Gunhild

Meaning & origin●(measured from records)

Attested across 6 languages in the etymology graph.

How Gunhild is read●(measured from records)

Gunhild is one spelling over 5 language communities, and the dictionaries record it differently in 4 of them. Each row is what a source recorded for that language, beside the share of this name’s records the language holds. No single row is the name’s meaning.

• German26%

  ) Gunhild: im 20. Jh. entlehn­ ter weibl. Vom. dänischer/schwedischer

  as a name·DUDEN Lexikon der Vornamen

  from gund 'battle' + hild 'battle'

  as a name·Deutsche Namenkunde: Unsere Familiennamen nach ihrer Entstehung und Bedeutung

• English18%

  No dictionary in our sources glosses Gunhild in English.

• Norwegian18%

  a female given name from Old Norse, variant of Gunnhild

  as a word·recorded as Norwegian Nynorsk·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• Swedish14%

  Gunhild är ett nordiskt namn, sammansatt av → Gun- och → -hild. I Sverige förekommer variantformer som → Gunnel, Gunnela, → Gunilla. I den rikssvenska almanackan 30 januari och i den finlandssvenska 1 november.

  as a name·Förnamn i Sverige. Kortfattat namnlexikon

  a female given name, a medieval royal name revived in the nineteenth century

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• Danish12%

  a female given name from Old Norse

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

The share is ours — how much of this name’s records each language holds. The sense beside it is the source’s, quoted and credited, including where it names a gender. We do not publish a gender of our own per language: our records carry one figure for the spelling as a whole.

Other names spelled this way◐(inferred from the name graph)

Gunhild is also recorded as 2 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Russian name4 spellings in the group

  Also written Гунхильд, Гунхильда

• Swahili given name2 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States

  Also written Günhild

34 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Notable people with this name●(measured from records)

• Gunhild of Wendenb. 901Polish princess, daughter of Mieszko I of Poland
• Gunnhildr konungamóðirb. 910NOnot in their usual namewife of Eric Bloodaxe
• Gunhildeb. 950GBnot in their usual namesister of Sweyn Forkbeard, King of Denmark
• Gunnhildr Sveinsdóttirb. 1015NOnot in their usual nameDanish royal consorts
• Gunhilda of Denmarkb. 1020DKnot in their usual name11th century Queen of Germany
• Gunhild of Wessexb. 1055English noble
• Greta Molanderb. 1908SEnot in their usual nameNorwegian writer
• Gunhild Hoffmeisterb. 1944DEEast German middle distance runner and politician
• Gunhild Carlingb. 1975SESwedish jazz musician
• Gunhild Følstadb. 1981NONorwegian footballer

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

How to address them○(machine-generated)

A formal English salutation is built on the surname, so it needs a full name — on its own, a first name only supports the informal form.

Evidence●(measured from records)

Register rows as of the 2026-10-09 data build.

Frequently asked questions

What does the name Gunhild mean, and where does it come from?

a female given name from Old Norse, variant of Gunnhild Recorded by kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations).

What are other forms of the name Gunhild?

In the etymology graph, Gunilla, Gunnel and Gunna are forms of the same name in other languages.

How do you pronounce Gunhild?

A machine transcription gives /ɡʊnɪlt/ (IPA) for German.

Is Gunhild a male or female name?

Gunhild is a female name in our records. Opposite-gender entries fall within the cross-gender noise we measure in the source data, so we don't report them as usage.

In which country does Gunhild have the most bearers?

In Sweden, the national register counted about 6.8 thousand people named Gunhild, more than in any other country we hold, where it is most often spelled gunhild.

Where is Gunhild most common?

Gunhild is densest in Sweden, where the national register counts about 1 in 1.5 thousand people carrying it.

How common is the name Gunhild?

In Sweden, the national register counted 6,790 people named Gunhild, about 1 in 1.5 thousand residents.