attention people who use runes (esp. the elder fuþark):
if you work with or have done research on the Elder Fuþark runes, you may have noticed that there are lots of variations on the names. & i mean LOTS, e.g.:
there are a couple of reasons for this:
HOWEVER, most actual runic inscriptions in the Elder Fuþark are actually in Proto-Norse, the intermediate stage between Proto-Indo-European and Old Norse. A lot of the discrepancies between the attested names & their names in other Germanic languages (i.e. Gothic and Old English) is due to this fact (Orðstírr has a good intro to Proto-Norse sounds especially re: runes)
modern English is missing many of the sounds and letters that existed in early Germanic languages, so variant spellings are different ways of rendering them in our limited 26-letter alphabet
many sources on runes come from magickal writings from many decades ago, and because language science is constantly evolving, so has our reconstruction of Proto-Germanic. thus, many of the names are based on outdated reconstructions.
most magickal writings on runes are not written by historical linguists who study ancient Germanic languages
luckily i regularly study & use Proto-Germanic, & based on our most recent & accurate reconstructions, the names for the Elder Fuþark would have probably taken the following forms (text in /slashes/ is IPA phonemic transcription; where names are different, this is due to differring names in the different attested langauges, or variation within Proto-Germanic dialects):
ᚠ *fehu /ɸexu/ “wealth, cattle”
ᚢ *ūruz /uːruz/ “aurochs”
ᚦ *þurisaz /θurisɑz/ “giant, monster” OR *þurnuz /θurnuz/ “thorn”
ᚨ *ansuz /ɑnsuz/ “deity, mouth”
ᚱ *raidō /rɑi̯ðɔː/ “journey”
ᚲ *kēnaz /keːnɑz/ “torch” OR *kauną /kɑu̯nɑ̃/ “ulcer”
ᚺ *haglaz /xɑɣlɑz/ “hail(storm)”
ᚾ *naudiz /nɑu̯ðiz/ “need, distress, force”
ᛇ *ēhaz /eːxɑz/ < *īhwaz /iːxʷɑz/ OR *īwaz /iːwɑz/ “yew”
ᛈ *perþō /perθɔː/ “?pear-tree, ??game-box (uncertain)”
ᛉ *elhaz /elxɑz/ OR *algiz /ɑlɣiz/ “elk”
ᛊ *sōwulą /sɔːwulɑ̃/ OR *sōwilą /sɔːwilɑ̃/ “sun”
ᛏ *tīwaz /tiːwɑz/ “the god *Tīwaz (Norse Týr, Anglo-Saxon Tíw > Tue[sday])”
ᛒ *berkaną /berkɑnɑ̃/ “birch”
ᛗ *mannaz /mɑnnɑz/ “human, person”
ᛚ *laguz /lɑɣuz/ “water, sea, ocean”
ᛜ *ingwaz /iŋʷgʷɑz/ “the god *Frawjaz (Norse Freyr, Anglo-Saxon Fréa)”
ᛟ *ōþalą /ɔːθɑlɑ̃/ OR *ōþilą /ɔːθilɑ̃/ “ancestral home”
if you would like more in-depth explanations for each of these, HERE is a good source (where we differ, i’d note that this source leans heavily on the Norse variants because our oldest attested uses come from Proto-Norse)
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