List of dwarfs in Norse mythology

The Prose and Poetic Eddas, which form the foundation of what we know today concerning Norse mythology, contain many names of dwarfs. While many of them are featured in extant myths of their own, many others have come down to us today only as names in various lists provided for the benefit of skalds or poets of the medieval period and are included here for the purpose of completeness.

List of dwarfs[]

A[]

Name	Name meaning	Alternative names	Attestations
	Great-grandfather	Óinn	Skáldskaparmál, Völuspá
	"Elf"^[1]		Skáldskaparmál, Völuspá
Alfrigg	"Elfking"		Sörla þáttr
Alfrikr	"Elfking"		Þiðreks saga
	The other		Ásmundar saga kappabana
	"All-thief"^[2]		Skáldskaparmál, Völuspá
Alvíss	"All-Wise"		Alvíssmál
		Óri	Völuspá
	Starer	Annarr, Ónarr	Völuspá
Andvari	"Careful one", "Cautious spirit",^[1] "Gentle breeze"		Nafnaþulur, Reginsmál, Skáldskaparmál, Völsunga saga, Völuspá
			Fjölsvinnsmál
	"Mud-grimnir"^[2]
	"Mud-field",^[2] "Gravelly plain"	Aurvargr	Skáldskaparmál, Völuspá
Austri	"Eastern"		Gylfaginning, Skáldskaparmál, Völuspá

B[]

Name	Name meaning	Alternative names	Attested relatives	Attestations
	"Bean"^[2]	Bofurr		Völuspá
	"The Bearing",^[2] "Ready", "Eager"	Barri		Fjölsvinnsmál
	Little bar, Handspike			Sörla þáttr
	"Quaking one",^[2] "Beaver"			Skáldskaparmál, Völuspá
	"Plowman",^[2] "Edged weapon"			Völuspá
Billingr	Twin brother			Völuspá
Bláinn	"Dark-hued",^[2] "Blackish"			Skáldskaparmál
	Blind board			Skáldskaparmál
	"The Shining"^[2]			Skáldskaparmál
	"Drummer",^[2] "The swollen one"			Skáldskaparmál, Völuspá
	"Flame"
Brokkr	"the one who works with metal fragments; blacksmith"		Brothers: Eitri, Sindri	Skáldskaparmál
	Black, Dark brown			Völuspá
	Prepared for burial			Skáldskaparmál
	"Progenitor",^[2] "Son"	Burinn		Völuspá

D[]

Name	Name meaning	Alternative names	Attestations
	Day-finder, Day-magician		Skáldskaparmál
Dáinn	"The Dead One", "Deadlike"		Grímnismál, Hyndluljóð, Völuspá
	"Deadlike"		Fjölsvinnsmál
	"Spearman"	Dorri	Fjölsvinnsmál
Dellingr	The gleaming one		Fjölsvinnsmál, Skáldskaparmál
	"Warrior",^[1] "Enemy"		Skáldskaparmál
	"Persisting warrior",^[1] "Battle-eager"	Dolgþvari	Völuspá
	"The Fortifying",^[2] "Borer", "Auger-man"		Fjölsvinnsmál, Skáldskaparmál, Völuspá
	"Dropper",^[1] "Dripper"	Dramir, Draufnir	Skáldskaparmál, Völuspá
	"The Crooked",^[2] "The Deep",^[1] "Nodder"		Skáldskaparmál, Völuspá
Duneyrr	"Thundering ear"^[1] or "Dark ear"^[3]		Grímnismál, Gylfaginning
Duraþrór	"Thriving Slumber"		Grímnismál, Gylfaginning
Durinn	"Slumber", "Door" or "Door-warden"	Dulinn	Gylfaginning, Hervarar saga, Skáldskaparmál, Völuspá
Dúrnir	"Door", "Door-warden", "Sleeper"		Laufás-Edda, Skáldskaparmál, Ynglingatal
Dvalinn	"the dormant one", "the one slumbering", "Torpid"		Alvíssmál, Fáfnismál, Grímnismál, Gylfaginning, Hávamál, Hervarar saga, Skáldskaparmál, Sörla þáttr, Völuspá

