Where are Vikings from?

Originally, Vikings came from Scandinavia. That is, the lands that are now Norway, Denmark, and Sweden. These countries came about because of the Vikings. Their changing borders eventually coalesced after bloody struggles between numerous Viking Sea Kings.

However, Vikings were people with outward momentum, throughout the Viking Age, they established permanent bases in many lands. So, within the first few generations of the Viking Age, there were already Viking bases in Finland, Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, and into countries that are now Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine. To the west, Vikings settled in Ireland, Britain, and the islands around Scotland and northwest France (called Normandy, after the Northmen).

Perhaps the quintessential Viking settlement was Iceland, founded entirely by Vikings and the people they brought with them in the late 9th century. Other Viking strongholds include the Faroe Islands, the archipelago of Scottish isles, and the Isle of Man. Vikings founded colonies in Greenland and North America, though these remote colonies would come to mysterious ends.

So where are Vikings from?
Vikings settled wherever opportunity led them. They intermarried with locals and hybridized cultures. Therefore, Vikings might call almost anywhere home from Canada to the Middle East!  By the end of the Viking Age, the last few generations were often the child of a Scandinavian father and a mother who was Celtic (or English, Slavic, etc). Are you possibly a descendant of Vikings? 

Irish Vikings: 
https://sonsofvikings.com/blogs/history/irish-vikings-descendants-of-the-viking-invasions

Scottish Vikings: 
https://sonsofvikings.com/blogs/history/vikings-in-scotland

Slavic Vikings: 
https://sonsofvikings.com/blogs/history/vikings-in-russia-the-rus-of-kiev-and-the-varangians

Check out our other article on What countries did Vikings come from?

Return to Viking FAQ's page.