Guðrún

See also: Gudrun and Guðrun

Icelandic

Etymology

From Old Norse Guðrún, probably a mix of two originally distinct names, both with the latter part rún (rune, secret, confidante): Guðrún, Goðrún, from guð (god) (Proto-Germanic *Gudarūnō) and (perhaps more common) *Gunnrún, Guðrún, from gunnr, guðr (battle) (Proto-Germanic *Gunþarūnō), with the regular sound change -nnr- > -ðr-. The latter is evidenced by the short form Gunna.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈkvʏð.ruːn/

Proper noun

Guðrún f (proper noun, genitive singular Guðrúnar)

  1. a female given name

Declension

Declension of Guðrún (sg-only feminine, based on -rún)
indefinite singular
nominative Guðrún
accusative Guðrúnu, Guðrúni1
dative Guðrúnu, Guðrúni1
genitive Guðrúnar

1Regional, rare.

References

  • Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon (1989) Íslensk orðsifjabók, Reykjavík: Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies, →ISBN (Available at Málið.is under the “Eldri orðabækur” tab.)
  • Kristín Bjarnadóttir, editor (2002–2025), “Guðrún”, in Beygingarlýsing íslensks nútímamáls [The Database of Modern Icelandic Inflection] (in Icelandic), Reykjavík: The Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies
  • Mörður Árnason (2019) Íslensk orðabók, 5th edition, Reykjavík: Forlagið

Old Norse

Etymology

Probably a mix of two originally distinct names, both with the latter part rún (rune, secret, confidante): Guðrún, Goðrún, from guð (god) (Proto-Germanic *Gudarūnō) and (perhaps more common) *Gunnrún, Guðrún, from gunnr, guðr (battle) (Proto-Germanic *Gunþarūnō), with the regular sound change -nnr- > -ðr-. The latter is evidenced by the Icelandic short form Gunna.

A heroine of several Norse legends, identical to Kriemhild in the German Nibelungenlied.

Proper noun

Guðrún f

  1. a female given name

Descendants

  • Danish: Gudrun
  • Faroese: Guðrun
  • Icelandic: Guðrún
  • Norwegian: Gudrun, Guro
  • Swedish: Gudrun

Further reading

  • Eivind Vågslid, Norderlendske fyrenamn, 1988, →ISBN
  • Roland Otterbjörk, Svenska förnamn, Stockholm 1964