Elder Futhark Runes: The 24-Rune Viking Alphabet and What Each Rune Means
2026-06-29
The Elder Futhark is the oldest known runic alphabet — 24 characters used by Germanic peoples from roughly 150 to 800 AD, carved into stone, weapons, and jewelry across Scandinavia and beyond. Its name comes from its first six runes: F, U, Þ, A, R, K.
Each rune was more than a letter. Fehu (ᚠ) meant cattle or wealth; Ansuz (ᚨ) was associated with the gods; Þurisaz (ᚦ) with giants or the god Thor. This dual role — sound and symbol — is why runes remain popular in jewelry, tattoos, and fantasy design today.
Writing modern names in runes
Because the futhark predates English spelling, writing a modern name in runes is a phonetic approximation, not a historical translation. Some sounds map cleanly — TH has its own rune (ᚦ), as does NG (ᛜ) — while others, like C and K, share a rune. Vikings spelled by sound, so the honest approach is transliterating how a word is pronounced.
A word of caution born from experience: if you're considering runes for something permanent like a tattoo, verify the transliteration with multiple sources. Automated tools, ours included, produce reasonable approximations — but 'reasonable approximation' and 'permanently on your arm' deserve different levels of scrutiny.
Try the runic translator
Our Elder Futhark translator transliterates English into runes with proper th/ng handling and decodes runes back, entirely in your browser. It pairs well with our Old Norse translator if you want the language of the sagas, not just the script.