Find below the list of the most used Norwegian names from 1880 through 2010, according to the data provided by Statistics Norway (Statistisk sentralbyrå). Statistics for 2011 are not ready as yet, but in 2010 the most popular boys’ name in Norway was Lucas and the most popular girls’ name was Emma. In 2009 the most common Norwegian names were Mathias and Sara. The most used boys’ name in Oslo in 2010 was Mohammad.
The list is divided into top 50 male names and top 50 female names, giving the top 100 popular names in Norway for the last 130 yerars. Each name is provided with a short note as for its origin and meaning (ON stands for Old Norse). Check also the name day in Norway (in several cases other Scandinavian countries have different dates for the same names).
Male Norwegian Names
Jan — short form of Johannes. September, 24.
Per — short form of Peter. June, 29.
Bjørn — ON bjǫrn, ‘bear.’ June, 18.
Ole — ON Ólafr. Combination of elements meaning ‘ancestor’ and ‘heir, descendant.’ July, 29.
Lars — short form of Laurentius. August, 10.
Kjell — ON kętill ‘kettle, cauldron,’ or ‘helmet.’ July, 11.
Arne — ON arni ‘eagle’ August, 4.
Knut — ON knútr ‘knot.’ January, 7.
Svein — ON sveinn ‘young man’ or ‘young warrior.’ December, 3.
Thomas — Latin spelling of a New Testament name. December, 21.
Hans — German short form of Johannes. June, 24.
Geir — ON geirr ‘spear.’ May, 30.
Tor — ON Þórr (Norse god Thor). September, 10.
Odd — ON oddr ‘point (of a weapon), spear’. April, 15.
Morten — variant form of Martin. November, 11.
Terje — dialectal for Torgeir, combination of ON Þórr and geirr. October, 13.
Erik — ON Eiríkr. According to various interpretations of the two elements, ‘one ruler’ or ‘eternal ruler’ or ‘ever powerful.’ May, 18.
John — Low German and English short form of Johannes.
Martin — German short form for the Latin Martinus. November, 11.
Anders — short form of Andreas.
Andreas — Latin spelling of a New Testament name. November, 30.
Rune — ON rún ‘secret.’ June, 2.
Trond — ON Þróndr from þroásk ‘to grow and thrive.’ September, 21.
Tore — ON Þórir ‘Thor’s warrior.’ October, 19.
Jon — short form of Jonas.
Harald — ON Haraldr ‘warrior power’ or ‘host wielder.’ May, 17.
Olav — Norwegian modern form of ON Ólafr. July, 29.
Kristian — Nordic spelling of Christian. May, 14.
Tom — English short form of Thomas. December, 21.
Daniel — Old Testament name meaning ‘(my) judge is God.’ December, 11.
Stian — ON Stígandr ‘stepping, treading one.’ September, 13.
Gunnar — ON Gunnarr ‘battle, fight’ + ‘warrior.’ January, 9.
Rolf — ON Hrólfr ‘fame’ + ‘wolf.’ August, 27.
Marius — Roman family name. January, 19.
Leif — ON Leifr ‘heir, descendant.’ October, 9.
Magnus — Latin byname meaning ‘great.’ April, 16.
Øyvind — ON Eyvindr ‘luck, fortune’ + ‘winner.’ August, 26.
Espen — ON Ásbiǫrn ‘god’ + ‘bear.’ May, 10.
Nils — Short form of Nicolaus. December, 6.
Fredrik — German Friedrich ‘peace’ + ‘mighty, rich.’ November, 14.
Helge — ON Helgi ‘luck, fortune, health.’ September, 30.
Christian — short form of Christianus.
Eirik — Norwegian form of Eiríkr.
Einar — ON Æinarr ‘one, alone’ + ‘warrior.’ September, 26.
Håkon — ON Hákon ‘high’ + ‘son.’ June, 22.
Jonas — Latin spelling of Ionas or contracted form of Johannes.
Steinar — ON Steinarr ‘stone’ + ‘warrior.’ December, 14.
Øystein — ON Øystæinn, probably ‘luck, fortune’ + ‘stone.’ January, 26.
Frode — ON Fróði ‘clever, wise.’ February, 18.
Female Norwegian Names
Anne — variant form of Anna. July, 26.
Inger — dialectal form of Ingerd, ON Ingigærðr ‘god Ing’ + ‘enclosure.’ February, 26.
Kari — variant form of Karin. November, 25.
Marit — variant form of Marghit, Margarita. July, 20.
Liv — modern form of Líf from ON hlíf ‘cover, shelter, protection, esp. shield,’ early associated with ON líf ‘life.’ October, 2.
Ingrid — ON Ingríðr ‘god Ing’ + ‘beautiful, beloved.’ February, 10.
Eva — Latin form of the Old Testament name.
Berit — short form of Beritta, Brigitta, from the Celtic name Brighid.
Astrid — ON Ástríðr ‘god’ + ‘beautiful, beloved.’ April, 13.
Bjørg — ON Bjǫrg ‘help, salvation.’ June, 11.
Solveig — ON Sǫlveig ‘sun’ + ‘power, strength.’ September, 1.
Randi — ON Ragnfríðr ‘advise, decision’ + ‘beautiful, beloved.’ February, 12.
Hilde — variant form of Hilda ‘battle, fight.’ December, 15.
Marianne — French pet form of Maria. November, 21.
