2944: Gun: Named After a Woman Jan 12, 2025

There are a number of ‘-hilde’ ending names in Germanic cultures, of various spellings. Some have become mainstream outside of Scandinavia, like Matilda, but they are abundant in North Germanic cultures, with names like Bothilde and Hildeborg, because these names are made up of two elements that can be placed interchangeably, in this case ‘castle’ (borg) and ‘battle’ (hilde). In the case of the name, ‘Gunnhilde’, it is derived from two elements both meaning ‘battle’. 

This is also the source of the English word ‘gun’, which originally denoted a cannons and other large weapons of war, as opposed to rifles or handguns like now, that was early on nicknamed the woman’s name, ‘Gunnhilda’.