Picture the runes on a typical "Viking" necklace. Odds are they come from the Elder Futhark, the 24-rune row. That row was already out of use when the Viking Age began. The men who raised Harald Bluetooth's stone at Jelling, and the carver who covered the Rök stone in Sweden with more than 760 characters, worked with a shorter set: the Younger Futhark, sixteen runes in all.
Sixteen runes for a language with more sounds than the one before it. That is the odd part, and most of this article is about how it worked: where the row came from, what each rune was called, why one rune could stand for five or six sounds, and how to tell Viking-Age runes from medieval ones.
Short answer: Yes, the Vikings wrote in runes, but mostly not in the Elder Futhark. The cut from 24 runes to 16 was complete by the late 700s. The 16-rune Younger Futhark is the script of the Viking Age (c. 800–1100).
From 24 runes to 16
Runic writing in Scandinavia is old. The earliest securely dated find is a comb from Vimose on Funen in Denmark, dated by archaeologists to around AD 160 (Store norske leksikon, "runer"). For centuries after that, the 24-character Elder Futhark was the row people carved. If you want to learn it rune by rune, our step-by-step Elder Futhark guide does exactly that, and the runes hub sets the three rune rows side by side.
Then the language shifted. During the 500s and 600s, Proto-Norse was gradually turning into Old Norse. Over the 600s and 700s the rune row shrank to match, and some shapes changed along the way (SNL). A piece of human skull from Ribe in Denmark shows the process in mid-stride. Its carver managed with just fifteen different characters (SNL). The skull is now dated to about 725–760 (Källström, University of Oslo symposium paper).
Was it a slow drift or a deliberate reform? Scholars still argue about it. The Swedish runologist Magnus Källström takes a middle line: the early changes happened gradually inside the old system, but the final cut to sixteen was probably made by "a single person or a small group of literate people" able to spread the idea (Källström). After that, he notes, the older futhark seems to have gone out of use. Single old rune forms still crop up later, but only as deliberate choices.
The new row then travelled. The University of Nottingham's runic dictionary describes it as used "from the eighth century onwards, in Scandinavia, and in those parts of the world settled by Scandinavians" (Nottingham runic dictionary FAQ, archived copy). Those places include England, Scotland, the Isle of Man, Ireland, the Faroes, Iceland, Greenland and Russia. Vikings even scratched runes into the stonework of the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople, sometime in the 800s (SNL).
The 16 runes and their names
The names come from the Norwegian and Icelandic rune poems, which give each rune a short verse (Wikipedia, "Rune poem"). The shapes below are the long-branch forms.
| # | Rune | Old Norse name | What the name means | Sounds it could write |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ᚠ | fé | cattle, wealth | f, v |
| 2 | ᚢ | úr | rain, bad weather | u, o, ø, y, v, w |
| 3 | ᚦ | þurs | giant, troll | þ, ð (th) |
| 4 | ᚬ | áss | a god | nasal a; later o |
| 5 | ᚱ | reið | ride, journey | r |
| 6 | ᚴ | kaun | sore, ulcer | k, g, ng |
| 7 | ᚼ | hagall | hail | h |
| 8 | ᚾ | nauðr | need, hardship | n |
| 9 | ᛁ | íss | ice | i, e, j |
| 10 | ᛅ | ár | year, plenty | a, æ, e |
| 11 | ᛋ | sól | sun | s |
| 12 | ᛏ | Týr | the god Týr | t, d |
| 13 | ᛒ | bjarkan / bjǫrk | birch | b, p |
| 14 | ᛘ | maðr | man, person | m |
| 15 | ᛚ | lǫgr | water, sea | l |
| 16 | ᛦ | ýr | yew | a second r-sound (ʀ), later y |
Names and sound values: SNL "runer" and Wikipedia "Younger Futhark". Glosses follow the rune poems as given there.
The row still opens f-u-þ-o-r-k, so it is still a futhark. Eight runes from the old row are gone: g, w, p, e, ŋ, o, d, and the rare ï-rune. The old z-rune survived and moved to the very end of the row. That is the only change in rune order (Wikipedia). There is a further twist: that last rune took the name ýr, "yew", which once belonged to a different, unrelated rune (Wikipedia).
Our Younger Futhark Rune Chart is a print-ready download of the full row, with names and sound values. It also comes in the Norse Rune Bundle beside the Elder Futhark chart, if you want to compare the two rows on the wall.
What about rune "meanings"?
The names in the table are real. They are what the rune poems call each rune. But the poems were written down late. The Norwegian one survives only in a 17th-century copy of a lost 13th-century manuscript. The oldest Icelandic copy is from around 1500 (Wikipedia, "Rune poem").
