Jotunn Name Generator

The jötnar of Norse myth are not simply big brutes; they are the old powers of frost, fire, sea and stone that the gods fought, bargained with and married. Their names come from the Poetic and Prose Eddas and from the þulur name-lists, and they fall into a few clear types. Some describe a force of nature: Hrímnir (rime), Logi (flame), Kári (wind), Hlér (sea). Some are short and blunt, often ending in -ir, -nir or -mir: Ymir, Thrym, Hymir, Gymir, Mímir, Thjazi. Others are compounds of two words, like Bergelmir (mountain-roarer), Vafthrúdnir (mighty weaver) and Hrímgrímnir (rime-masked). Giantesses usually carry names ending in -a, -gerd, -hild or -vor: Skadi, Gerd, Angrboda, Jarnsaxa, Hyrrokkin, Leirvor.

A second layer comes from bynames and kennings. Surtr is 'the black one', Útgarda-Loki is 'Loki of the outer yards', and skaldic verse calls a giant 'the stone-dweller' or 'the rime-thurs'. Epithets such as Eagle-Cloak or Shield-Steersman fit naturally beside the bare name.

To invent a jotunn name that sounds authentic, build it from one Old Norse element for the giant's element (hrím, eld, berg, jarn, aur, vind) and one for a body part, weapon or trait (skeggi, tanna, kepta, hofdi, ljod), or simply take a hard single name and give it a byname that tells the story.