E[]

Name	Name meaning	Attested relatives	Attestations
	Slain by the sword		Skáldskaparmál
Eikinskjaldi	"Oaken shield"^[2]		Skáldskaparmál, Völuspá
	He who lives alone
Eitri	The very cold one	Brother: Brokkr	Skáldskaparmál

F[]

Name	Name meaning	Alternative names	Attested relatives	Attestations
Fafnir			Father: Hreiðmarr Brothers: Ótr, Regin	Gylfaginning, Völsunga saga
	Shining			Skáldskaparmál
	"The caretaker" or "the defender",^[2] "Shining"			Skáldskaparmál
	The faring one			Skáldskaparmál
	"The one who files",^[2] "File"			Skáldskaparmál, Völuspá
	Lapp, Magician	Fiðr		Völuspá
Fjalar	"Paneller"	Falr	Brother: Galar	Skáldskaparmál, Völuspá
	"Very Powerful",^[1] "Very wise"			Skáldskaparmál
				Skáldskaparmál
	Famous			Völuspá
	Swift	Frór		Völuspá
				Skáldskaparmál
	"Frosty",^[1] "Cold"			Skáldskaparmál, Völuspá
	Long enough			Skáldskaparmál
	"Found"^[1]			Völuspá

G[]

Name	Name meaning	Alternative names	Attested relatives	Attestations
Gandálfr	"Wand-elf"^[2] "Magic elf", "Wolf elf"			Skáldskaparmál, Völuspá
Galar	Yeller, Singer		Brother: Fjalar	Skáldskaparmál
	"Seducer",^[1] "Deceiver"			Skáldskaparmál, Völuspá
	"The glowing one"	Glóinn		Skáldskaparmál, Völuspá
	"Staring",^[2] "The glowing one"
	Rich sea-king			Skáldskaparmál
	Roaring			Sörla þáttr
	"The masked one",^[2] "Mask"			Skáldskaparmál
	"God"^[2]
	"A puff of wind"

H[]

Name	Name meaning	Alternative names	Attested relatives	Attestations
	"The skillfull" or "Chanter"	Hárr		Skáldskaparmál, Völuspá
	"The high"^[2]	Haurr		Skáldskaparmál, Völuspá
	Howe-treader	Hugstari		Völuspá
	"Impeding"^[1]			Völuspá
	"File-holder", "Filer",^[2] "File with handle"			Skáldskaparmál, Völuspá
	"Host",^[2] "Hare"			Skáldskaparmál
Herrauðr	Army-peace
	Army-beautiful
	Warrior, Prince, King			Skáldskaparmál
	"Shield Wolf",^[2] "Sword"			Völuspá
	"Grave-mound",^[2] "Sheltered plain"	Hlévargr		Völuspá
	"Silent Wolf",^[2] "Howl-wolf"	Hljóðalfr		Skáldskaparmál
	"He who bore horn's hair",^[2] "Hornborer"			Skáldskaparmál, Völuspá
	"The Dear",^[2] "Linen" "Bowstring"
Hreiðmarr			Sons: Fafnir, Ótr, Regin	Gylfaginning, Völsunga saga
	"Battle thinker" or "strategist",^[2] "The bold one"	Hoggstari		Skáldskaparmál

I[]

Name	Name meaning	Alternative names	Attested relatives	Attestations
	"the rumor spreading",^[2] "Irish"
Ívaldi	"Wielder of the yew bow", "Warrior"

J[]

Name	Name meaning	Alternative names	Attested relatives	Attestations
	Ice-floe, Ice-berg			Skáldskaparmál
	"The Disputing",^[2] "Warrior"			Völuspá

K[]

Name	Name meaning	Alternative names	Attested relatives	Attestations
	"Wedge"			Skáldskaparmál, Völuspá

L[]

