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Odin

Odin_(Manual_of_Mythology)


Because most of the world is familiar with the Norse/ancient Germanic god Odin, father of the uber-famous Thor (thanks to the new movies), this could be an easily wearable baby name for a boy today. His name means "fury," and he is known as "The Furious One," father of the gods in the Norse pantheon. His name means many other things, when also taken from Old English, such as "mind," and "poetry."

As ruler of Asgard, a place many are familiar with because of modern media such as Marvel comics and even "The Witches of  East End" (book and TV), Odin was responsible or attributed to many things, such as war, victory, death, wisdom, magic and poetry. He was written about by Adam of Bremen, the Sagas of Icelanders, Gesta Danorum, and in the Poetic Edda. He has three familiars (magical animals tied to him) - Sleipnir the eight-legged horse, and the pair of ravens named Huginn and Muninn (thought and memory). Some of Odin's traditions, beliefs and folklore still exist.

Wednesday is named after Odin from his Western name, Woden, as an early Germanic translation of Mercury's Day - an effort to combine or compare Roman gods to the gods of other cultures.

Odin has ranked on the US popularity charts since 2008 when it ranked very low at #984. In 2013 it rose to #573, and one can assume it will continue becoming more popular.

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