ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1892
http://www.s-gabriel.org/1892
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3 Feb 2000
From: Alan Terlep 

Greetings,

Here's the information we found about a Norse form of <David> and the
Old Norse name <Ruriksson>, as used between 900 and 1150.

We found one Viking-era reference to the name <Da/vi{dh}>.  The <a/> stands
for an accented <a> and the {dh} stands for the letter "edh," which is
pronounced like <th> in <this>. (1)  However, the source that lists
<Da/vi{dh}> includes a number of non-Viking names that were recorded in the
sagas.  Our other sources, which cover the same material but leave out
non-Viking names, don't list <Da/vi{dh}>.  For this reason we're fairly sure
that the one example we found is probably a foreign name mentioned in a
Norse source rather than a name used by the Norse themselves.  The earliest
example of <David> we found that was definitely used by a Scandinavian is
from 12th-century Sweden.  We found a few more Swedish examples from the
13th century; one example was spelled <Davit> (2, 3).  In Norway, <David>
was almost unknown until the 1500s (4,5).

All this indicates that <David> came into use in Sweden and Denmark just
after the period you're interested in, but didn't spread to the western
Scandinavian world until much later.  We found no evidence that the name was
used by the Vikings.  However, if you're willing to shift your focus to
Sweden or Denmark around 1200 or later, then <David> is definitely
appropriate.

<Rurik>, the name that <Rurikson> is based on, is a Russianized form of the
Viking-era name <R{o|}rik>, which is found in Denmark in your period and
later (the {o|} stands for an <o> with a slash through it).  The languages
of Denmark and Sweden were quite similar through the 1200s, and we are
confident that <R{o|}rik> is also appropriate for Sweden.  A person whose
father was named <R{o|}rik> would be called <R{o|}riks son>. (6)

Thus, although we can't recommend <David> as a name for the period you're
interested in, we are confident that <David R{o|}riks son> is an unusual,
but historically accurate, name for a Swedish or Danish man who lived after
the Viking era, in the 1200s or later.

Lindorm Eriksson, Amant le Marinier, Maridonna Benvenuti, Juliana de Luna,
Aryanhwy merch Catmael, Talan Gwynek, and Arval Benicoeur contributed to
this letter.

We hope this has been helpful, and that we can continue to assist you.  In
particular, we'd be happy to help you find a Viking-era name if you decide
you'd like to keep a Viking persona and change your name.

Your servant,
Alan Fairfax
Academy of S. Gabriel
February 3, 2000

(1) Fleck, G. (aka Geirr Bassi Haraldsson), _The Old Norse Name_, Studia
Marklandica (series) (Olney, Maryland: Yggsalr Press, 1977). 

(2) _Sveriges Medeltida Personnamn_, bd. 1, h. 4 (Uppsala: Bloms
Boktryckeri AB, 1983), s.n. David

(3) Knudsen, Gunnar; Marius Kristiansen; & Rikard Hornby, _Danmarks Gamle
Personnavne_, Vol. I: Fornavne (Copenhagen: 1936-48), s.n. David

(4) Lind, E.H., _Norsk-Isla:ndska Dopnamn ock Fingerade Namn fra*n
Medeltiden_ (Uppsala & Leipzig: 1905-1915, sup. Oslo, Uppsala and
Kobenhavn: 1931), s.n. David. 

(5) Kruken, Kristoffer, ed. _Norsk personnamnleksikon_, 2nd ed. (Oslo: Det
Norske Samlaget, 1995), s.n. David. 
 
(6) Knudsen, s.n. R{o|}rik