Store norske leksikon thinks the names were mainly memory aids. Each name starts with the sound its rune stands for: fé for f, sól for s (SNL). Since the mid-1900s, most runologists have treated runes as ordinary letters. Like any script, they could be used for practical, solemn or magical purposes.
None of that makes modern rune reading wrong. It just means the divinatory meanings you find today were built on these old names. They were not copied from a Viking handbook, because no such handbook survives.
Younger Futhark vs Elder Futhark
| Elder Futhark | Younger Futhark | |
|---|---|---|
| Number of runes | 24 | 16 |
| Main period in Scandinavia | c. AD 150–700 | c. AD 800–1100, then expanded in the Middle Ages |
| Language | Proto-Norse | Old Norse |
| One rune, one sound? | Mostly | No. Many runes cover several sounds |
| Typical finds | Weapons, jewellery, combs, gold bracteates, the first memorial stones | Thousands of runestones, plus graffiti as far away as Constantinople |
| Used today mainly for | Rune reading, jewellery, tattoos | Historically accurate Viking-Age writing |
Here is the counter-intuitive bit. Old Norse had more distinct sounds than Proto-Norse, yet it got fewer runes to write them with. So each rune took on extra work. The f-rune also did v. The u-rune covered o, ø, y, w and v. The i-rune did e and j, the t-rune did d, the k-rune did g, and the b-rune did p (SNL). Carvers also avoided writing the same rune twice in a row, so long and short sounds usually looked the same on the stone (Wikipedia).
A reader filled the gaps from context. Runologists do the same today: for each rune in an inscription, they have to work out which of its possible sounds is meant. If you want to see how this played out in one king's lifetime, our piece on the runes of the Bloodaxe era follows it through the 10th century.
Long-branch, short-twig and staveless runes
The sixteen runes were never one fixed set of shapes. Runologists usually sort them into two main styles (SNL):
- Long-branch runes, also called normal runes, and in older books "Danish runes": ᚼ ᛅ ᛋ ᛏ ᛒ ᛘ, with full-length side strokes.
- Short-twig runes, once called "Swedish-Norwegian" or "Rök runes": ᚽ ᛆ ᛌ ᛐ ᛓ ᛙ, with the side strokes cut short.
The old textbook story was neat. Long-branch runes were for stone monuments, and short-twig runes were the quick everyday hand. SNL is careful to say that today's researchers find the material messier than that. The two types are a way of sorting rune forms, and they hide a lot of local, regional and changing habits. Plenty of inscriptions mix them. Norwegian runestones from the late 900s and the 1000s regularly combine long-branch and short-twig forms (SNL).
Then there are the staveless runes, also called Hälsinge runes. These are the row pared to the bone, with the main upright stroke dropped or shortened. They turn up in the late 900s or early 1000s in Hälsingland, Södermanland, Uppland and Medelpad in Sweden, often alongside other rune forms (SNL).
Where to see the Younger Futhark
The Rök stone (Ög 136), Östergötland, Sweden. Carved in the 800s, it carries more than 760 characters. The Swedish National Heritage Board calls it the longest runic inscription there is (Riksantikvarieämbetet). Most of the text is in short-twig runes. Partway through, the carver switches to Elder Futhark runes and cipher runes, apparently on purpose (Wikipedia, "Rök runestone"). It is the clearest proof that a Viking-Age carver could still read the old row and chose not to use it day to day.
The Jelling stones, Denmark. Harald Bluetooth's great stone stands between two burial mounds. It reads: "King Harald bade this monument be made in memory of Gorm his father and Thyra his mother, that Harald who won for himself all Denmark and Norway and made the Danes Christians." The site is on UNESCO's World Heritage List (UNESCO).
Sweden's runestones. Sweden has more than 4,000 runic inscriptions, from the 200s onward (Riksantikvarieämbetet). Almost all of its runestones are from the 1000s, roughly two hundred years after Rök (RAÄ).
Norway. Only fifty or sixty Viking-Age runestones are known here. Norway makes up for it later. It has the most rune finds from the Middle Ages, with close to 700 inscriptions from Bergen alone, most of them cut into wood (SNL). Those are written in the expanded medieval row, not the Viking-Age one.
Your phone. The Bluetooth logo is a bind rune. It joins the Younger Futhark runes ᚼ (hagall) and ᛒ (bjarkan), Harald's initials (Bluetooth SIG).
Viking Age or medieval? Look for the dots
The sixteen-rune row did not simply stop. Once the Latin alphabet reached Scandinavia, carvers began adding runes. Dotting the b-, t- and k-runes gave new runes for p, d and g. New vowel runes appeared too, such as a dotted i for e (SNL). Most of this belongs to the Middle Ages, though the dotted e already shows up in some Danish inscriptions in the late 900s and 1000s. So an inscription full of dotted runes was most likely carved late in the Viking Age or after it.
