Nordic names, often searched as Scandinavian names, are the first names given in Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Iceland, and the 2025 birth lists show two layers: international names such as Emma, Noah, Olivia and Oscar at the very top, and Old Norse names such as Astrid, Ingrid, Solveig, Freja, Magnus, Sigurd, Odin and Viggo close behind. Astrid was the second most popular girls’ name in Sweden in 2025, according to the Swedish Tax Agency, and Iceland’s most common names are still Jón and Anna, with Guðrún and Sigurður right behind them.
This guide is part of our Scottish Names collection. Browse the full Scottish Names directory, or go back to the Old Norse originals in our Viking names guide.
This is for anyone choosing a name with a Nordic link, whether that is a Norwegian granny, a Danish partner or a soft spot for Icelandic sagas, and for anyone who wants to know which of the names on Scandinavian lists are genuinely Norse and which only sound it. Every name below has its root, its meaning, a respelling you can say out loud, and where it was actually given in the latest official figures.
One definition first. The Nordic countries include Finland, but Finnish is not a Norse language: it belongs to the Uralic family, which is unrelated to the Scandinavian languages. Finnish names get a short note further down, but the Old Norse roots in this guide belong to Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland and the Faroes, and to the bits of Scotland and England the Vikings reached.
Two Scots Abroad · Scottish names
Nordic name finder
75 names from today’s Nordic birth lists, 52 of them Old Norse. Filter by boy or girl, by root, and by the country whose 2025 list (or, for Iceland, population count) includes it.
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The most popular Nordic names in 2025
Emma, Alma and Vera for girls; Noah and Oscar for boys. Statistics Norway had Emma (386) and Noah (477) at the top in 2025, with spellings grouped. Statistics Denmark had Alma (499) and Oscar (540). Sweden’s Skatteverket ranked Vera and Noah first. Iceland publishes population counts rather than a yearly baby chart, and the Statistics Iceland tables for 1 January 2023 have Jón (5,052 men) and Anna (4,782 women) as the most common first names.
| Country | Top girls’ names | Top boys’ names | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Norway, 2025 births | Emma 386, Olivia 376, Nora 366, Sofie 364, Leah 355 | Noah 477, Jakob 413, Lucas 411, Emil 405, Oskar 374 | Statistics Norway (spellings grouped) |
| Sweden, 2025 births | Vera, Astrid, Alice, Olivia, Elsa | Noah, Hugo, Liam, Nils, Alfred | Skatteverket (top 5, updated June 2026) |
| Denmark, 2025 births | Alma 499, Sofia 476, Agnes 450, Nora 416, Emma 413 | Oscar 540, Karl 514, Alfred 479, Noah 460, August 455 | Statistics Denmark |
| Iceland, whole population, 1 January 2023 | Anna 4,782, Guðrún 4,472, Kristín 3,383, Sigríður 3,192, Margrét 2,838 | Jón 5,052, Sigurður 4,073, Guðmundur 3,838, Gunnar 3,074, Ólafur 2,743 | Statistics Iceland |
| Scotland, 2025 births | Freya 268, Isla 253, Olivia 251 | Noah 318, Luca 302, Rory 301 | National Records of Scotland |
The Norse names sit one layer down, and there are plenty of them. In Norway’s 2025 list, counting each spelling separately, 296 girls were named Astrid, 237 Ingrid, 178 Solveig, 152 Saga, 143 each Signe and Sigrid, 135 Ylva and 114 Frøya; for boys, 285 got Olav, 252 Magnus, 195 Odin, 188 Sverre, 186 Iver, 181 Håkon, 161 Brage and 145 Sigurd. Denmark’s top 50 includes Freja (9th), Asta (20th), Astrid, Ingrid, Solveig, Saga, Liv and Gry for girls and Viggo (8th), Holger, Magnus, Erik, Svend, Bjørn, Sigurd and Asger for boys.
