Name Whatshisname the Viking!

November 18, 2012 10:38 AM

Need a name for an unmemorable Viking!

So in our D&D game we're deciding to play a Viking game, and I've been debating over what class to play for so long, that everyone has taken to calling my as-yet-unnamed character "Whateveritis".

I think it would be funny to actually name him a Viking or Norse or Icelandic word that basically means "That guy" or "whatshisname" or "thingamajig" or some other generic "totally-unmemorable-guy" word.

Bonus points if it's a name full of those unusual letters and umlauts and so forth!

Thanks for any help!

posted by Pastor of Muppets to Writing & Language (11 answers total)

Best answer: "Navnløs" is the Norwegian word for "nameless."
posted by argonauta at 10:49 AM on November 18, 2012 [6 favorites]

I don't know about a last name that means "whatshisname", but for English false cognate lols, nothing beats "Snorri" as a first name!
posted by Sara C. at 10:50 AM on November 18, 2012 [3 favorites]

Best answer: Vergumi Karlmathur.

It's three (or four) Icelandic words for "man". It's a bit like being called "Blokefellow Personman" in English. Oh, and the last name can be spelt "Karlmaður" if you want odd letters.
posted by Jehan at 11:10 AM on November 18, 2012 [19 favorites]

Statistically speaking, the most common name for a man from Iceland would be Jón Jónsson.
posted by Faint of Butt at 11:12 AM on November 18, 2012 [2 favorites]

When stuck for a D&D name, the answer is always Carlos.
posted by kimota at 12:01 PM on November 18, 2012 [2 favorites]

My name is Yon Yonson. Diacritical marks optional.
posted by MonkeyToes at 12:24 PM on November 18, 2012 [1 favorite]

Snorre (or Snorri) Snorreson: Snorre is old Norse and comes from 'snorra', which meant twirl/whirl and presumably used as an epithet for a wild or reckless person. Snorri is an even older version of Snorre. In modern Swedish 'Snorre' means dick (the penis-y kind); Dick Dickson is a GREAT name.
posted by Foci for Analysis at 12:43 PM on November 18, 2012 [1 favorite]

Grimm Greymann. I have no idea if this would actually be an appropriate name for a Norseman.
posted by arcticseal at 1:31 PM on November 18, 2012

Here have some placeholder names from around the world, equivalents to John Doe or John Q. Public.

Jón Jónsson is sure enough one of the names listed in Icelandic (though it's a Christian name, so not terribly Viking-y). Ola Nordmann, listed for Norwegian, might work.

Or maybe "Ålan Smiði"?
posted by nebulawindphone at 5:17 PM on November 18, 2012 [3 favorites]

Suthsith (trip south)
posted by Confess, Fletch at 7:52 PM on November 18, 2012

I think a nice nondescript Viking name would be Lars Magnusson I bet there are a few people names that in a scandanavian country already.
posted by koolkat at 2:25 AM on November 19, 2012