Before the Latin alphabet reached the North, there were runes. The Elder Futhark — 24 symbols carved into stone, wood, metal, and bone — was the primary script of the Germanic and Norse peoples for over a thousand years. It is the oldest form of the runic alphabet, and the foundation of what most people today mean when they speak of runes.
Here is a complete guide to the Elder Futhark: where it came from, how it is structured, and what each of the 24 runes represents.
Table of Contents
- What Is the Elder Futhark?
- Origins and History
- Why Is It Called Futhark?
- The Three Aettir
- All 24 Runes: Names and Meanings
- How Runes Were Used
- Runes in Modern Life
- Frequently Asked Questions
What Is the Elder Futhark?
The Elder Futhark is a runic alphabet of 24 symbols used by Germanic and Norse peoples from approximately the 2nd to the 8th century CE. It is the earliest attested form of the runic writing system and the source from which later runic alphabets — including the Younger Futhark (16 runes) and the Anglo-Saxon Futhorc — developed.
Each rune is both a letter with a phonetic value and a symbol with its own name and associated meaning. The runes were not merely a writing system — they were considered to carry meaning and power in themselves.
Origins and History
The Elder Futhark is attested in runic inscriptions found across Scandinavia, central Europe, and the British Isles. The earliest known inscriptions date to around the 2nd century CE, though the system likely developed somewhat earlier.
In Norse tradition, the origin of runes is connected with Odin. The Hávamál describes Odin hanging from Yggdrasil for nine nights, wounded and without food or water, in order to perceive the runes below him and take them up — a sacrifice of self to self in pursuit of wisdom.
Whether understood as myth or as the poetic record of a culture's relationship with language and knowledge, this story reflects the regard the Norse world held for runic writing: not simply a tool, but something discovered at great cost.
Why Is It Called Futhark?
The name Futhark (sometimes spelled Futharc) comes from the phonetic values of the first six runes in the sequence: F, U, Th, A, R, K. This is the runic equivalent of the word alphabet, which comes from the first two Greek letters, alpha and beta.
The ordering of the Elder Futhark is consistent across inscriptions — the same 24-rune sequence appears again and again, suggesting a fixed tradition passed down with care.
The Three Aettir
The 24 runes of the Elder Futhark are divided into three groups of eight, known as aettir (singular: aett), meaning families or groups. Each aett is named after a Norse deity or figure.
- Freyr's Aett (runes 1–8): associated with Freyr and Freyja, connected with fertility, prosperity, and the natural world.
- Heimdall's Aett (runes 9–16): associated with Heimdall, connected with disruption, protection, cycles, and transformation.
- Tyr's Aett (runes 17–24): associated with Tyr, connected with victory, wisdom, honour, and completion.
All 24 Runes: Names and Meanings
Freyr's Aett
1. Fehu (F) — Cattle, wealth. Commonly associated with abundance, prosperity, and the energy of resources in motion.
2. Uruz (U) — Aurochs (wild ox). Commonly associated with strength, vitality, raw power, and endurance.
3. Thurisaz (Th) — Giant or thorn. Commonly associated with force, conflict, protection through strength, and confrontation.
4. Ansuz (A) — The Aesir (gods), breath, mouth. Commonly associated with wisdom, communication, inspiration, and Odin's gifts.
5. Raidho (R) — Ride, journey. Commonly associated with travel, movement, rhythm, and the path forward.
6. Kenaz (K) — Torch, fire. Commonly associated with knowledge, clarity, craft, and controlled transformation.
7. Gebo (G) — Gift. Commonly associated with exchange, balance between giving and receiving, and connection.
8. Wunjo (W/V) — Joy, belonging. Commonly associated with harmony, happiness, and a sense of rightness.
Heimdall's Aett
9. Hagalaz (H) — Hail. Commonly associated with disruption, natural forces beyond control, and the seed of transformation within destruction.
10. Nauthiz (N) — Need, necessity. Commonly associated with constraint, hardship, the friction that creates growth.
11. Isa (I) — Ice. Commonly associated with stillness, pause, clarity, and the frozen moment before change.
12. Jera (J/Y) — Year, harvest. Commonly associated with cycles, patience, and the reward that follows sustained effort.
13. Eihwaz (Ei) — Yew tree. Commonly associated with endurance, the connection between worlds, and Yggdrasil itself.
14. Perthro (P) — Uncertain (possibly a dice cup or game piece). Commonly associated with fate, mystery, what is hidden, and the role of chance.
