What is the meaning of the name Laufey in Old Norse mythology?
The name Laufey generally connects to the word lauf, meaning leaves or foliage. Some researchers attach this root to the suffix -ey found in female names like Bjargey and Þórey.
The name Laufey generally connects to the word lauf, meaning leaves or foliage. Some researchers attach this root to the suffix -ey found in female names like Bjargey and Þórey.
Loki appears frequently by the matronymic Loki Laufeyson in the Poetic Edda while High introduces him as the son of Fárbauti in Gylfaginning. Snorri Sturluson describes Laufey as Loki's mother within Gylfaginning and Skáldskaparmál alongside his father Fárbauti.
Axel Kock published his findings on these etymologies in 1899 within Indogermanische Forschungen volume 10. He later expressed doubt about linking Näl directly to Laufey in page 227 of that same work.
This usage stands out because kinship usually follows male ancestry traditions with the expected patronymic being Loki Fárbautason. The rarity of this maternal reference challenges standard Norse genealogical patterns and forces readers to consider why the mother's name holds such prominence here compared to other figures.
Scholars debate whether Laufey and Nal represent distinct figures or a single entity since Nal appears twice in the Prose Edda alongside Laufey. A text edited by Carl Christian Rafn states she was called Nal because she was slender and weak from page 392 of Fornaldar Sögur Norðrlanda Volume 1 published in Copenhagen 1829.