Old English Name Generator
Anglo-Saxon names with real Old English elements, shown in manuscript spelling and in modern form, with son of, daughter of and kingdom variants.
- Aelfgifu
- Hild daughter of Leofwine
- Ethelred
- Cenwulf of Sussex
- Aethelthryth
- Frideswide
- Leofric son of Eadric
- Edward
- Hereward
- Aelfhild of Whitby
- Beorhthild
- Wulfthryth of East Anglia
- Wulfrun of Dorchester
- Beornwulf son of Byrhtwold
- Aelfflaed daughter of Wulfhere
- Osric
- Eadburh of Malmesbury
- Wulfrida
- Eanswith daughter of Leofwine
- Harold of East Anglia
How Old English names were made
Old English is the language of Anglo-Saxon England, spoken before the Norman Conquest in 1066, and its names have a system you can see once you know the parts. Most male and female names were built from two elements joined together, a habit called dithematic naming that Old English shared with the other Germanic languages. Aethelred is aethel (noble) plus red (counsel). Wulfstan is wulf (wolf) plus stan (stone). The two halves did not have to make a sentence, and often did not, which is why names like Eadmund look meaningful and are really just good-sounding pairs.
A small stock of elements does most of the work. On the front of a name you find aethel (noble), ead (wealth, prosperity), leof (dear), wulf (wolf), god (good), os (god), cuth (known) and beorht (bright). On the back you find -red (counsel), -ric (ruler), -stan (stone), -mund (protection), -wine (friend), -weard (guard) for men, and -gifu (gift), -burh (fortress), -hild (battle) and -thryth (strength) for women. Children in a family often shared an element, so brothers might be Aelfric, Aelfweard and Aelfgar.
Spelling is where most Old English name pages lose people. The original letters include ae joined as one letter, and thorn and eth, which are written th here. The Old English spelling style keeps the forms close to the manuscripts, and the Modern spelling style gives the forms English speakers know, such as Ethelred, Alfred, Edith and Godiva.
Old English names for women
Women's names followed the same building-block logic but with feminine second elements: -gifu (gift), -flaed (a word tied to beauty or cleanness), -burh (fortress), -hild (battle), -thryth (strength), -wynn (joy). Aethelflaed, Eadgyth, Aelfgifu and Wulfthryth are attested in royal and church records, and Hild became the abbess of Whitby.
Many of these forms survived in a worn-down way: Eadgyth became Edith, Godgifu became Godiva, Aethelthryth became Audrey (through Saint Etheldreda), and Ealdgyth became Aldith. If you want a woman's name that is easy to say, choose from the Modern spelling style.
Old English names and where they belong
Anglo-Saxon England was a set of kingdoms: Wessex, Mercia, Northumbria, Kent, Sussex, Essex and East Anglia. Someone might be identified by kingdom, by monastery or by a father's name, and the Son, daughter or place style uses all three. The form son of is used instead of an English patronymic surname, since fixed surnames did not exist yet.
Old English names and their parts
- AethelredAethel plus red: noble counsel. It was a royal name, and it is the archetype of the dithematic pattern.
- WulfstanWolf plus stone, a solid, memorable name borne by a famous bishop and homilist.
- LeofricDear ruler; it has a rolling sound, and a Leofric ruled Mercia in the eleventh century.
- GodricGood ruler. Short and plain, and it turns up again and again in Domesday Book.
- EadmundProsperity and protection, a straightforward royal name that gave modern Edmund.
- CuthbertKnown and bright: the name of the saint of Lindisfarne, and still in use.
- HerewardArmy guard; the name of the East Anglian leader of resistance to the Normans.
- OffaA short name of the great Mercian king, easy to say and easy to remember.
- OsricGod plus ruler; the name of two Northumbrian kings, and a good sound for a thegn.
- ByrhtnothBright boldness. A grand, martial name of the ealdorman commemorated in a heroic poem.
- AlfredFrom Aelfred, elf counsel. It is the name of the only English king called the Great.
- EdwinProsperity plus friend, and a Northumbrian king's name that returned in the Victorian period.
- AethelflaedNoble beauty, the name of a Mercian ruler known as Lady of the Mercians.
- EadgythThe Old English form of Edith, and the name of a queen of England.
- AelfgifuElf gift, a very common name for royal women, in both the tenth and eleventh centuries.
- HildA single-element name meaning battle, borne by the abbess of Whitby.
- GodgifuGift of God, a name that gave modern Godiva, and a good choice for an early medieval noblewoman.
- WulfrunA rare woman's name that survives in a place: Wolverhampton takes its name from a woman called Wulfrun.
- EanswithA Kentish saint's name; short, unusual and firmly grounded in the record.
- EalhswithThe wife of King Alfred, an elaborate spelling that suits the Old English style.
- Wulfric son of LeofricThe form for a family connection: a name plus the father's name, as in a charter.
- Eadburh of WessexA woman's name with her kingdom, as in royal lists and grants.
Choosing an Old English name
- Pick the spelling you can defend. Use the Old English spelling for a scholarly or period feel, and the Modern spelling for readers who need to pronounce the name.
- Learn the elements. If you know aethel, wulf, leof, ead and -stan, you can tell whether a name fits a noble or a warrior.
- Give family members shared elements, such as Aelfric and Aelfweard, since Anglo-Saxon families often linked their children's names.
- For a place, use kingdoms and religious houses (Wessex, Mercia, Jarrow, Whitby). Avoid later medieval names like Norman lords or towns that were founded after 1066.
- Skip the surname. Anglo-Saxons used a single name with a byname or a father's name, so son of Leofric is closer to the truth.
Questions people ask
What are Old English names?
Old English names are Anglo-Saxon names from before 1066, mostly built from two elements, such as Aethelred (noble counsel), Wulfstan (wolf stone) and Eadgyth (a name that became Edith). This page shows them in Old English and modern spelling.
What does dithematic mean in a name?
A dithematic name has two parts joined together, such as aethel plus red in Aethelred. The parts came from a set list, and they did not always form a sentence. Old English shares the system with other Germanic languages.
What are some Old English girl names?
Old English girl names include Aelfgifu, Aethelflaed, Eadgyth, Godgifu, Hild, Wulfrun and Eanswith. Modern forms include Edith, Hilda, Godiva, Audrey and Mildred.
What are some Old English boy names?
Old English boy names include Aelfric, Aethelred, Wulfstan, Leofric, Godric, Cuthbert, Hereward, Oswald and Offa. Modern forms include Alfred, Edwin, Edmund, Edgar and Ethelred.
Are Old English names the same as medieval names?
Not quite. Old English names belong to Anglo-Saxon England before 1066. After the Norman Conquest, French names such as William, Robert and Hugh replaced most of them. Use the medieval generator for later English names.
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Sources
- Germanic name, Wikipedia
- English name, Wikipedia
Updated September 2026 · How these names are made