Freya

Freya is a name derived from Nordic mythology; she is the goddess of love, fertility and beauty. Rendered as “Freyja” in Old Norse, the name means quite simple the “Lady”, derived from the proto-Germanic root “frowo” meaning “lady, female” (the same place where Germans get their word “fräulein”). Freyja is one of the preeminent deities of Norse mythology, and certainly the most fully constructed of all their goddesses. Often depicted as the “party girl” of ancient Scandinavia, Freyja was a beautiful and sexually liberated goddess. In exchange for sleeping with them, four dwarves fashioned for her a necklace known as the “Brísingamen” (“glowing ornament”) which, when worn, no god could resist her. All the goddesses wanted to be her and all the giants and elves wanted to sleep with her. She was also mighty and powerful on the battlefield, wearing a cloak of feathers and flying through the sky in her chariot drawn by two cats. Half of the mortal souls who died heroically in battle were promised to her in their afterlives (while the other half went to Valhalla). She shape-shifted and practiced magic; she had the power to alter the course of destiny. Freyja was in essence the very symbol of a “lady, female” before the Christian Church took hold of Europe and marginalized women. Strong. Beautiful. Sexual. Unapologetic. That was Freyja. As a female given name, Freya is quite popular in the United Kingdom and Ireland – but not so much in North America or Down Under. It is also extremely common in Nordic countries, for obvious reasons (although the Germans, Danes and Swedes spell it Freja and the Norwegians as Frøya).