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