Submitted Name Revision History

Germanic name, in which the second element was derived from Old High German runa or Old Norse rún meaning "secret lore, rune" (Proto-Germanic *rūnō). Modern-day scholars consider it a younger form of the Old High German name Ailrun, in which the first element is agi "terror" (which quite often became ail- in names). At the same time, it is also a contracted form of Adelruna (or Adelrun, Adelrune), in which the first element is adal "noble". Lastly, those same academics also consider it a younger form of the Old Norse name Alfrún, in which the first element is alfr "elf".

The Old Norse cognate Ǫlrún occurs in the Eddic poem the Völundarkviða, belonging to a Valkyrie who marries the archer Egil. This form of the name was borne by an 11th-century Bavarian recluse, Alruna of Cham, a patron saint of pregnancy. Also see Aurinia. It coincides with the name of the mandrake plant, being alruna in Swedish, alrune in Danish and Norwegian and Alraune in German.