What were girls called in Anglo-Saxon England? Many Old English names had meanings that reflected qualities such as strength, beauty, wisdom and good fortune. Here are 20 names used by women and girls in early medieval England, some familiar and others almost entirely forgotten.
Our knowledge of these names comes from surviving Anglo-Saxon sources, including chronicles, saints’ lives, wills and charters. Around 300 female names have been identified, although many others have undoubtedly been lost to history.
Many Old English names were formed by combining two elements, each with its own meaning, while others consisted of a single word. These combinations produced names that can seem quite unusual to modern English speakers.
In her book Women’s Names in Old English, Elisabeth Okasha examines naming patterns in Anglo-Saxon England. She writes:
when the Anglo-Saxons came to choose a given name for a female child, that the names were more often than not chosen from a set of those that were considered traditionally suitable for women. Even taking into account that many names may have been lost to us, this set of female names appears to have been limited in its extent. Moreover, as far as we can tell, this set of female names seems to have remained largely constant throughout the historic Anglo-Saxon period.
Here are 20 of our favourite Old English girls’ names, along with their meanings. Perhaps one might even inspire a baby name today!
Ætte
The meaning of Ætte is uncertain, but it may be related to the Old English word æþelu, meaning ‘nobility’, or æþele, meaning ‘noble’. It could also be a shortened form of a longer name beginning with Æþel-. The name appears in an Anglo-Saxon charter, although relatively little is known about the woman who bore it.
Blædswiþ (Blaedswith)
This name combines two Old English elements: blæd, meaning ‘splendour’, and swiþ, meaning ‘strong’. It belongs to a larger group of Anglo-Saxon female names ending in -swiþ, an element that also appears in names such as Æþelswiþ and Wulfswiþ. The name illustrates how ideas of splendour and strength could be brought together in Old English naming traditions.
Cwenhild
Cwenhild combines cwen, meaning ‘woman’, with hild, meaning ‘war’ or ‘battle’. The first element is also related to the Old English word for queen. The second was widely used in Anglo-Saxon female names, including Ælfhild and Wulfhild. The name should not necessarily be interpreted as describing a woman who fought in battle.
Cynewise
Cynewise combines cyne-, associated with family or royalty, with an element that may derive from wis, meaning ‘wise’, or wise, meaning ‘manner’. It can therefore be interpreted as bringing together ideas of royal or family connections and wisdom, although the precise meaning is uncertain. The name is an example of how Old English personal names could contain elements with more than one possible interpretation.
Eawynn
Eawynn brings together ea, meaning ‘river’, and wynn, meaning ‘joy’. However, Okasha notes that the first element might alternatively be a shortened form of Ead- or Ealu-. The name therefore does not necessarily mean ‘river joy’. The ending -wynn was particularly productive in Anglo-Saxon female names, appearing in examples such as Ælfwynn, Leofwynn and Oswynn.
Eorcengod
One of the more unusual Old English girls’ names, Eorcengod combines an element associated with eorcnan-, meaning ‘treasure’, with god, meaning ‘good’ or ‘goodness’. The name is noteworthy because -god is otherwise uncommon as the second element of an Anglo-Saxon female name. It offers an interesting example of the variety found in early medieval English naming practices.
Friþugyþ
Friþugyþ brings together two seemingly contrasting ideas: friþu, meaning ‘peace’, and gyþ, an element associated with ‘battle’. The name illustrates how Old English personal names could combine words with very different meanings. However, there is no reason to assume that Anglo-Saxon parents understood the complete name as a deliberate statement about peace and warfare.
Giefu
A short and straightforward Old English name, Giefu means ‘gift’. Unlike many Anglo-Saxon female names, which were formed from two elements, Giefu consists of a single word. The same element appears in longer names such as Ælfgifu, Eadgifu and Leofgifu. It is one of the clearest examples of a female name derived directly from an ordinary Old English noun.
Golde
Golde is closely related to the Old English word gold, meaning ‘gold’. It belongs to the group of female names formed from a single element rather than two. Okasha also notes comparable male names, including Golda, demonstrating that similar linguistic elements could appear in the names of both men and women in Anglo-Saxon England.
Heiu
Heiu is recorded as the name of a seventh-century abbess mentioned by Bede in his Ecclesiastical History of the English People. According to Bede, she was the first woman in Northumbria to take the veil as a nun and was associated with a religious community at Hartlepool. The name’s origin is uncertain, although it may be related to the Old English adjective heah, meaning ‘high’.
