Elder Futhark
about AD 150 to 800, Germanic and early Norse
ᚠᚨᛗᛁᛚᛁ
Letter by letter
- f = ᚠ Fehu
- a = ᚨ Ansuz
- m = ᛗ Mannaz
- i = ᛁ Īsaz
- l = ᛚ Laguz
- y = ᛁ Īsaz
Free Family Roots Tool
Free Rune Translator & Norse Runes Chart
A rune translator rewrites English letters as runes, the alphabets of the early Germanic peoples and the Vikings. Type a name or phrase to see it in Elder Futhark, Younger Futhark, and Anglo-Saxon runes side by side.
Every rune is explained letter by letter, and the full Norse runes chart below lists each rune's name, sound, and traditional meaning. Copy the runes as text or download a PNG for a gift, engraving, or family tree keepsake.
3 rune alphabetsletter-by-letter breakdowncopy Unicode runesprivate, in-browser
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A name, motto, or date. Runes update as you type, all in this browser; nothing is uploaded or saved.
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Runes spell sounds, not English letters. This tool maps each letter to the rune closest to its usual sound, joins th and ng into one rune, and treats y as a consonant before a vowel. Silent letters stay in, so treat the result as a modern spelling, not a historical inscription.
Your text in runes
Younger Futhark (long-branch)
about AD 800 to 1100, the Viking Age
ᚠᛅᛘᛁᛚᛁ
Letter by letter
- f = ᚠ Fé
- a = ᛅ Ár
- m = ᛘ Maðr
- i = ᛁ Ísa
- l = ᛚ Lögr
- y = ᛁ Ísa
Anglo-Saxon Futhorc
about AD 400 to 1100, England and Frisia
ᚠᚪᛗᛁᛚᚣ
Letter by letter
- f = ᚠ Feoh
- a = ᚪ Āc
- m = ᛗ Mann
- i = ᛁ Īs
- l = ᛚ Lagu
- y = ᚣ Ȳr
How the rune translator works
Runes were written by sound. English spelling is not, so the translator follows a few fixed rules: each letter becomes the rune for its usual sound, th becomes Thurisaz or Thorn, ng becomes Ingwaz or Ing, x becomes k plus s, and y is a consonant rune before a vowel (Yara, Freya) and a vowel rune otherwise (Emily). Accents are dropped, and þ, ð, æ, and ø are handled directly.
The Younger Futhark has only 16 runes for many more sounds, so one rune covers several letters. Ísa stands for i, e, and j, Kaun for k and g, and Týr for t and d. That is why a Viking Age spelling looks shorter and less exact than an Elder Futhark one.
Historical carvers often wrote a double letter once and split words with dots. Edit the spelling to taste: the result is a modern transliteration, not a translation into Old Norse or Old English.
Norse runes chart: names, sounds, and meanings
All runes of the Elder Futhark, the long-branch Younger Futhark, and the Anglo-Saxon Futhorc. Select a rune to copy it. Meanings are the traditional name of each rune, taken from the medieval rune poems or, for the Elder Futhark, reconstructed by scholars.
Elder Futhark 24 runes, about AD 150 to 800, Germanic and early Norse
Younger Futhark (long-branch) 16 runes, about AD 800 to 1100, the Viking Age
Anglo-Saxon Futhorc 30 runes, about AD 400 to 1100, England and Frisia
Rune translator FAQ
How do I translate English into runes?
Type your text into the rune translator above. Each letter is replaced with the rune for the closest sound, th and ng become single runes, and words are split with a space or a runic dot. The result is a transliteration: the English words stay English, only the alphabet changes.
Which rune alphabet did the Vikings use?
The Vikings wrote with the 16-rune Younger Futhark. The 24-rune Elder Futhark was used from about AD 150 to 800, before the Viking Age, and the Anglo-Saxon Futhorc was used in England. Most modern rune jewelry and tattoos use the Elder Futhark because each sound has its own rune.
Can runes translate English words into Old Norse?
No. Runes are an alphabet, not a language. A rune translator spells your words with runes; it does not turn them into Old Norse. For an authentic Old Norse phrase, have the words translated by someone who knows the language first, then write them in Younger Futhark.
What do the runes mean?
Every rune has a name that is also a word, such as Fehu, meaning cattle or wealth, and Othala, meaning ancestral land. The Anglo-Saxon and Younger names come from medieval rune poems. The Elder Futhark names are scholarly reconstructions, and the fortune-telling meanings used today are a modern practice.
Why are there no runes for numbers?
Runic inscriptions wrote numbers out as words, so there are no runic digits. The translator keeps digits as typed. To carve a date, write it out, such as eighteen eighty eight, and translate the words.
Is my rune translation accurate enough for a tattoo or engraving?
It is a consistent, sound-based spelling, but there is more than one valid way to spell an English name in runes. Before a permanent tattoo or engraving, compare the letter-by-letter breakdown with the rune chart, decide on spellings for silent letters, and keep the downloaded PNG as the reference.
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