nickname “the Unready” is an Old English pun: unrǣd means “bad counsel” — the opposite of his name.
Source: Bosworth–Toller, An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (online), s.vv. “æðel”, “rǣd” · Wikipedia: Æthelred
Alfred the Great's grandson; in 927 he became the first king to rule all England, and in 937 he won the battle of Brunanburh.
Source: Bosworth–Toller, An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (online), s.vv. “æðel”, “stān” · Wikipedia: Æthelstan
Edward the Confessor (r. 1042–1066), one of the last Anglo-Saxon kings. The name was also borne by Edward the Elder and Edward the Martyr.
Source: Bosworth–Toller, An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (online), s.vv. “ēad”, “weard” · Wikipedia: Edward
Borne by St Edmund, the martyred king of East Anglia (d. 869), and later by Edmund I and Edmund Ironside, kings of the English.
Source: Bosworth–Toller, An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (online), s.vv. “ēad”, “mund” · Wikipedia: Edmund
Edgar “the Peaceful” (r. 959–975), crowned at Bath in 973; his reign was later remembered as a high point of the united English kingdom.
Source: Bosworth–Toller, An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (online), s.vv. “ēad”, “gār” · Wikipedia: Edgar
Godwine, earl of Wessex (d. 1053), the most powerful English nobleman of his day and father of Harold, the last Anglo-Saxon king.
Source: Bosworth–Toller, An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (online), s.vv. “god”, “wine” · Wikipedia: Godwin
Wulfstan (d. 1023), archbishop of York, homilist and drafter of law codes — author of the Sermo Lupi ad Anglos.
Source: Bosworth–Toller, An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (online), s.vv. “wulf”, “stān” · Wikipedia: Wulfstan
Ælfric of Eynsham (c. 955–c. 1010), monk and the most prolific prose writer in Old English: homilies, saints' lives and a grammar of the language itself.
Source: Bosworth–Toller, An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (online), s.vv. “ælf”, “rīce” · Wikipedia: Ælfric
Bede “the Venerable” (d. 735), monk of Jarrow and author of the Ecclesiastical History of the English People — our main source for early Anglo-Saxon names, including Cædmon and Hild below.
Source: Bede, Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum (completed 731) — the author's own name · Wikipedia: Bede
The first English poet known by name: an illiterate herdsman at Whitby who, Bede says, received the gift of song in a dream. A reminder that not every “Anglo-Saxon” name is English in origin.
Source: Bede, Historia ecclesiastica, IV.24 (the story of Cædmon) · Wikipedia: Cædmon
Offa of Mercia (r. 757–796), builder of the dyke that still bears his name. An earlier, legendary Offa of Angel is praised in the poem Beowulf.
Source: Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, s.a. 757 (Offa becomes king of Mercia) · Wikipedia: Offa
St Oswald (d. 642), king of Northumbria, killed in battle against Penda of Mercia and venerated as a martyr. The name survives in modern English.
Source: Bosworth–Toller, An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (online), s.vv. “os”, “weald” · Wikipedia: Oswald
Cnut the Great (d. 1035), the Danish king who ruled England 1016–1035. His name is Old Norse; it is recorded in England because of him.
Source: Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, s.a. 1016–1035 · Wikipedia: Cnut
Æthelflæd, “Lady of the Mercians” (d. 918): daughter of Alfred the Great, she ruled Mercia and directed its war effort against the Vikings.
Source: Bosworth–Toller, An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (online), s.v. “æðel”; the element flǣd occurs only in personal names · Wikipedia: Æthelflæd
Borne by Edith of Wessex, queen of Edward the Confessor, and by St Edith of Wilton (d. 984). It survives in modern English as Edith.
Source: Bosworth–Toller, An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (online), s.vv. “ēad”, “gūþ” · Wikipedia: Edith
Ælfgifu of Northampton, first wife of Cnut and regent of Norway. The same English name was given to Emma of Normandy when she married into England (see below).