Leofgifu
Leofgifu combines leof, which can mean ‘dear’, ‘beloved’ or ‘friend’, with gifu, meaning ‘gift’. The name could therefore be interpreted as something like ‘beloved gift’, although such translations should be treated cautiously. It appears in several Anglo-Saxon records, including wills and religious commemorative lists, and was also recorded in varying spellings after the Norman Conquest.
Lufu
Lufu is one of the simplest and most appealing Old English names, deriving from a word meaning ‘love’. Okasha also identifies a possible connection with leof, meaning ‘dear’. The name appears in Anglo-Saxon documentary sources, including legal records. Unlike longer names such as Leofgifu, it consists of a single element.
Mildþryþ (Mildritha)
Mildþryþ combines milde, meaning ‘kind’, with þryþ, meaning ‘might’ or ‘power’. One notable bearer was Saint Mildrith, a royal woman who became abbess of Minster-in-Thanet in Kent during the late seventh or early eighth century. Her cult became important in medieval England, helping preserve her name in religious and historical writings.
Oslaf
Oslaf combines os, meaning ‘god’, with laf, meaning ‘remnant’ or ‘widow’. The name is unusual because -laf is recorded as the second element of only one female name in Okasha’s study. Oslaf appears in medieval accounts associated with the family of Saint Mildrith, providing a historical example of a name whose literal components may seem rather strange to modern readers.
Pege
Pege is a name of uncertain origin, with no established Old English meaning. Its best-known bearer was Saint Pega, the sister of the Mercian hermit Saint Guthlac, who lived in the early eighth century. According to accounts of Guthlac’s life, Pega lived a religious life herself and was associated with the area around Crowland in the Fens. Her name survives in the place-name Peakirk, traditionally associated with her religious community.
Ricule
Ricule may be related to the Old English adjective rice, meaning ‘powerful’ or ‘mighty’, although its precise derivation is uncertain. The name is recorded in accounts of the early Anglo-Saxon royal families, including Bede’s history. Ricula was the sister of King Æthelberht of Kent and the wife of Sledd, an early ruler of the East Saxons, placing her within the royal networks of sixth-century England.
Sigeburg
Sigeburg combines sige, meaning ‘victory’, with burg, meaning ‘dwelling’ or ‘fortified place’. Both elements were used in numerous Anglo-Saxon names. The name appears in the Durham Liber Vitae, a medieval book recording people commemorated by a religious community, as well as in charter evidence. It provides another example of the importance of victory-related vocabulary in Old English personal names.
Sweterun
Sweterun combines swete, meaning ‘sweet’, with run, meaning ‘mystery’ or ‘secret’. It is one of the more distinctive names in the collection, particularly because -run also appears in names such as Ælfrun and Wulfrun. Sweterun is recorded in the Liber Vitae of Thorney Abbey, demonstrating that this unusual combination was used as a personal name in medieval England.
Tate
Tate is a short Old English name whose meaning is uncertain. It may be connected with an otherwise unrecorded adjective meaning ‘glad’ or ‘beloved’, related to the Old English verb tætan, ‘to gladden’. The same element appears in the longer name Tatswiþ. A woman named Tate is also mentioned by Bede in connection with the family of Æthelberht of Kent.
Wynflæd
Wynflæd combines wynn, meaning ‘joy’, with flæd, an element sometimes interpreted as ‘beauty’. However, Okasha notes that the precise origin of -flæd is uncertain; it may instead be related to a word meaning ‘full’. Wynflæd belongs to a larger family of names ending in -flæd, including Æthelflæd, Eadflæd and Sigeflæd. The name demonstrates both the appeal and the difficulty of translating Old English personal names into modern English.
The names used by women and girls in Anglo-Saxon England offer a glimpse into the language and culture of the early Middle Ages. Their elements reflect ideas of strength, warfare, prosperity, affection and family, while others draw on the natural world or religious beliefs.
Yet these names also remind us of how much remains unknown. The surviving records preserve only a fraction of the women who lived in Anglo-Saxon England, and the literal meanings of their names may not have been particularly important to the families who chose them.
Some of these Old English names have survived in recognisable forms, while others have disappeared almost entirely. Together, they offer a fascinating glimpse into the personal identities of women who lived more than a thousand years ago.
