The Origin of the Name "Normandy" and the Meaning of "Northman"

The name Normandy has its roots in the Viking Age, when Rollo and his followers settled in northern Francia after 911. Medieval Latin sources called this new territory Northmannia – literally "land of the Northmen." Over time, this became Normandie in Old French and later Normandy in English. The name itself is a direct reminder that the duchy was founded by Vikings, known to the Franks as "Northmen."

"Northmannia" in Latin and Old French Sources

Frankish and Latin documents from the 10th century onward consistently refer to Rollo's territory as Northmannia (or Normannia), meaning "land of the Northmen." Dudo of Saint-Quentin, writing around 1015, titled his history Gesta Normannorum ("Deeds of the Northmen"), showing how the Latin Normanni became the term for Rollo's followers.

As the language shifted into Old French, Normanz ("Northmen") gave rise to Normandie—literally the land of the Northmen. This is the direct ancestor of the modern name Normandy.

"Northman" in Frankish, English, and Latin Texts

The term Northman (Northmanni in Latin) was widely used in the 9th and 10th centuries by Frankish and English chroniclers. It was not meant to denote a specific nationality. Instead, it referred broadly to all Viking raiders and settlers from Scandinavia.

Einhard, Charlemagne's biographer, noted that the Franks collectively called Danes and Swedes "Northmen." The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle also used "Northmen" as a broad label for Viking invaders, sometimes interchangeably with "Danes."

In short, to Frankish and English observers, "Northmen" was a convenient term for Scandinavians in general—whether they came from Denmark, Norway, or Sweden.

"Norðmenn" in Old Norse Sources

Within Scandinavia, however, the term norðmenn carried a more specific meaning. In Old Norse, norðmaðr (plural norðmenn) meant "Northman," but it was commonly used as an endonym for Norwegians.

For example, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle entry for 942 distinguishes between "Christian Danes" (Dene) in England and "pagan Norwegian Norsemen" (Norðmenn) in Dublin.

Icelandic sagas also use norðmenn to specifically mean Norwegians, distinguishing them from Danir (Danes) or Svíar (Swedes).

This shows the contrast between internal and external labels: to outsiders, "Northmen" meant Vikings in general, but to Scandinavians, norðmenn meant Norwegians.

Did Normandy Mean Danes, Norwegians, or Both?

Since many Viking fleets in Francia were Danish, some historians argue that Normandy's settlers were predominantly Danish. R. Allen Brown summarizes:

"The first Viking settlers in Normandy, it is agreed, were predominantly Danish, though their leader, Rollo, was of Norse extraction."

This reflects the likelihood that Rollo (possibly Norwegian by birth) commanded a mixed fleet of Danes, Norwegians, and Swedes. The Frankish chroniclers did not care about such distinctions—they simply called them Northmen.

Thus, the name Normandy does not imply a purely Norwegian colony. It enshrines the collective Viking heritage of the settlers, regardless of their exact Scandinavian homeland.

Scholarly Perspectives

Modern historians emphasize that "Northman" was a flexible label:

Clare Downham notes that Nordmannus and Danus were often used interchangeably in early medieval chronicles. Laura Gazzoli highlights that "Dani (Danes) and Northmanni were essentially interchangeable for referring to any viking army."

Elisabeth Van Houts stresses that the Normans were "Northmen by ancestry, but Franks by language and culture."

The consensus is clear: Normandy's name marked its Viking founders as "Northmen," but not in a way that fixed their origins to Denmark or Norway alone.

Conclusion

The name Normandy comes from Latin Northmannia—"land of the Northmen"—a label applied by Frankish writers after Rollo's settlement in 911. To the Franks, all Vikings were Northmen, whether Danish or Norwegian.

Within Scandinavia, the term norðmenn often meant Norwegians, and saga traditions do connect Rollo to Norway. But the French name Normandy was not about one nationality. It was about the collective identity of Viking settlers who carved out a new homeland in Francia.

The Normans would eventually abandon their Norse tongue for French, but their name preserved the memory of their northern roots. Normandy remains, to this day, the land of the Northmen.