Name of the Week: Thorfinn

 

Origin:

Thorfinn is younger form of the Old Norse name Þórfinnr.  The first element, þórr, literally means "thunder" but is most commonly associated with the name of the Norse god Thor – the personification of thunder and god of battle. Thor was one of the chief gods of the Norse pantheon, equivalent to the Anglo-Saxon god Thunor, after whom Thursday is named. He was commonly depicted wielding his hammer mjölnir ("crusher") and featured prominently in many Norse legends. To further illustrate his importance, the Romans even equated Thor with their chief god, Jupiter, depite the chief Norse god being, in fact, Odin.  The second element of the name, finnr, literally meant "a Finn" or "a Lapp" i.e. a native of far northern Scandinavia.

Usage:

Outside of its native Scandinavia, where it has remained in some use since early Old Norse history, one of the most famous early bearers of the name was 10th-century Earl of Orkney, Thorfinn Torf-Einarsson (d.c.963), known in the Viking fashion as "Thorfinn Skullsplitter."  He was followed later by another Earl of Orkney, Thorfinn Sigurdsson (c.1009–c. 1065), also known as "Thorfinn the Mighty." Certainly, the name Thorfinn was used in small numbers in the early Middle Ages, particularly in Norse held lands in Britain such as Orkney and Shetland, the Hebrides, Caithness and Sutherland in Scotland, and the Danelaw in England, mostly comprised of 15 north-eastern shires.  Distribution map of property and lordships associated with Thorfinn of Austwick in DB. The Prosopography of Anglo-Saxon England has records in England of a Thorfinn of Austwick, (listed as 'Torfin' and 'Turfin') who held over forty holdings in the Domesday of 1066 (see image, right), and Thorfynn mac Thore who was granted land in Cumbria by Gospatric Earl of Northumbria in the 11th century. Similarly, the People of Medieval Scotland database has 6 records of men named Thorfinn from 1093-1371.  Reaney and Wilson* derive the surname Turpin from Thorfinn, via the Latinised forms Torphinus/Turp(h)inus citing several examples of the name in use, including Turfinus filius Torfini in the 1130 Yorkshire Pipe Roll; Turpinus in the 1180 Hampshire Pipe Roll; Torphinus in the 1196 Yorkshire Pipe Roll; and Thorpinus filius Simonis in the 1230 Devonshire Pipe Roll.  The Latinised form Turpinus seems to have been influenced by the Latin turpis "base," a name adopted by early Christians as a token of humility. The surname Turpin was used in Britain from at least the 12th century, though Reaney and Wilson point out that Thorfinn is found in Normandy where the earliest examples of Turpin occur. Though there are some records to be found in Scandinavia for Thorfinn/Torfinn in the Early Modern Period, including the feminine form Thorfinna, records in Britain are sparse, though a Turfin Adams baptised in 1560 in Kent, and Turvin Hodges in 1700 in Middlesex suggest that it held on scantly in modernised English forms. As with most surnames, Turpin can also be found as a first name during this period.  Thorfinn, however, has seen a small revival in the 20th century, with majority of registrations for the name coming from Orkney.  Registration records for Thorfinn as a first name in Scotland and England and Wales:   Scotland England & Wales 1860s: 1870s: 1880s: 1890s: 1900s: 1910s: 1920s: 1930s: 1940s: 1950s: 1960s: 1970s: 0 births 0 births 0 births 1 births 0 births 3 births 1 birth 0 births 4 births 2 births 1 birth 6 births 0 births 0 births 0 births 0 births 0 births 1 birth 0 births 0 births 0 births 0 births 0 births 1 birth Since 1996, Thorfinn has not ranked at all in the official data for England and Wales. The data only includes names of three or more in any given year, however, so Thorfinn's uncommon use is masked. There was certainly one Thorfinn registered in 2001 and one in 2002 in England, and several more boys registered with Thorfinn as a middle name.  In Scotland, however, Thorfinn has seen consistent use, especially in Orkney. It has seen a gradual rise in use, from #472 (1 birth) in 1974 to #380 (3 births) in 1995 and #417 (4 births) in 2003.  At it's peak year in 2013 (#466 with 6 births), Thorfinn appears in the Scottish regional data at joint #2 in the Orkney islands, alongside Jack and Robbie which all had 4 births.  In 2017, Thorfinn ranked #602 with 4 births in Scotland.

Famous Bearers:

History: * Thorfinn Torf-Einarsson (d.c.963), Earl of Orkney. * Thorfinn Sigurdsson (c.1009–c. 1065), Earl of Orkney. * Thorfinn Karlsefni (died c. 1010), Icelandic explorer. * Thorfinn of Hamar (died 1285), Christian bishop and saint. Contemporary: * Torfinn Haukås (1931-1993), Norwegian novelist. * Torfinn Opheim (born 1961), Norwegian politician. Literature and Other Media: * Thorfinn Rowle, a wizard in the Harry Potter series.   * Thorfinn the Nicest Viking, a series of children's books by David MacPhail. Other: * Thorfinn Islands, a group of small islands in Antartica mapped by Norwegian cartographers in 1936.

Variants:

Torfinn (Scandinavian)

Pronunciation:

THOR-fin [key]

Possible diminutives:

Finn, Thor, Thory, Thorp, Thorn

Sibling Names:

Sunniva     Breagha     Vaila     Brynja     Kaisa     Suvi       Gunnar     Sorley     Macaulay     Soren     Karsten      Stellan

Name Lists:

Scandi Particulars   Harry Potter Names

 

If you like Thorfinn you may also like:   Torben, Halsten, Thormund, Sander, Thurstan, Finnian, Henrik, Orrin, Griffin

Thanks to Paula for requesting this name.