Gunnar

Gunnar is carved from two Old Norse words for conflict, gunnr and arr, meaning warrior, and the doubled emphasis makes the name almost redundantly heroic. In the Icelandic sagas Gunnar of Hlidarendi is one of the tragic heroes of Njal's Saga, a master archer whose loyalty cost him everything. The name has moved through Norwegian and Swedish generations steadily ever since, worn by skiers, poets, and fathers of large rural families. Two square syllables, a deep initial g, a tight roll on the r. Gunnar reads outdoorsy and uncomplicated, a name with wood smoke and wool about it, Nordic without any costume attached.