Norse Gods Family Tree

From Ymir to Ragnarök

Snorri Sturluson's Edda tells how the world was built from the body of Ymir, how the gods descend from Buri and the giants from Ymir. Aesir and Vanir, gods and giants are intertwined in this chart: Odin's mother is a giantess, Thor's mother is the Earth, Loki is the son of a giant.

Tap a name: its parents, partners, children and the chain running back to Ginnungagap open up. The days of the week are here too: Tyr (Tuesday), Odin (Wednesday), Thor (Thursday), Frigg (Friday).

163 figures12 Aesir9 worlds21 lineages and groups

Key facts

The first beings are the giant Ymir and the cow Audhumla, born in Ginnungagap; Audhumla licks the first god Buri out of the ice.
Odin, Vili and Vé are the sons of Borr and the giantess Bestla; they build the world from Ymir's body.
The Aesir (Odin, Thor, Frigg, Tyr, Baldr) and the Vanir (Njörd, Frey, Freyja) are separate lines; the Vanir come to Asgard as hostages after the war.
Loki's children are Fenrir, Jörmungandr and Hel (by Angrboda) and Sleipnir (as a mare).
Days of the week: Tuesday Tyr, Wednesday Odin, Thursday Thor, Friday Frigg. Source: Snorri Sturluson's Edda.

Main line: from Ymir to the grandchildren

Left to right: Ginnungagap, Ymir and Audhumla, Buri and Borr, the generation of Odin, the children of Odin and Loki, the grandchildren. Giants (Jötnar) and gods share one tree; Odin's mother Bestla and Thor's mother Jörd are of giant stock. Large clans appear as dashed group boxes; tap a box to open its list below. Drag to pan, Ctrl/⌘ + wheel or the buttons to zoom.

PrimordialGiantAesirVanir / godSeaMonsterNorn / dwarfPersonificationMortalGroup (opens list)

Heimdall is born of nine mothers (the wave-daughters of Aegir); Tyr is Odin's son in Snorri and the giant Hymir's son in Hymiskviða. The Vanir gods Njörd, Frey and Freyja have no blood tie to the Aesir; they come to Asgard as hostages after the war.

Lineage explorer: who is whose child?

Type a name or tap a box in the chart. The card shows the parent, partner and child links recorded in the Eddas. "Not recorded" means no link is drawn for that figure in this chart, not that none exists in the sources.

Lineages and groups

All 163 figures in the chart, by lineage and group. The chips above filter by type; tap a name and the explorer opens that figure.

Primordial 3

Line of Ymir 5

Muspelheim 1

Line of Buri 3

Night and day 11

Aesir 10

Children of Odin 12

Thor's family 6

Vanir 9

Ynglings 1

The sea: Aegir's hall 5

Aegir's nine daughters 9

Loki and his children 17

Monsters 2

Giants (Jötnar) 22

Norns 3

Valkyries 3

Dwarves 11

House of Hreidmar 4

First humans and the line of Rig 11

House of the Völsungs 15

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is the first being in Norse mythology?

In the beginning there is only the abyss Ginnungagap; where the ice of the north meets the fire of the south, the first giant Ymir and the cow Audhumla who suckles him are born from the drops. Audhumla licks the first god Buri out of the salty ice. Buri's son Borr marries the giantess Bestla; Odin, Vili and Vé are born of this marriage.

What is the difference between the Aesir and the Vanir?

The Aesir (Odin, Thor, Frigg, Tyr, Baldr, Heimdall) are the gods of Asgard descended from Buri. The Vanir (Njörd, Frey, Freyja) are a separate group of gods linked to fertility and magic; the two sides go to war, exchange hostages at the peace, and the Vanir gods settle in Asgard. In the chart the Vanir have no blood tie to the Aesir.

Who are Loki's children?

By the giantess Angrboda the wolf Fenrir, the Midgard serpent Jörmungandr and Hel, ruler of the land of the dead; by his wife Sigyn Narfi and Vali; as a mare, by the stallion Svadilfari, the eight-legged horse Sleipnir. Loki himself is the son of the giant Farbauti and Laufey, and Odin's blood brother.

Who is Thor's mother?

Jörd (Fjörgyn), the personified Earth. Jörd is the daughter of Night (Nott) and the giant Annar; so Thor's maternal side is of giant stock. Thor has a daughter Thrud by Sif, a son Magni by the giantess Járnsaxa and another son Modi; Ull is Sif's son from before Thor.

What sources is this family tree based on?

Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda (Gylfaginning, Skáldskaparmál) and the poems of the Poetic Edda (Völuspá, Vafþrúðnismál, Hyndluljóð, Lokasenna, Rígsþula); for the heroic lineages the Völsunga Saga. Where the sources diverge (Tyr's father, Bragi's mother, Idun's father) both accounts are noted.

Key facts

Main line: from Ymir to the grandchildren

Lineage explorer: who is whose child?

Lineages and groups

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