Bluetooth is a Viking king
Did you know Bluetooth is named after a Viking king?
· 24-sec read
In 1996 Intel, Ericsson and Nokia met to standardize short-range radio, and Intel's Jim Kardach suggested "Bluetooth" as a temporary code name, after King Harald "Bluetooth" Gormsson, who united Denmark and Norway. Marketing planned to swap it for "PAN" or "RadioWire", but PAN had too many existing hits and RadioWire's trademark search wasn't done in time. The logo is a bind rune of Harald's initials, ᚼ and ᛒ.
Why it matters
Your placeholder code name might ship, so pick one you could live with.
Sources
High confidenceChecked October 20, 2026.
- Origin of the name (Bluetooth SIG) bluetooth.com