Before there were books in Scandinavia, there were runes. The Norse runes alphabet is the writing system the Norse and Nordic peoples used to carve names, memorials, and words of power into stone, wood, and bone. It looks nothing like the smooth curves of our modern letters, and that is part of its pull. Every character is built from straight lines, angled to bite cleanly into a surface with a knife or chisel.
This page is your reference. You will find a full A to Z chart that maps each English letter to its runic equivalent, a plain explanation of the two alphabets the Norse world actually used, and worked examples for writing Norse names like Odin and Thor. If you came here for the deep history of these symbols, the Elder Futhark guide covers their origins. For what each rune means in a reading, see the rune meanings library. Here, the focus stays on the letters themselves and how to write in them.
Runes are transliterated by sound, not letter for letter, so this is a thoughtful adaptation rather than an exact translation. See how it works.
What Is the Norse Alphabet?
The Norse alphabet is a runic writing system, which means each letter is a rune rather than a shape borrowed from Latin. The Norse and Nordic peoples of the Viking Age and the centuries around it did not write in the alphabet you are reading now. They wrote in rows of runes, and those runes did double duty as everyday letters and as symbols rich with meaning.
One thing surprises most people: the Norse world used two runic alphabets, not one. The older of the two is the Elder Futhark, a set of 24 runes used across the Germanic and early Norse world. Later, as the Viking Age got underway, Scandinavians streamlined their writing into a shorter set of 16 runes called the Younger Futhark. Both are genuinely "the Norse alphabet." They simply belong to different chapters of the same story, and you can read the full arc in the Elder Futhark guide.
The word "Futhark" itself is just the first six runes read in order (F, U, TH, A, R, K), the same way "alphabet" comes from alpha and beta. It is a tidy reminder that these characters were letters first, spelled out and sounded like any other writing system.
The Norse Runes Alphabet Chart (A to Z)
Here is the practical heart of the page. This chart uses the Elder Futhark, the classic 24-rune Norse alphabet, and lines each English letter up with its closest runic match so you can start writing right away.
| English Letter | Rune | Rune Name |
|---|---|---|
| A | ᚨ | Ansuz |
| B | ᛒ | Berkano |
| C | ᚲ | Kenaz |
| D | ᛞ | Dagaz |
| E | ᛖ | Ehwaz |
| F | ᚠ | Fehu |
| G | ᚷ | Gebo |
| H | ᚺ | Hagalaz |
| I | ᛁ | Isa |
| J | ᛃ | Jera |
| K | ᚲ | Kenaz |
| L | ᛚ | Laguz |
| M | ᛗ | Mannaz |
| N | ᚾ | Nauthiz |
| O | ᛟ | Othala |
| P | ᛈ | Perthro |
| Q | ᚲᚹ | (kw sound) |
| R | ᚱ | Raidho |
| S | ᛋ | Sowilo |
| T | ᛏ | Tiwaz |
| U | ᚢ | Uruz |
| V | ᚹ | Wunjo |
| W | ᚹ | Wunjo |
| X | ᚲᛋ | (ks sound) |
| Y | ᛁ | Isa |
| Z | ᛉ | Algiz |
A few notes will save you confusion later. Some English sounds have no rune of their own and lean on a neighbor: C, Q, V, X, and Y all borrow from other runes because the Norse language did not use those letters the way English does. C and K share Kenaz. V and W share Wunjo. Y doubles up with the "ee" sound of Isa. Q becomes the two-rune blend ᚲᚹ (kw), and X becomes ᚲᛋ (ks), because both are really two sounds pressed together.
Two more runes handle sounds that English writes with two letters. The "TH" sound is a single rune, ᚦ (Thurisaz), so the "th" in "Thor" is one carve, not two. The "NG" sound is also one rune, ᛜ (Ingwaz), useful for names ending in "-ing." Keep these two in your back pocket and your runic spelling will feel far more natural.
The Two Norse Alphabets: Elder and Younger Futhark
The difference between the two Norse alphabets comes down to time and count. The Elder Futhark is the older system, with 24 runes arranged in three groups of eight called aettir. It was in use roughly from the 2nd to the 8th century across the Germanic and early Norse world, and it is the alphabet most people mean when they picture "the Norse runes." Every rune in the chart above is an Elder Futhark rune.
The Younger Futhark came next, and it belongs squarely to the Viking Age. Sometime around the 8th century, Scandinavians trimmed their alphabet down to just 16 runes. That sounds like a loss, and in a way it was, because a single Younger Futhark rune now had to cover several sounds at once. The trade was speed and simplicity for the carvers who raised the great Viking runestones you can still visit in Sweden and Denmark today.
So which should you use? For most people writing today, the Elder Futhark is the natural choice. It gives you a cleaner one-rune-per-sound system, it is the version nearly every rune chart and translator is built around, and its 24 runes carry the meanings used in divination. If you are recreating a specific Viking-age inscription or want strict historical accuracy for the Norse period itself, the Younger Futhark is worth studying, and the Elder Futhark guide points you toward both.
Writing Norse Names and Words in Runes
The single most important rule of writing in runes is this: follow the sound, not the spelling. English spelling is famously messy, full of silent letters and doubled-up quirks. Runes care only about how a word is actually spoken, so you transliterate by ear.
Take a few Norse names and watch how it works:
- Odin becomes ᛟᛞᛁᚾ (O-D-I-N), four clean sounds, four runes.
- Thor becomes ᚦᛟᚱ, where that opening "Th" collapses into the single Thurisaz rune ᚦ, followed by Othala and Raidho.
- Freya becomes ᚠᚱᛖᛃᚨ, sounding out F-R-E-Y-A, with Jera carrying the soft "y" glide.
- Yggdrasil, the great world-tree of Norse myth, sounds out roughly as ᛁᚷᚷᛞᚱᚨᛋᛁᛚ, following each spoken sound rather than fussing over the double "g."
Notice what does not happen. You do not hunt for a silent letter's rune, and you do not double a rune just because English doubles a letter. You say the name slowly, break it into sounds, and match each sound to its rune from the chart above. Your own name works exactly the same way.
If you want the complete step-by-step method, including how to handle tricky sounds and personal names, the general rune alphabet writing guide walks through the whole process. And when you would rather see your word rendered instantly, the Norse rune translator does the sounding-out for you so you can check your hand-carved version against it.
Norse Runes Alphabet FAQ
What is the Norse alphabet?
The Norse alphabet is a runic writing system used by the Norse and Nordic peoples, where every letter is a rune made of straight, angular strokes meant for carving. The classic form is the Elder Futhark, a set of 24 runes that served as both an everyday alphabet and a system of symbolic meaning.
Is the Norse alphabet the same as the Viking alphabet?
They overlap closely, though there is a small distinction. The Vikings specifically used the Younger Futhark, the 16-rune alphabet of the Viking Age, while the broader Norse tradition also includes the older 24-rune Elder Futhark that came before it. When people say "Viking alphabet" they usually mean the Younger Futhark, but both are Norse.
How many letters are in the Norse runic alphabet?
It depends on which one you mean. The Elder Futhark, the classic Norse alphabet, has 24 runes. The later Younger Futhark of the Viking Age has 16. The chart on this page uses the 24-rune Elder Futhark, since it maps most cleanly to English.
How do I write my name in the Norse alphabet?
Say your name out loud, break it into its spoken sounds, and match each sound to a rune using the A to Z chart above. Follow the sound rather than the spelling, remember that "th" and "ng" each have their own single rune, and check your result with the Norse rune translator if you want a second opinion.