Source: Bosworth–Toller, An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (online), s.vv. “ælf”, “gifu” · Wikipedia: Ælfgifu
Emma of Normandy (d. 1052), wife first of Æthelred, then of Cnut — queen to two kings and mother of two more. In England she was also given the English name Ælfgifu.
Source: Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (as “Ælfgifu Emma”); Encomium Emmae Reginae, commissioned by her · Wikipedia: Emma
Wife of Offa of Mercia, and the only Anglo-Saxon queen known to have had coins issued in her own name.
Source: Bosworth–Toller, An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (online), s.vv. “cyne”, “þrȳþ” · Wikipedia: Cynethryth
St Hild — better known as Hilda (d. 680) — founding abbess of Whitby, the double monastery where Cædmon sang. A one-element name, meaning simply “battle”.
Source: Bosworth–Toller, An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (online), s.v. “hild”; Bede, Historia ecclesiastica, IV.23 · Wikipedia: Hild (Hilda)
Borne by several royal and saintly women, including Æthelburh of Kent, queen of Edwin of Northumbria, and St Æthelburh, abbess of Barking — both appear in Bede.
Source: Bosworth–Toller, An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (online), s.vv. “æðel”, “burh” · Wikipedia: Æthelburh
St Werburgh (d. c. 700), a Mercian princess who became an abbess; she is the patron saint of Chester.
Source: Bosworth–Toller, An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (online), s.v. “burh”; the first element is of uncertain origin · Wikipedia: Werburgh
St Mildrith (d. early 8th century), abbess of Minster-in-Thanet in Kent. Her name lived on in later English as Mildred.
Source: Bosworth–Toller, An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (online), s.vv. “milde”, “þrȳþ” · Wikipedia: Mildrith (Mildred)
From the poems
The most famous Old English names of all come not from the historical record but from a poem: Beowulf. The names themselves are genuine Old English, but their bearers are characters — literature, not history, and labelled accordingly.
The hero of the epic: “Bēowulf is mīn nama”, he tells the Danish coast-guard. A character in a poem, not a recorded historical person.
Source: Beowulf, line 343 (Klaeber's Beowulf, 4th ed.) · Wikipedia: Beowulf
The ageing Danish king in Beowulf who builds the great hall Heorot — and needs the hero's help when Grendel attacks it.
Source: Beowulf, line 61 (Klaeber's Beowulf, 4th ed.) · Wikipedia: Hrothgar
The monster of Beowulf — “the grim spirit called Grendel”. Included as a curiosity: this is a creature's name from a poem, not a name any Anglo-Saxon child bore.
Source: Beowulf, line 102 (Klaeber's Beowulf, 4th ed.) · Wikipedia: Grendel
The young thane who alone stands by Beowulf in the dragon fight. The name suits the role: the one left standing after battle.
Source: Beowulf, line 2602 (Klaeber's Beowulf, 4th ed.) · Wikipedia: Wiglaf
For fiction and games
Need a name for a character? Combine two elements from the table above — that is genuinely how the historical names were built, and the three examples below show the pattern working. But be clear about the status of the result: a combination assembled today is creative, not historical, even when every element in it is attested. We mark such names “Composed, not recorded”, and you should too — the same labelling discipline runs through the whole site (see how we label evidence).
Assembled from gār and wine, following the same pattern as recorded names like Godwine. No historical bearer is recorded — a modern composition, useful for fiction.
Source: Bosworth–Toller, An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (online), s.vv. “gār”, “wine” — attested elements; the combination itself is not recorded
Assembled from sige and wynn. It follows the attested pattern for women's names, but is not itself recorded in any source — a modern composition.
Source: Bosworth–Toller, An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (online), s.vv. “sige”, “wynn” — attested elements; the combination itself is not recorded
Assembled from friþu and gifu. A plausible name an Anglo-Saxon would have understood, but a modern composition, not a recorded one.
Source: Bosworth–Toller, An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (online), s.vv. “friþu”, “gifu” — attested elements; the combination itself is not recorded
Keep exploring
Spotted a wrong meaning, a misattributed bearer or a “recorded” name that isn’t? Accuracy is the whole point of the labels — report an error and we will re-examine the entry against the cited source.