boy's name
Magnus
MAG-nus
- Origin Latin
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 2
- Letters 6
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 10,102
the United States
#764
2025 births
Magnus is a boy's name of Latin origin meaning "great," which became a Scandinavian royal name through a misunderstanding about Charlemagne's Latin title. It ranks 130th in Scotland and 764th in the United States, and it is rising.
- Magnus is a name of Latin origin.
- Peaked in 2021, when 354 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 9,838 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1890.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Magnus over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1890s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1890s | 21 |
| 1900s | 29 |
| 1910s | 122 |
| 1920s | 132 |
| 1930s | 66 |
| 1940s | 23 |
| 1950s | 39 |
| 1960s | 18 |
| 1970s | 30 |
| 1980s | 74 |
| 1990s | 212 |
| 2000s | 1,028 |
| 2010s | 2,389 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 1,989 |
What Magnus means
Magnus means great, from the Latin magnus. It began as a Roman cognomen — an honorific added to a name, as in Pompeius Magnus — rather than as a name in its own right.
Where Magnus comes from
Magnus is the Latin for great, used by Romans as an honorific: Pompey the Great is Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus. Its life as a Scandinavian name rests on a misreading. Magnus I of Norway, born around 1024, was named by his father Olaf after Charlemagne — Carolus Magnus — but the Norse apparently took Magnus for the name rather than the epithet, and it entered Scandinavian royal use as a first name from there. Six kings of Norway and four of Sweden followed. Saint Magnus Erlendsson, Earl of Orkney, was killed by his cousin around 1117 and is the patron of Orkney, where the cathedral in Kirkwall carries his name — which is why Magnus is a Scottish name, and specifically a northern Scottish one, rather than only a Nordic one.
Magnus in use
Magnus ranks 130th in Scotland with 37 births in 2024 and 764th in the United States with 337 births, and it is rising in our data with a peak in 2021. Our records carry it from 1890. It holds 433rd in England and Wales. The Orkney and Shetland connection means the name has a genuinely local Scottish tradition rather than reading as an import there.
How popular is Magnus?
In 2025, Magnus was given to 337 babies in the United States, ranking #764 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Magnus is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Magnus
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Magnus also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Magnus over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Magnus in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Magnus
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Magnus — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Magnus
What does the name Magnus mean?
Magnus means "great," from the Latin magnus. It began as an honorific rather than a name.
How did Magnus become a Norse name?
Magnus I of Norway was named after Carolus Magnus — Charlemagne — and the Norse took the epithet for a first name.
Why is Magnus used in Scotland?
Saint Magnus Erlendsson was Earl of Orkney and is its patron; Kirkwall's cathedral carries his name.
How popular is Magnus?
130th in Scotland and 764th in the United States.
Is Magnus a girl's or a boy's name?
Magnus is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Magnus?
Magnus has 2 syllables.
Is Magnus a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Magnus currently ranks #130 in the United States. It has been rising over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.