Herjolf as a Baby Name. Meaning and Origin of Herjolf

What is the meaning of the name Herjolf ?

The baby name Herjolf is a Male name , 2 syllables long and is pronounced HER-yolf (approx. IPA: /ˈhɛr.jɔlf/).

Herjolf is Norse in Origin.

Herjolf is the Anglicized form of Old Norse Herjólfr, from herr “army, host” (or the verb herja “to raid, make war”) + úlfr “wolf,” yielding the meaning “war-wolf” or “wolf of the host.” In modern Icelandic the name appears as Herjólfur; Old Norse nominative Herjólfr also occurs in saga manuscripts. The element -ulfr/-ólf- is common in Germanic names (cf. Arnulf, Randulf), emphasizing ferocity and protection.

Attested across Viking-Age Scandinavia, the name appears in the Icelandic sagas: Herjólfr Bárðarson settled in Greenland, and his son Bjarni Herjólfsson is credited with first sighting North America; the headland Herjólfsnes bears the settler’s name. While exceedingly rare in contemporary Nordic usage, Herjólfur persists at low frequency in Iceland under the patronymic system. Variant spellings include Herjolf, Herjolfr, and Herjólfur; feminine counterparts are not traditional. The name suits those seeking a stark, historically grounded Norse choice with a warrior-animal meaning.

⚙ Herjolf doesn't appear in any of the birth registries or name datasets we track. That's typically a sign of a rare name, a regional or traditional one, or a modern coinage. Either way, it remains a genuinely rare choice.