Name	Name meaning	Attestations
	"Shaking in the limbs"	Fjölsvinnsmál
Litr	"Countenance" or "Image"^[2] or "Complexion",^[1] "Colour"	Skáldskaparmál, Völuspá
	Glow, Gleam, Shine	Skáldskaparmál
	Stooper	Skáldskaparmál, Völuspá
	Lazy	Skáldskaparmál
	Lazy person	Völuspá

M[]

Name	Name meaning	Alternative names	Attestations
	The middle board or slat		Skáldskaparmál
	"Knowing in mead"^[1] or "Mead wolf", "Toper"	Móðvitnir	Skáldskaparmál, Völuspá
	Much coloured, Nearly red		Skáldskaparmál
	"Moor beast"^[2]		Völuspá
	Axle, Shaft, Handle
Mótsognir	He who roars in rage		Skáldskaparmál, Völuspá
	The reminding one		Skáldskaparmál

N[]

Name	Name meaning	Alternative names	Attestations
Nabbi	Small boil		Hyndluljóð
	Clever, skilled		Skáldskaparmál
	"Corpse"^[2]		Skáldskaparmál, Völuspá
	"Corpse" or "Death"^[2] or "Needle",^[1] "Axle of a hand-mill"	Váli	Völuspá
	"Corpse"^[2]		Skáldskaparmál, Völuspá
	Relative, nephew		Skáldskaparmál
	"Malice striker" or "Tenebrous Gnawer",^[1] "The hateful striking one"		Skáldskaparmál
	"Underworld being",^[2] "The one associated with the dark moon"		Skáldskaparmál, Völuspá
	"The Dark"^[2] or "The Handsome" or "The Curving",^[1] "Pinch"	Nífengr	Skáldskaparmál, Völuspá
Norðri	"Northern", "The one in the North"		Gylfaginning, Skáldskaparmál, Völuspá
	Little shaver		Völuspá
	"New moon"^[2]		Skáldskaparmál, Völuspá
	"The new",^[1] "New"		Skáldskaparmál, Völuspá
	"New advice",^[1] "Ingenious"		Skáldskaparmál, Völuspá

O[]

Name	Name meaning	Attested relatives	Attestations
	Shy	Son: Andvari	Reginsmál', Skáldskaparmál
			Ásmundar saga kappabana
	The one on the fore-arm		Skáldskaparmál
	Hard work, An (undefined) part of a sword		Skáldskaparmál
	"The insane",^[1] "The violent one"		Fjölsvinnsmál, Skáldskaparmál, Völuspá
Ótr	"Otter"	Father: Hreiðmarr Brothers: Fafnir, Regin	Gylfaginning, Völsunga saga

P[]

Name	Name meaning	Alternative names	Attested relatives	Attestations
	Little shaver, little boy

R[]

Name	Name meaning	Attested relatives	Attestations
	Wise in counsel		Skáldskaparmál
	"Powerful advice",^[1] "Wise in counsel"		Skáldskaparmál, Völuspá
Regin	"Great" or "Vast",^[1] "The potent one", "The wielder"	Father: Hreiðmarr Brothers: Fafnir, Ótr	Gylfaginning, Völsunga saga
	Warrior, hero, man		Skáldskaparmál

S[]

Name	Name meaning	Alternative names	Attested relatives	Attestations
	"The Panning",^[2] "He who makes the sparks fly", "Smith"
Sindri	"Spark", "Slanting board", "Slat"	None attested	Brother: Brokkr	Gylfaginning, Skáldskaparmál, Þorsteins saga Víkingssonar, Völuspá
	"The good-natured"^[2]			Skáldskaparmál
	"The scraper"^[2]			Skáldskaparmál, Völuspá
	"Skillful artisan",^[2] "joiner who makes herring-bone panelling"			Skáldskaparmál, Völuspá
Suðri	"Southern", "the one in the South"			Gylfaginning, Skáldskaparmál, Völuspá
Sons of Ivaldi
	"The Disappearing"^[2]	Sviðr		Völuspá

T[]

