Formation of names

I have a question about the formation of names. My beginning forays into Old Norse has shown me that it is very much a descriptive language (something that appeals to me greatly). I've been looking at names at the website www(dot)nordicnames(dot)de and I'm trying to get a handle on how names are used. At this point, I am specifically after any guidelines/rules that govern the arrangement of nouns and adjectives. On that site I've noticed that names can follow the adjective-noun format as well as the noun-adjective format. Can anyone tell me what governs this, if anything? How are adjectives and nouns used in regular speech? Can it go either way as with those names or are there other guidelines to follow?

Thanks for your time!