Bluetooth technology is something that most of us use every day in one way or another, from wireless headphones to smart home devices. However, what you may not know is that this essential technology has a Viking connection.
In the mid-1990s a consortium of technology companies, including Intel, Ericsson and Nokia, were developing a wireless communication standard and needed a temporary name for their project. One of the Intel engineers, Jim Kardach, had been reading a book about a 10th century Scandinavian king called Harald "Bluetooth" Gormsson and felt that this had a nice ring to it.
King Harald ruled Denmark and parts of Norway, and was known for uniting different factions under his reign. Kardach felt that this was a fitting metaphor for the technology, which aimed to unite different communication protocols and devices across different platforms. Just as King Harald Bluetooth had united Scandinavia, the technology aimed to unite computers, mobile devices and other gadgets wirelessly.
The group planned to come up with a more official, technical-sounding name eventually but as the project progressed the name Bluetooth stuck. When it came time to launch the technology they realised that the name was memorable, easy to pronounce and was therefore market-friendly, so it became the official name.
In tribute to its Viking roots, the Bluetooth logo:
is a combination of two runes, ᚼ (Hagall) and ᛒ (Bjarkan), the initials of Harald Bluetooth's name.
What started as a nod to Viking history became one of the most recognised names in modern wireless technology, demonstrating that sometimes the most unexpected inspirations can have the greatest staying power.
King Harald was the son of Gorm the Old and was succeeded by Sweyn Forkbeard.