What were girls called in Anglo-Saxon England? Many Old English names had meanings that reflected qualities such as strength, beauty, wisdom and good fortune. Here are 20 names used by women and girls in early medieval England, some familiar and others almost entirely forgotten.
Our knowledge of these names comes from surviving Anglo-Saxon sources, including chronicles, saints’ lives, wills and charters. Around 300 female names have been identified, although many others have undoubtedly been lost to history.
Many Old English names were formed by combining two elements, each with its own meaning, while others consisted of a single word. These combinations produced names that can seem quite unusual to modern English speakers.
In her book Women’s Names in Old English, Elisabeth Okasha examines naming patterns in Anglo-Saxon England. She writes:
when the Anglo-Saxons came to choose a given name for a female child, that the names were more often than not chosen from a set of those that were considered traditionally suitable for women. Even taking into account that many names may have been lost to us, this set of female names appears to have been limited in its extent. Moreover, as far as we can tell, this set of female names seems to have remained largely constant throughout the historic Anglo-Saxon period.
Here are 20 of our favourite Old English girls’ names, along with their meanings. Perhaps one might even inspire a baby name today!
Ætte
The meaning of Ætte is uncertain, but it may be related to the Old English word æþelu, meaning ‘nobility’, or æþele, meaning ‘noble’. It could also be a shortened form of a longer name beginning with Æþel-. The name appears in an Anglo-Saxon charter, although relatively little is known about the woman who bore it.
Blædswiþ (Blaedswith)
This name combines two Old English elements: blæd, meaning ‘splendour’, and swiþ, meaning ‘strong’. It belongs to a larger group of Anglo-Saxon female names ending in -swiþ, an element that also appears in names such as Æþelswiþ and Wulfswiþ. The name illustrates how ideas of splendour and strength could be brought together in Old English naming traditions.
Cwenhild
Cwenhild combines cwen, meaning ‘woman’, with hild, meaning ‘war’ or ‘battle’. The first element is also related to the Old English word for queen. The second was widely used in Anglo-Saxon female names, including Ælfhild and Wulfhild. The name should not necessarily be interpreted as describing a woman who fought in battle.
Cynewise
Cynewise combines cyne-, associated with family or royalty, with an element that may derive from wis, meaning ‘wise’, or wise, meaning ‘manner’. It can therefore be interpreted as bringing together ideas of royal or family connections and wisdom, although the precise meaning is uncertain. The name is an example of how Old English personal names could contain elements with more than one possible interpretation.
Eawynn
Eawynn brings together ea, meaning ‘river’, and wynn, meaning ‘joy’. However, Okasha notes that the first element might alternatively be a shortened form of Ead- or Ealu-. The name therefore does not necessarily mean ‘river joy’. The ending -wynn was particularly productive in Anglo-Saxon female names, appearing in examples such as Ælfwynn, Leofwynn and Oswynn.
Eorcengod
One of the more unusual Old English girls’ names, Eorcengod combines an element associated with eorcnan-, meaning ‘treasure’, with god, meaning ‘good’ or ‘goodness’. The name is noteworthy because -god is otherwise uncommon as the second element of an Anglo-Saxon female name. It offers an interesting example of the variety found in early medieval English naming practices.
Friþugyþ
Friþugyþ brings together two seemingly contrasting ideas: friþu, meaning ‘peace’, and gyþ, an element associated with ‘battle’. The name illustrates how Old English personal names could combine words with very different meanings. However, there is no reason to assume that Anglo-Saxon parents understood the complete name as a deliberate statement about peace and warfare.
Giefu
A short and straightforward Old English name, Giefu means ‘gift’. Unlike many Anglo-Saxon female names, which were formed from two elements, Giefu consists of a single word. The same element appears in longer names such as Ælfgifu, Eadgifu and Leofgifu. It is one of the clearest examples of a female name derived directly from an ordinary Old English noun.
Golde
Golde is closely related to the Old English word gold, meaning ‘gold’. It belongs to the group of female names formed from a single element rather than two. Okasha also notes comparable male names, including Golda, demonstrating that similar linguistic elements could appear in the names of both men and women in Anglo-Saxon England.
Heiu
Heiu is recorded as the name of a seventh-century abbess mentioned by Bede in his Ecclesiastical History of the English People. According to Bede, she was the first woman in Northumbria to take the veil as a nun and was associated with a religious community at Hartlepool. The name’s origin is uncertain, although it may be related to the Old English adjective heah, meaning ‘high’.
