Rune Translator – Convert English to Viking Runes
Write your name or a phrase in Viking runes – Elder Futhark, Younger Futhark or Anglo-Saxon Futhorc – as real Unicode characters you can copy into a bio, a game name or a tattoo brief.
🔄 Font Styles – click Copy on any result
Elder Futhark
Elder Futhark: Northman
Elder Futhark, spaced words
Elder Futhark, spaced words: Northman
Younger Futhark
Younger Futhark: Northman
Anglo-Saxon Futhorc
Anglo-Saxon Futhorc: Northman
Runes in a frame
Runes in a frame: Northman
Runes + Latin
Runes + Latin: Northman
Styled letters are Unicode characters, not fonts. Platform fields may reject some characters, and glyph appearance varies by device and app. Screen readers may announce styled letters individually and search engines may not match them to plain words, so test the result and keep essential details in plain text. Unicode accessibility guide
Runes are the letters the Germanic peoples carved into stone, wood and metal from the 2nd century until the Middle Ages. The oldest row, the Elder Futhark, has 24 runes and is the one most people picture as “Viking runes”, although the Vikings themselves used the reduced 16-rune Younger Futhark. In England the row grew instead, into the 29+ rune Anglo-Saxon Futhorc.
This translator transliterates modern English letter by letter, with two special cases the tool handles automatically: “th” becomes the single rune Thurisaz ᚦ and “ng” becomes Ingwaz ᛜ. Word breaks use the runic punctuation mark ᛫, as on real inscriptions. The output uses Unicode from the Runic block (U+16A0–U+16FF), but display depends on the fonts available on the receiving device.
How to Use This Generator
- 1
Type a name or short phrase in English.
- 2
Choose the row: Elder Futhark for the classic look, Younger for historical Viking-age accuracy, Futhorc for Old English.
- 3
Copy the runes – the “Runes + Latin” row keeps a readable version next to them.
Elder Futhark Letter Guide
English has sounds the runes did not, so some letters share a rune. C and K both use Kaunan ᚲ, V and W use Wunjo ᚹ, Q is written ᚲᚹ and X is ᚲᛊ.
- ᚠ f · ᚢ u · ᚦ th · ᚨ a · ᚱ r · ᚲ k/c · ᚷ g · ᚹ w/v
- ᚺ h · ᚾ n · ᛁ i · ᛃ j/y · ᛈ p · ᛉ z · ᛊ s · ᛏ t
- ᛒ b · ᛖ e · ᛗ m · ᛚ l · ᛜ ng · ᛞ d · ᛟ o
Which Row Should I Use?
For a tattoo, jewellery engraving or fantasy name, Elder Futhark is the usual choice: it has a rune for almost every English sound and is what most reference material shows. Younger Futhark is the historically correct row for the Viking Age (c. 800–1100) but merges many sounds – k/g, t/d, p/b – so words can be ambiguous. Anglo-Saxon Futhorc is right for Old English names and Tolkien-style projects.
Before You Get a Rune Tattoo
This is a letter-for-letter transliteration of English, not a translation into Old Norse. Historical inscriptions spelled words as they sounded, so a scholar might render your name differently. Check the meaning of any rune you plan to use on its own, and have the final design reviewed by someone who reads runes – then copy the Unicode from here as the reference for the artist.
Related Text Tools
Frequently Asked Questions
Are these real Viking runes?
Yes – the characters come from the Unicode Runic block and match the historical Elder Futhark, Younger Futhark and Anglo-Saxon rows. The English-to-rune mapping is a transliteration.
Why do C and K look the same?
Elder Futhark has one rune, Kaunan ᚲ, for the k sound. English C is written with it too.
Does it translate into Old Norse?
No – it writes English sounds with runes. Translation into Old Norse requires a dictionary.
Will runes show on Instagram and Discord?
They may display in text fields that support the Runic block, but font coverage and platform rules vary. Preview the result; unsupported characters can appear as boxes.
Is the rune translator free?
Yes.
Create Unicode text in seconds – free, no sign-up.
50+ style options, a searchable symbol library and a Unicode text editor. Conversion input is processed in your browser; analytics and advertising practices are explained in the Privacy Policy.