| Old Norse name | Norway 2025 | Denmark 2025 | Iceland (all ages, 2023) | Scotland 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Astrid | 296 | 250 (21st) | 16 | |
| Ingrid | 237 | 220 (25th) | ||
| Solveig | 178 | 171 (37th) | 1,036 (31st) | |
| Freja / Frøya / Freya | Frøya 114, Freja 14 | Freja 391 (9th) | Freya 268 (1st), Freyja 19 | |
| Magnus / Magnús | 252 | 213 (32nd) | 2,287 (8th) | 41 |
| Sigurd / Sigurður | 145 | 169 (44th) | 4,073 (2nd) | |
| Bjørn / Björn | 119 | 173 (43rd) | 1,715 (12th) | |
| Odin | 195 | 24 | ||
| Viggo | 12 | 430 (8th) |
How Nordic names work
The old Nordic system had no surnames at all, just a first name and a father’s name with -son or -dóttir on the end. Iceland kept it. A man called Jón Einarsson names his son Ólafur, and the boy becomes Ólafur Jónsson, not Ólafur Einarsson; his sister becomes Sigríður Jónsdóttir. A Statistics Iceland study found about 82% of Icelanders have a patronymic or matronymic as their last name, about 4% an Icelandic family name and about 14% other last names. Since 1925 Icelanders have not been allowed to adopt a new family name unless they inherit the right.
First names are controlled too. The Icelandic Naming Committee, set up in 1991, has to approve any new first name, which must fit Icelandic grammar and use letters of the Icelandic alphabet; the register held about 4,300 names in 2023. Since 2019 first names are no longer restricted by gender, and people registered as non-binary can use -bur (child) instead of -son or -dóttir. One famous case: a girl called Blær, a masculine word meaning light breeze, won the right to keep her name in court in 2013.
Norway, Sweden and Denmark went the other way and froze patronymics into family names. Denmark’s naming acts began in 1828, and the result, says the history of Scandinavian family names, was that most people took a patronymic as a family name: in 2022 there were 236,397 Nielsens, 233,713 Jensens and 197,548 Hansens. Norway’s 1923 law gave every newborn a hereditary family name. Farm names were the other route, which is why Norwegians are called Dahl (valley), Berg (hill) or Vik (bay); our Viking surnames guide covers that side in full.
| Old Norse | Norway | Sweden | Denmark | Iceland | English or Scottish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Björn | Bjørn | Björn | Bjørn | Björn | Beorn (Old English) |
| Eiríkr | Eirik, Erik | Erik | Erik | Eiríkur | Eric |
| Hákon | Håkon, Haakon | Håkan | Hakon | Haakon | |
| Knútr | Knut | Knut | Knud | Knútur | Canute |
| Sveinn | Svein | Sven | Svend | Sveinn | Swain (surname) |
| Sigurðr | Sigurd | Sigurd | Sigurd | Sigurður | Siward |
| Þórsteinn | Torstein | Torsten, Thorsten | Þorsteinn | Thurston (surname) | |
| Guðrún | Gudrun | Gudrun | Gudrun | Guðrún | Gudrun |
The building blocks are the same across all four countries. Sig means victory, Ing is the god Frey, frid is beautiful, hild is battle, Thor is Thor and bjørn is bear, as the UHI Institute for Northern Studies sets out. Learn a dozen and you can read most of the names in the finder.
Nordic girls’ names with Old Norse roots
Astrid
Meaning: god + beautiful. Old Norse: Ástríðr. Say it: AS-trid. Used: Norway 296; Sweden top 5 (#2); Denmark #21 (250); Scotland 16.
Áss (a god) plus fríðr (beautiful), and the safest Norse pick on this page: easy to say in English, recognised everywhere, and in the top 25 in three countries. Asta began as its short form and is now a top 20 name in its own right in Denmark. The downside is popularity: in Sweden it was the second commonest girls’ name of 2025.
Ingrid
Meaning: the god Ing + beloved, beautiful. Old Norse: Ingiríðr. Say it: ING-rid. Used: Norway 237; Denmark #25 (220).
Ingrid continues Ingiríðr, from Ing, another name of the god Frey, and fríðr. It is given all over Scandinavia, most of all in Norway, where its peak was between the wars, so to Norwegian ears it can sound like a great-aunt who is coming back into fashion. Inga, Inger and Ingri are the short forms.
Sigrid
Meaning: victory + beautiful. Old Norse: Sigríðr. Say it: SIG-rid. Used: Norway 143.
