Names That Mean Helmet

Selma has recently been given a more youthful spin via actresses Selma Blair and Salma Hayek. But while Selma has not yet become popular again in the US, it is widely used in both Sweden and Norway.

Sleek modern short form of a classic Scandinavian name.

Velma likely originated as a phonetic spelling of the German name Wilma, itself derived from Wilhelmina. Velma Dinkley is a smart, if nerdy, character in Scooby Doo.

The Selma-Thelma-Velma connection dates it.

Malte began as a short form of the now-obsolete Ancient Germanic name Helmold. Helmold has gone extinct, but Malte has survived and is now enjoying a popularity resurgence in Germany and Sweden.

Distinctive-sounding Scandinavian name. with deep roots. Short form is the attractive Jari.

Historically a diminutive of Wilhelmina, Elma's parent name and soundalike sisters are slowly stirring back to life as the trend for vintage baby names continues. With Alma on the rise in the US, Thelma chic in France, and Selma hot in Scandinavia, Elma could be in with a shot at a revival – especially given the popularity of Emma and Ella. But Muppet Elmo and Looney Tune Elmer Fudd may cast a long shadow.

Cool Finnish name ripe for import.

A grandfather name in Norway, where it was a Top 5 name through the 1940s and '50s.

A Top 10 name in Iceland, where it is also the name of an active volcano.

Old Norse name that lives on more appealingly in modern times as Jalmari, short form Jari.

Manx variant of the Norse name Asketill.

This cool surname and place name has multiple origins. As an Irish place name, it may derive from the Gaelic for "fair hilltop" or "head fort', while as a surname it comes from the Norse name Ketill, meaning "helmet, cauldron".

Hilma is heard in Germany and the Scandinavian countries, and sometimes used as a shortening of Wilhelmina--though there are more appealing German names for girls. to be found. Hilma Wolitzer is an American novelist and the mother of author Meg Wolitzer.

Helmer is best-known these days as a product line at Ikea, but if you're looking for an Old School Germanic name and want to move beyond Herman and Wilmer, Helmer may be your man.

Firmly in Dad name territory in Norway, where it peaked in the early 1970s.

Swedish and Norwegian form of the Old Norse name Asketill.

Cornish form of William

Associated with comedian Stephen Colbert, who uses the French pronunciation of his name as a bit (the rest of his family of origin use the English pronunciation).

From elements meaning "a god" and "cauldron, helmet", this name is more at home in a Norse saga than on a baby, even in its native Scandinavia. But variants Askell and Eskil feel interesting and wearable.