15. Algiz (Z/R) — Elk, or protection. Commonly associated with shielding, the connection to higher forces, and warding.
16. Sowilo (S) — Sun. Commonly associated with success, vitality, guidance, and the power of light.
Tyr's Aett
17. Tiwaz (T) — Tyr, the god of justice. Commonly associated with honour, sacrifice, victory, and rightness in action.
18. Berkano (B) — Birch tree. Commonly associated with growth, new beginnings, nurturing, and the feminine.
19. Ehwaz (E) — Horse. Commonly associated with partnership, trust, movement, and the bond between rider and mount.
20. Mannaz (M) — Humanity, the self. Commonly associated with the human condition, self-awareness, and relationships.
21. Laguz (L) — Water, lake. Commonly associated with flow, the unconscious, intuition, and the depth of the unseen.
22. Ingwaz (Ng) — Ing (a name for Freyr). Commonly associated with fertility, stored energy, and potential waiting to be released.
23. Dagaz (D) — Day. Commonly associated with breakthrough, transformation, the liminal moment between night and morning.
24. Othala (O) — Inheritance, homeland. Commonly associated with ancestry, belonging, heritage, and what is passed down.
How Runes Were Used
Runes served multiple purposes in the Norse world. Practically, they were used to record names, mark ownership, and create memorial inscriptions — thousands of runestones remain across Scandinavia as testament to this.
They were also used in what the sagas describe as a magical context: carved on weapons, amulets, and objects to carry particular intentions, invoked in the tradition of galdr (spoken magic), and associated with Odin as the god who first discovered them.
The Hávamál contains an extended passage in which Odin lists the uses of runes — healing, warding, winning battles, binding enemies, calming storms, and understanding the speech of birds. This record, whatever its mythological framing, reflects the weight the Norse world placed on runic knowledge.
Runes in Modern Life
The Elder Futhark has never disappeared. It remains a living part of Norse-inspired culture, used today in jewellery, art, tattoos, and personal practice by those connected to Norse heritage or drawn to the symbols themselves.
Many people use the Elder Futhark as a tool for reflection — drawing on the layered meanings of each rune to consider their own lives. Others carry individual runes as personal emblems, or use the full alphabet as a connection to the old North.
If you want to write your name in runes, our name in runes tool uses the Elder Futhark. Explore our rune meanings collection or our rune charts and printables for pieces rooted in the old alphabet.
You may also want to read about the Valknut — Odin's knot, and one of the most recognised Norse symbols connected with the god who discovered the runes.
Explore the Runes
- Write Your Name in Runes — see your name in the Elder Futhark alphabet.
- Rune Meanings Collection — pieces built around the runes themselves.
- Rune Charts and Printables — the full Elder Futhark as art for your wall.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between the Elder Futhark and the Younger Futhark?
The Elder Futhark has 24 runes and is the older of the two systems, used from approximately the 2nd to the 8th century CE. The Younger Futhark has only 16 runes and was used during the Viking Age proper (approximately 800–1100 CE). Paradoxically, the Viking Age script had fewer runes than the older one — the system was simplified over time.
Are the rune meanings definitive?
No. The meanings commonly associated with each rune are drawn from medieval rune poems (the Old Norwegian, Old Icelandic, and Old English Rune Poems) and from scholarly interpretation of their names and contexts. These meanings are broadly consistent but not standardised — and scholars continue to debate specific interpretations. The associations used here reflect the most widely shared modern interpretations.
Can I use runes to write in English?
Yes, with some adaptation. The Elder Futhark was designed for Proto-Germanic phonology, so some English sounds require approximation. Our name in runes tool handles the common conversions for you.
Did Vikings use the Elder Futhark?
Most historical Vikings used the Younger Futhark, the simplified 16-rune alphabet that replaced the Elder Futhark around the 8th century. However, the Elder Futhark remained known, and some runestones from the Viking period use older forms. Today, the Elder Futhark is the more widely known system, partly because it has more runes and thus maps more directly to the modern alphabet.
What are the rune poems?
The rune poems are medieval texts — the Old Norwegian, Old Icelandic, and Old English Rune Poems — that provide a verse for each rune, describing its name and associations. They are among the primary sources scholars use to interpret runic meanings. They date from approximately the 9th to 15th centuries.