What were the names of the first humans?

The first humans in Norse mythology were Ask and Embla.

In the Prose Edda, Odin, Vili, and Vé find two pieces of wood beside the sea and shape them into the first man and woman. They give the figures life, movement, understanding, appearance, speech, hearing, and sight, then provide clothing and names. Ask and Embla are placed in Midgard and become the ancestors of humanity.

The names themselves preserve the story’s connection with trees. Old Norse askr means “ash tree,” while Embla’s meaning is uncertain; proposed interpretations include “elm,” “vine,” or a term connected with fire-making. The exact etymology remains debated.

The Poetic Edda gives a slightly different version of the creators, naming Odin together with Hœnir and Lóðurr rather than explicitly naming Vili and Vé. That variation concerns the gods involved, not the identities of the first human pair. Ask and Embla are therefore the canonical answer, not Adam and Eve, who belong to the biblical creation story.