Leofgifu
Leofgifu combines leof, which can mean ‘dear’, ‘beloved’ or ‘friend’, with gifu, meaning ‘gift’. The name could therefore be interpreted as something like ‘beloved gift’, although such translations should be treated cautiously. It appears in several Anglo-Saxon records, including wills and religious commemorative lists, and was also recorded in varying spellings after the Norman Conquest.
Lufu
Lufu is one of the simplest and most appealing Old English names, deriving from a word meaning ‘love’. Okasha also identifies a possible connection with leof, meaning ‘dear’. The name appears in Anglo-Saxon documentary sources, including legal records. Unlike longer names such as Leofgifu, it consists of a single element.
Mildþryþ (Mildritha)
Mildþryþ combines milde, meaning ‘kind’, with þryþ, meaning ‘might’ or ‘power’. One notable bearer was Saint Mildrith, a royal woman who became abbess of Minster-in-Thanet in Kent during the late seventh or early eighth century. Her cult became important in medieval England, helping preserve her name in religious and historical writings.
Oslaf
Oslaf combines os, meaning ‘god’, with laf, meaning ‘remnant’ or ‘widow’. The name is unusual because -laf is recorded as the second element of only one female name in Okasha’s study. Oslaf appears in medieval accounts associated with the family of Saint Mildrith, providing a historical example of a name whose literal components may seem rather strange to modern readers.
Pege
Pege is a name of uncertain origin, with no established Old English meaning. Its best-known bearer was Saint Pega, the sister of the Mercian hermit Saint Guthlac, who lived in the early eighth century. According to accounts of Guthlac’s life, Pega lived a religious life herself and was associated with the area around Crowland in the Fens. Her name survives in the place-name Peakirk, traditionally associated with her religious community.
Ricule
Ricule may be related to the Old English adjective rice, meaning ‘powerful’ or ‘mighty’, although its precise derivation is uncertain. The name is recorded in accounts of the early Anglo-Saxon royal families, including Bede’s history. Ricula was the sister of King Æthelberht of Kent and the wife of Sledd, an early ruler of the East Saxons, placing her within the royal networks of sixth-century England.
Sigeburg
Sigeburg combines sige, meaning ‘victory’, with burg, meaning ‘dwelling’ or ‘fortified place’. Both elements were used in numerous Anglo-Saxon names. The name appears in the Durham Liber Vitae, a medieval book recording people commemorated by a religious community, as well as in charter evidence. It provides another example of the importance of victory-related vocabulary in Old English personal names.
Sweterun
Sweterun combines swete, meaning ‘sweet’, with run, meaning ‘mystery’ or ‘secret’. It is one of the more distinctive names in the collection, particularly because -run also appears in names such as Ælfrun and Wulfrun. Sweterun is recorded in the Liber Vitae of Thorney Abbey, demonstrating that this unusual combination was used as a personal name in medieval England.
Tate
Tate is a short Old English name whose meaning is uncertain. It may be connected with an otherwise unrecorded adjective meaning ‘glad’ or ‘beloved’, related to the Old English verb tætan, ‘to gladden’. The same element appears in the longer name Tatswiþ. A woman named Tate is also mentioned by Bede in connection with the family of Æthelberht of Kent.
Wynflæd
Wynflæd combines wynn, meaning ‘joy’, with flæd, an element sometimes interpreted as ‘beauty’. However, Okasha notes that the precise origin of -flæd is uncertain; it may instead be related to a word meaning ‘full’. Wynflæd belongs to a larger family of names ending in -flæd, including Æthelflæd, Eadflæd and Sigeflæd. The name demonstrates both the appeal and the difficulty of translating Old English personal names into modern English.
The names used by women and girls in Anglo-Saxon England offer a glimpse into the language and culture of the early Middle Ages. Their elements reflect ideas of strength, warfare, prosperity, affection and family, while others draw on the natural world or religious beliefs.
Yet these names also remind us of how much remains unknown. The surviving records preserve only a fraction of the women who lived in Anglo-Saxon England, and the literal meanings of their names may not have been particularly important to the families who chose them.
Some of these Old English names have survived in recognisable forms, while others have disappeared almost entirely. Together, they offer a fascinating glimpse into the personal identities of women who lived more than a thousand years ago.
To learn more, check out Elisabeth Okasha’s book, Women’s Names in Old English, which was published in 2011.
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