Writing in the Younger Futhark today
With sixteen runes you write by sound, not by spelling. One rune covers k and g, another t and d, another b and p, and ᛁ does i and e. The name Sigrid comes out as s-i-k-r-i-t, ᛋᛁᚴᚱᛁᛏ. Viking-Age carvers also wrote a doubled sound only once.
We've covered the rest in two other places, so we won't repeat it here:
- Our free rune translator has a Younger Futhark setting, so you can see your name in Viking-Age runes next to the Elder Futhark version.
- How to write your family name in Viking runes works through real Scandinavian surnames, including why Olsen comes back looking like "Ulsin".
For anything permanent, remember that a Viking would have carved the Old Norse form of a name, which often differs from the modern spelling. If it's going on your skin, read what each rune actually means before you get it inked first.
Which row should you pick? Choose the Younger Futhark if you want what a Viking actually carved. Choose the Elder Futhark if you want one rune per letter and the rune names used in modern rune reading. To be upfront about it: our personalised pieces, such as the name-in-runes Viking shirt, the rune-name hoodie and the rest of our personalised rune gifts, use the Elder Futhark, because it spells modern names more clearly. If you'd rather have the Viking-Age row, the Younger Futhark chart and our other rune charts and printables are the place to start.
Frequently asked questions
Did the Vikings use the Elder Futhark or the Younger Futhark?
Mostly the Younger Futhark. The 24-rune Elder Futhark had gone out of everyday use by the late 700s, and Viking-Age inscriptions (c. 800–1100) are in the 16-rune row. Old runes do appear now and then, on purpose, as in the cipher passages on the Rök stone.
How many runes are in the Younger Futhark?
Sixteen: ᚠ ᚢ ᚦ ᚬ ᚱ ᚴ ᚼ ᚾ ᛁ ᛅ ᛋ ᛏ ᛒ ᛘ ᛚ ᛦ (f, u, þ, ą/o, r, k, h, n, i, a, s, t, b, m, l, ʀ).
Why does it have fewer runes than the Elder Futhark?
Nobody knows for sure. SNL lists simpler rune shapes, sound changes in the language, changes in the rune names, and social factors. Some scholars think the final cut to sixteen was a deliberate reform by a small group of carvers.
What is the difference between long-branch and short-twig runes?
They are two styles of the same sixteen runes. Long-branch runes have full-length side strokes, and short-twig runes cut them short. The old rule of thumb was "long-branch for stone, short-twig for everyday use". Researchers now see far more local variation than that, and many inscriptions mix the two.
Do Younger Futhark runes have meanings?
Each rune has a name, such as fé (wealth), hagall (hail) or sól (sun), recorded in the Norwegian and Icelandic rune poems. The names mainly helped people remember the sounds. Detailed divinatory meanings are modern.
Can I write English in the Younger Futhark?
Yes, phonetically. Expect compromises, since one rune covers k and g, another t and d, another b and p. Old Norse fits the row best, but any language can be written by sound.
Is the Bluetooth logo made of runes?
Yes. It is a bind rune of the Younger Futhark runes ᚼ (h) and ᛒ (b), the initials of the 10th-century Danish king Harald Bluetooth.
Sources
- Store norske leksikon, "runer" (Kristel Zilmer & Gerd Høst Heyerdahl, University of Oslo): https://snl.no/runer
- Magnus Källström, "Runes in changing contexts: Viking Age and medieval writing traditions", 7th International Symposium on Runes and Runic Inscriptions, preprint (Museum of Cultural History, University of Oslo): https://www.khm.uio.no/english/research/publications/7th-symposium-preprints/documents/kaellstroem.pdf
- University of Nottingham, An English Dictionary of Runic Inscriptions of the Younger Futhark, FAQ (live site returned an error on 3 Nov 2026; archived copy): https://web.archive.org/web/20250112022739/http://runicdictionary.nottingham.ac.uk/faq.php
- Riksantikvarieämbetet, "Östergötland" (Rök stone): https://www.raa.se/kulturarv/runor-och-runstenar/runstenar-i-sverige/ostergotland/
- Riksantikvarieämbetet, "Runor och runstenar": https://www.raa.se/kulturarv/runor-och-runstenar/
- UNESCO World Heritage Centre, "Jelling Mounds, Runic Stones and Church": https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/697/
- Bluetooth SIG, "Origin of the name": https://www.bluetooth.com/about-us/bluetooth-origin/
- Wikipedia, "Younger Futhark": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Younger_Futhark
- Wikipedia, "Rune poem": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rune_poem
- Wikipedia, "Rök runestone": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R%C3%B6k_runestone