Lagertha is a Norse legendary name associated with a famed shieldmaiden from Scandinavian saga tradition.
Lagertha is a name of Old Norse origin, most likely derived from an earlier form such as "Hlaðgerðr" — a compound of "hlaða" (to load, to stack, perhaps evoking strength or abundance) and "garðr" (enclosure, protection, yard), a structure common in Norse names like Sigrid, Hildegard, and Asgard. The name enters recorded history through Saxo Grammaticus's "Gesta Danorum" ("Deeds of the Danes," c. 1200 CE), where Lagertha appears as a legendary shield-maiden who fights alongside the Danish hero Ragnar Lothbrok disguised as a man, later becoming his first wife and a chieftain in her own right.
Saxo describes her as a warrior of remarkable courage — a figure who blurs the line between the domestic and the martial that Viking Age gender roles both enforced and, in mythological imagination, repeatedly transgressed. Archaeological finds across Scandinavia, particularly the Birka warrior burial (Bj 581) discovered in Sweden, have lent new credibility to the literary tradition of women warriors in the Norse world, giving names like Lagertha a richer historical context than they once enjoyed. Whether the legendary Lagertha reflects a real historical practice or a literary archetype, she has become one of the most vivid female figures in Norse tradition.
The name was dramatically revived by the television series "Vikings" (2013–2020), in which Lagertha — portrayed by Katheryn Winnick — became one of the show's most beloved characters: a shield-maiden, a farmer, a queen, a mother, a legend. That portrayal has made the name newly popular among parents drawn to its fierce, mythic energy and its evocation of female strength without apology. It is a name that arrives with a shield and a story.