Scandinavian Names

The modern descendants of Old Norse, worn down by a thousand years of Danish, Swedish and Norwegian. They read to English speakers as clean and uncluttered, which has more to do with their short vowels than with anything about Scandinavia.

Languages behind these names Old Norse Greek Latin Danish from Hebrew uncertain

Rankings for

13 names, most popular first in United States

Very Rare Rare Uncommon

Girls Boys Unisex

Erick Erick means ever-ruler, and the K-spelling is the Scandinavian one — Erik the Red named Greenland deliberately to attract settlers, which may be the earliest recorded use of a misleading brand name.
Boy Scandinavian #366 in US
Bo Bo is a boy's name of Scandinavian origin meaning "to live" or "to dwell".
Boy Scandinavian #450 in US
Erik Erik is a boy's name meaning ever-ruler or sole ruler, from Old Norse.
Boy Scandinavian #545 in US
Johan Johan means God is gracious, and it ranks 393rd in France against 572nd in the United States — a Scandinavian and Dutch form of John that does better in French than in either English-speaking market.
Boy Scandinavian #572 in US
Karina Karina means pure or beloved depending on which parent it takes, and neither has a settled meaning — Catherine's Greek original was never derived, and the Latin route gives a different sense entirely.
Girl Scandinavian #749 in US
Erika Erika means ever-ruler, the feminine of Erik — and it is also the botanical name for heather, which is a separate Greek word that happens to match.
Girl Scandinavian #1,111 in US
Ingrid Ingrid carries a god's name — Ing, the Norse deity the Swedish kings claimed descent from, joined to a word meaning beautiful.
Girl Scandinavian #1,120 in US
Jenson Jenson is a boy's name of Scandinavian origin meaning "son of Jens."
Boy Scandinavian #1,348 in US
Kristina Kristina means a follower of Christ, the Scandinavian and Slavic form of Christina.
Girl Scandinavian #1,727 in US
Kari Kari descends from the same unexplained Greek root as Kaitlin in this group, but by a Scandinavian route — through Karen and Katarina rather than through Irish, and the pure gloss is equally unproven on both paths.
Girl Scandinavian #2,096 in US
Kirsten Kirsten means a follower of the anointed one, and the anointing is literal — Christ translates the Hebrew mashiach, and both words describe someone smeared with oil at a coronation rather than a divine title.
Girl Scandinavian #2,839 in US
Kristine Kristine means a follower of Christ, and it is the fourth spelling of this name to appear in our gap band — after Kristin, Kristen and Kristina, all four of them American-led rather than Scandinavian.
Girl Scandinavian #3,241 in US
Sonja Sonja means wisdom, and the great church of Constantinople carries the same word — Hagia Sophia was dedicated to Holy Wisdom as an aspect of God, not to any saint of that name.
Girl Scandinavian #3,960 in US

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