Editing Freyja (section)

=== Alternative names ===
In addition to ''Freyja'', Old Norse sources refer to the goddess by the following names:
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size: 90%; width: 100%"
!Name ([[Old Norse]])
!class="unsortable"|Name meaning
!Attestations
!Notes
|-
|Gef
|'the giver'{{sfnp|Orchard|1997|p=48}}
|''[[Gylfaginning]]'', ''[[Nafnaþulur]]''
|The name ''Gefn'' likely means "she who gives (prosperity or happiness) and is generally considered connected to the goddess name ''[[Gefjon]]'', but the etymology of the name ''Gefjon'' has been a matter of dispute. The root ''Gef-'' in ''Gef-jon'' is generally theorized as related to the root ''Gef-'' in the name ''Gef-n''."<ref name="STURTEVANT166">Sturtevant (1952:166).</ref> The connection between the two names has resulted in etymological results of Gefjun meaning "the giving one".{{sfnp|Orchard|1997|p=52}} The names ''Gefjun'' and ''Gefn'' are both related to the [[Alagabiae]] or [[Ollogabiae]], [[Matres and Matrones|Matron]] groups.<ref name="DAVIDSON79">Davidson (1998:79).</ref>

Scholar Richard North theorizes that Old English ''geofon'' and Old Norse ''Gefjun'' and Freyja's name ''Gefn'' may all descend from a common origin; ''gabia'' a Germanic goddess connected with the sea, whose name means "giving".<ref name="NORTH226">North (1998:226).</ref>
|-
|Hörn
|'[[flax]]en'(?){{sfnp|Orchard|1997|p=48}}
|''[[Gylfaginning]]'', ''[[Nafnaþulur]]''
|Appears in the Swedish place names [[Härnösand]], [[Härnevi]] and [[Järnevi]], stemming from the reconstructed Old Norse place name ''*Hörnar-vé'' (meaning "Hörn's [[vé (shrine)|vé]]").{{sfnp|Simek|1996|pp=156–157}} In addition, the name ''Hörn'' also appears as the name of a [[troll]] woman in ''Nafnaþulur''.{{sfnp|Faulkes|1987|p=156}}
|-
|Mardöll
|Potentially 'sea-brightener' by way of ''mar'' ('sea') combined with a second element that may be related to ''[[Dellingr]]'', indicating light.<ref name="SEA-BRIGHTERNER">See {{harvp|Orchard|1997|p=84}} for the rendering 'sea-brightener' and {{harvp|Turville-Petre|1964|p=178}} for elements.</ref> The name may otherwise mean 'the one who makes the sea swell'.{{sfnp|Simek|1996|p=202}}
|''[[Gylfaginning]]'', ''[[Nafnaþulur]]''
|May be connected to the god name ''[[Heimdallr]]''.{{sfnp|Simek|1996|p=202}}
|-
|Skjálf
|'shaker'{{sfnp|Orchard|1997|p=48}}
|''[[Nafnaþulur]]''
|Also the name of the daughter of a Finnish king in ''[[Ynglinga saga]]''. Due to necklace imagery in the Finnish Skjálf's tale (Freyja herself owns [[Brísingamen]]) a connection between the two names may exist.{{sfnp|Simek|1996|p=291}}
|-
|Sýr
|'[[Wild boar|sow]]'{{sfnp|Orchard|1997|p=48}}
|''[[Gylfaginning]]'', ''[[Skáldskaparmál]]'', ''[[Nafnaþulur]]''
|The pig was an important symbol of the [[Vanir]] and sacrificial practices ([[blót]]) associated with the group, particularly in association with Freyja and her brother [[Freyr]].{{sfnp|Simek|1996|p=309}}
|-
|Thröng
|'throng'{{sfnp|Orchard|1997|p=48}}
|''[[Skáldskaparmál]]''
|
|-
|Thrungva
|'throng'{{sfnp|Orchard|1997|p=48}}
|''[[Nafnaþulur]]''
|
|-
|Valfreyja
|'Freyja of the slain', 'lady of the slain'
|''[[Njals saga]]''
|This form occurs in a [[kenning]] in poetry contained in ''Njals saga'' (''Valfreyju stafr'', 'Valfreyja's staff'; 'lady of the slain's staff' and/or 'Freyja of the slain's staff').{{sfnp|Finnur Magnusson|1828|p=534}}{{sfnp|Grimm|1882|p=305, 420}}{{sfnp|Golther|1888|p=27}}{{sfnp|Price|2020|p=261}}
|-
|Vanadís
|'the [[dís]] of the [[vanir]]'{{sfnp|Orchard|1997|p=48}}
|''[[Skáldskaparmál]]''
|The name "van-child" ('child of the Vanir') for "boar" may be connected.{{sfnp|Faulkes|1987|p=257}} The chemical element [[vanadium]] would later be named after this name of Freyja, because of the many beautiful chemical compounds containing vanadium.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Sefström |first=N. G. |date=1831 |title=Ueber das Vanadin, ein neues Metall, gefunden im Stangeneisen von Eckersholm, einer Eisenhütte, die ihr Erz von Taberg in Småland bezieht |journal=Annalen der Physik und Chemie |language=de |volume=97 |issue=1 |pages=43–49 |doi=10.1002/andp.18310970103|bibcode=1831AnP....97...43S |url=https://zenodo.org/record/1423544 }}</ref>
|}