Vanadís

Vanadís (“VAW-naw-dees”), one of the names of the Norse goddess Freya, was apparently given to Viking girls.

In the 13th-century Prose Edda, Icelandic scholar Snorri Sturlusson made this mention of it:

Óðr went away on long journeys, & Freya [his wife] weeps for him, & her tears are red gold. Freya has many names, & this is the cause thereof: that she gave herself sundry names, when she went out among unknown peoples seeking Óðr: she is called Mardöll (“Sea-Shining”) & Hörn (“Lady of Flax”), Gefn (“the Giving”), Sýr (“the Sow,” “the Protector”). Freya had the golden necklace Brísingamen (“flaming necklace”). She is also called Vanadís (“Lady of the Vanir”).

Meaning

Its second element is the popular name suffix dís meaning “goddess.” The first element, Vana, means “of the Vanir” (= the tribe of Norse gods who are associated with fertility as opposed to the more warlike Æsir), & since Freya is the goddess of beauty, it is sometimes linked to Swedish väna “fair, beautiful.”

♫ ♪ Sigur Ros – Glósóli

Also…

• A chemical element, vanadium (V), takes its name from hers — maybe because its reddish ore vanadinite evokes the gold/amber tears that the love goddess sheds, pining for her absent husband.
• There is also an asteroid named in her honor.
• Vanadis is the eponymous heroine of German writer Isolde Kurz’s “great tragic novel” (1931).
• Ásdís, currently Iceland’s 34th most popular female name, is a sort of counterpart of Vanadís, since it has as its first element Old Norse Ás, the singular form of Æsir, & thus could be interpreted as meaning “goddess of the Æsir” (perhaps a reference to Frigg).

Vorin

Vár, goddess of marital vows: Vorin’s mythical predecessor

This spunky Norwegian appellation is associated with spring and rooted in Norse mythology.

More commonly spelled Vårin (a name shared by 195 Norwegian women, while only four spell it Vorin), she is an elaboration of Vår (bearers: 109) – the modern form of the Old Norse name Vár, which meant “pledge, faith,” personified as a goddess of wedding vows and other oaths, and also happens to coincide with the Norwegian word for “spring.” Pronounced VOH-reen in Norwegian, or as the more English VOHR-in, this would make a strong, meaningful alternative to popular unisex-style choices like Corinne, Rowan, Morgan or Devin.