Name meaning	Alternative names	Attestations
"The welcome one"^[2] or "The thinker" or "The amiable",^[1] "Beloved"		Skáldskaparmál, Völuspá
		Skáldskaparmál
"The one buried in the famous stone-heap", "The famous one buried in the stone-heap"		Hávamál
Bull
Blockhead
The mumbling one, Silly person		Skáldskaparmál
"The Daring",^[2] "Bold"		Skáldskaparmál, Völuspá
"The Threatening",^[2] "The Audacious",^[1] "Stubborn"	Þróinn	Völuspá
"snorter", "The one in rage"		Skáldskaparmál
"Inciter of strife",^[2] "The thriving",^[1] "Boar"	þrár	Skáldskaparmál, Völuspá
Little nub

U[]

Name	Name meaning	Alternative names	Attested relatives	Attestations
	"The content",^[2] "The calm one"			Fjölsvinnsmál
	"The smith",^[2] "The slag-man"			Fjölsvinnsmál

V[]

Name	Name meaning	Alternative names	Attestations
	"The cautios",^[2] "Wary", "Shy"		Fjölsvinnsmál, Skáldskaparmál
	"Courageous in battle",^[2] "Road-steed", "Glory-steed"		Fjölsvinnsmál
	"The toothy",^[2] "Wedge"		Völuspá
	"The defiant",^[2] "Strength"
Vestri	"Western", "The one in the West"		Gylfaginning, Völuspá
	Board, Slat, Rung		Skáldskaparmál
	Fututor, Fucker		Skáldskaparmál
	Axe-bit
	Spear
	"Will"		Völuspá
	"Wind-elf"^[2]		Skáldskaparmál, Völuspá
	"The virulent",^[2] "Dyer"	Virfir	Skáldskaparmál, Völuspá
	"Wise"^[2]		Skáldskaparmál, Völuspá

Y[]

Name	Name meaning	Alternative names	Attested relatives	Attestations
	"Prince" or "Warrior",^[2] "Frey"	Ingi		Völuspá

General references[]

Faulkes, Anthony (transl. and ed.) (1987). Edda (Snorri Sturluson). Everyman. ISBN 0-460-87616-3
Larrington, Carolyne (transl. and ed.) (1996). The Poetic Edda. Oxford World's Classics. ISBN 0-19-283946-2
Gurevich, Elena: (Introduction to) Anonymous, Dverga heiti; in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds.): Poetry from Treatises on Poetics - Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3; Turnhout: Brepols, 2017 (p. 692).
Gould, Chester Nathan: Dwarf-Names - A Study in Old Icelandic Religion; in PMLA, Vol. 44, No. 4 (Dec., 1929) (pp. 939-967). doi:10.2307/457704

References[]

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y Mallet, Paul Henri: Northern Antiquities; London, 1847 (p. 546pp.).
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y ^z ^aa ^ab ^ac ^ad ^ae ^af ^ag ^ah ^ai ^aj ^ak ^al ^am ^an ^ao ^ap ^aq ^ar ^as ^at ^au ^av ^aw ^ax ^ay ^az ^ba ^bb ^bc ^bd ^be ^bf Bane, Theresa: Encyclopedia of Giants and Humanoids in Myth, Legend and Folklore; McFarland, 2016 (p. 60)
^ Lindow, John: Handbook of Norse Mythology; 2001 (p. 98).

[Mallet-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y Mallet, Paul Henri: Northern Antiquities; London, 1847 (p. 546pp.).

[Bane-2] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y ^z ^aa ^ab ^ac ^ad ^ae ^af ^ag ^ah ^ai ^aj ^ak ^al ^am ^an ^ao ^ap ^aq ^ar ^as ^at ^au ^av ^aw ^ax ^ay ^az ^ba ^bb ^bc ^bd ^be ^bf Bane, Theresa: Encyclopedia of Giants and Humanoids in Myth, Legend and Folklore; McFarland, 2016 (p. 60)

[3] Lindow, John: Handbook of Norse Mythology; 2001 (p. 98).

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