Mannaz Rune Meaning — Man & Humankind ᛗ Rune Explained
Mannaz (ᛗ) is the 20th rune of the Elder Futhark and it means "man" or "humankind" — the rune of people, community and mortality. It carries the sound m and appears in all three historical futharks: as Mannaz in the Elder Futhark, Maðr in the Viking-Age Younger Futhark, and Man in the Anglo-Saxon Futhorc.
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What does Mannaz mean?
The name comes from Proto-Germanic *mannaz, "human being," used in the general species sense rather than to mark out one sex — the same root gives modern English "man" and German "Mensch." The Roman historian Tacitus recorded a Germanic origin myth centred on a figure named Mannus, held up as the ancestor of the Germanic peoples, and the surviving Norse creation story tells of the first man and woman, Ask and Embla, shaped from driftwood by Odin and his brothers. Unlike many runes, Mannaz keeps essentially the same core meaning — "man," "person" — across all three traditions.
What does shift is the mood. The rune poems move from Mannaz as a social creature, valued among kin, to a blunt reminder that every human life ends in the earth — a theme the Old English poem states outright.
Mannaz in the three rune poems
Maðr er moldar auki; mikil er græip á hauki.
"Man is the increase of the dust; great is the talon upon the hawk." — Norwegian Rune Poem, c. 13th century
Maðr er manns gaman ok moldar auki ok skipa skreytir.
"Man is the delight of man, the increase of the earth, and the adorner of ships." — Icelandic Rune Poem, c. 15th century
Man byþ on myrgþe his magan leof: sceal þeah anra gehwylc oðrum swican, forðum drihten wyle dome sine þæt earme flæsc eorþan betæcan.
"Man, in his mirth, is dear to his kin; yet each must fail the other, for the Lord by his decree gives the poor flesh to the earth." — Old English Rune Poem, c. 8th–9th century
All three poems circle the same idea from different angles: man as "the delight of man" — a social being who finds joy among kin and builds and adorns ships — but also, in the recurring phrase "increase of the dust" or "the earth," a creature returning to the ground. The Old English poem makes that mortality explicit, framing death as the Lord's decree rather than tragedy alone.
How to write Mannaz
Mannaz stands for the sound m. Any name or word containing an M will use ᛗ when transliterated — try it in our free rune translator, which writes your name in the Elder, Younger or Anglo-Saxon rows and lets you download it as a poster. The full texts of all three rune poems, with our translations, are on the same page.
Mannaz, community and mortality
Mannaz sits among the runes most concerned with human relationships rather than nature or the gods — kinship, community and the shared fate that binds people together. You can read every rune in order in our Elder Futhark rune meanings guide, and runic pieces marking that shared human story appear across our Viking jewelry collection.
Mannaz FAQ
What does the Mannaz rune mean?
Mannaz (ᛗ) is the 20th rune of the Elder Futhark and means "man" or "humankind." It represents people, kinship and community, and — especially in the Old English rune poem — human mortality.
Does Mannaz's meaning change between the Elder and Younger Futhark?
Not much. Unlike runes such as Uruz or Kenaz, Mannaz keeps essentially the same "man/person" meaning as Elder Mannaz, Younger Futhark Maðr, and Anglo-Saxon Man. What changes is emphasis: the poems move from social delight to a blunt reminder of mortality.
What letter does Mannaz represent?
The consonant M. It is the 20th rune of the Elder Futhark row.