Nina — Russian name. April, 4.
Anna — variant form of Hanna. July, 26.
Elisabeth — New Testament name. November, 19.
Ida — pet form of Adelaida and Adelaide. September, 4.
Kristin — variant form of Christina. July, 24.
Maria — New Testament name. March, 25.
Bente — variant form of Benedicta. October, 8.
Gerd — ON Gerðr ‘enclosure, protection.’ March, 23.
Heidi — German pet form of names containing the element heid. June, 4.
Hanne — variant form of Hanna. January, 5.
Silje — variant form of Cecilie. November, 22.
Tone — ON Þórný ‘thunder’ + ‘new.’ June, 13.
Linda — German pet form of names containing the element lind. May, 13.
Tove — from ON pet form of names with the first element Þórr. November, 2.
Ragnhild — ON Ragnhildr ‘advise, decision’ + ‘battle, fight.’ May, 17.
Elin — variant form of Elina, Helena. July, 31.
Anita — pet form of Anna. July, 10.
Wenche — variant form of Wenke, Low German pet form of the names meaning ‘friend.’ August, 17.
Ellen — variant form of Eleonora or Helene. May, 21.
Karin — short form of Katrina or Carolina. November, 25.
Camilla — Italian name. August, 12.
Else — short form of Elisabeth.
Hege — dialectal form of Helga. September, 30.
Ann — short form of Anna and Anne. August, 13.
Aud — ON Auðr ‘prosperity, fortune.’ July, 30.
Mona — Short form of Monika. May, 4.
Marie — variant form of Maria. March, 25.
Monica — variant form of Monika. May, 4.
Turid — ON Þúríðr ‘thunder’ + ‘beautiful.’ January, 8.
Laila — Sami form of Helga.
Kristine — variant form of Christine.
Reidun — ON Reidunn ‘nest, home’ + ‘love.’ July, 28.
Julie — variant form of Julia, a Roman name. April, 12.
Åse — from ON short forms of names beginning with Ás ‘god.’ May, 2.
Jorunn — ON Jórunnr ‘wild boar’ + ‘love.’ June, 25.
Stine — Short form of names ending in -stin, -stina, -stine. December, 5.
My name means “He whom is victorious”. I’m wondering if there is any Old Nordic name similar to that.
Hello Sil. Old Norse for ‘victory’ is sigr. There are several Nordic names that contain this element. For example, Sigurd (Old Norse Sigurðr) is composed of two elements meaning ‘victory’ and ‘guard’.
My fathers name was Trigve Sigurd. Do you know the meaning of Trigve?
Hello Glenn. As far as I can remember, it’s from the Old Norse word tryggr meaning ‘trustworthy’.
What does my name mean in the Norse language
Hello. Alec is a short form of Alexander. It is a Greek name meaning ‘defender of mankind’.
I am Norwegian descent. My first name is from a Norwegian surname to the best of my knowledge. I have surmised it is a rune spell since I cannot find any meaning for the name I’m its English spelling. Shed any light on this?
Sonju seems to be a variant of Sonja, which is a Russian pet form of Sophia.
Hey!
Cool site. Hansen and Olsen are very common names in Norway. In Iceland you are referred to the son or daughter of someone. Can be very hard to track without more info. Iceland is not in Scandinavia but in Norden.
Greetings from a Norwegian
Hello Nina. Yes, Iceland is usually counted among Nordic countries, Scandinavia being limited to Denmark, Norway and Sweden.
Hi, :)
Thanks for the beautiful group
of names.
Lonna –
Thank you Lonna :)
i was just wondering if hansen is a norse surname
It’s most likely of Scandinavian decent, sen/son = at the end of Scandinavian names refer to your father.. So Hansen basically means son of Hans.. The tradiontion as far as I know has died out, except on Iceland where you’re still named after you father.. Sorry if that was a bit cryptic, not a native English speaker ;)
It is actually :) I know a few in my town in Norway with the same surname
Do you have any information that would help with family name grandparents came here around 1910? From norway Trying to track our name back thanks.Ray Kjendlie
Hello Ray. Try ancestry.com, it has many records for Kjendlie family from Wisconsin.
I was wondering how to spell my last name in runes. Jorgenson. Still doing as much research as I can find, its difficult though. My Grandfather moved immigrated from Norway and I figured one of my tattoos should include my family. Thanks to whomever can answer this for me.
Hello Philip. Our rune converter will help to spell your last name in runes.
Hail, those of vikingrune.com!
I am a woman looking for a name that resonates with that of the moon (which is inherently masculine in my faith) and that of a weaver of tales that reflect the truth of our Ancestors. I ask for help with finding a name in which to either go by in penmanship or to use as the name for which I shall use should my mate and I ever decide to instate a Kindred of our own.
Thank you.
Hello Frances. In Norse mythology, the personification of moon is Máni.
I am a female joining SCA, looking for a name that would work with my profession as a coppersmith. Danke.
Hello Coree. Coppersmith in Norwegian is kobberslager. A few things related to copper that you might find interesting: copper alloy used for the three middle denomonations of Euro coins (50 cent, 20 cent, and 10 cent) is called Nordic gold. It was originally developed for the Swedish 10-krona coin. Falu red, the color that has been used to paint ancient runic inscriptions on Scandinavian rune stones, is named after a copper mine at Falun, Dalarna (Sweden).