Victory plus beautiful, from Sigríðr. Siri is the usual short form, with the obvious modern problem. In Iceland the same name, Sigríður, is the fourth most common women’s name, with 3,192 bearers in 2023, which tells you how deep these names run there.
Solveig
Meaning: house or sun + strength (disputed). Old Norse: Sólveig. Say it: SOL-vay. Used: Norway 178; Denmark #37 (171); Iceland #31 of all women.
Say SOL-vay; the g is silent in Norwegian. The meaning is disputed: the first half may be house or sun, the second strength. Solveig is one of the few Norse names in the top lists of Norway, Denmark and Iceland at the same time.
Liv
Meaning: shelter, protection; now heard as life. Old Norse: hlíf. Say it: LEEV. Used: Norway 86; Denmark #43 (156); Scotland 4.
Three letters and two meanings. The Old Norse hlíf meant shelter or protection, but the modern word liv means life in Norwegian, Swedish and Danish, and in Norse myth Líf is one of the two humans who survive the end of the world. More of those mythological names are in our Norse mythology names guide.
Freja
Meaning: the goddess Freyja; the name means the Lady. Old Norse: Freyja. Say it: FRAY-ah. Used: Norway 14; Denmark #9 (391); Scotland 3.
Freja is the Danish and Swedish spelling of the goddess Freyja, whose name simply means the Lady, and Frøya is the Norwegian one. It was Denmark’s ninth most popular girls’ name in 2025, while Freya topped Scotland’s list with 268 babies. Orkney’s version of that story is in our Shetland and Orkney names guide.
Saga
Meaning: a story, what is said. Old Norse: saga. Say it: SAH-ga. Used: Norway 152; Denmark #39 (165).
Saga is the Old Norse word for what is said, a story, and it is how the great Icelandic prose histories are known. As a first name it is now 39th in Denmark and gave 152 Norwegian girls their name in 2025. It is easy to say, easy to spell, and impossible to mistake for anything but Nordic.
Guðrún
Meaning: god + rune or secret lore. Old Norse: Guðrún. Say it: GVOOTH-roon. Used: Iceland #2 of all women.
God plus rune or secret lore, and one of the oldest names here: it is first found on a runestone as kuþrun. In Iceland’s 1703 census about one woman in five was called Guðrún. It is still the second most common women’s name there, though Statistics Iceland notes fewer babies get it now.
Ylva
Meaning: she-wolf. Old Norse: from úlfr. Say it: IL-va. Used: Norway 135.
Ylva means she-wolf, the feminine of Ulf. It began as a Swedish name and is now used in Norway too, where 135 girls got it in 2025. Say it roughly IL-va, with the y rounded.
Embla
Meaning: the first woman in Norse myth; meaning uncertain. Old Norse: Embla. Say it: EM-bla. Used: Norway 62; Iceland #90 of all women.
In the Eddas, Askr and Embla are the first two humans. Askr means ash tree; nobody is sure what Embla means. That has not stopped Icelanders, where Embla is in the population top 100, or Norwegians, who gave it to 62 girls in 2025.
Nordic boys’ names with Old Norse roots
Olav
Meaning: ancestor + heirloom, descendant. Old Norse: Óláfr. Say it: OH-lav. Used: Norway 285; Iceland #5 of all men.
Olav comes from a reconstructed Proto-Norse *Anu-laibaz, ancestor plus heirloom or descendant, and it was the name of Saint Olaf, king of Norway from 1015 to 1030. 285 Norwegian boys got Olav in 2025, and Ólafur is Iceland’s fifth most common men’s name. Ola and Ole are the everyday short forms.
Magnus
Meaning: great (Latin, adopted by Norse kings). Old Norse: Magnús. Say it: MAG-nus. Used: Norway 252; Denmark #32 (213); Iceland #8 of all men; Scotland 41.
The odd one out: Magnus is Latin for great, not Norse at all, but Norse kings and earls made it their own. It is in the lists of Norway, Denmark and Iceland and was given to 41 boys in Scotland in 2025. The UHI Institute for Northern Studies counted 14,342 Norwegian men called Magnus when it looked.
Odin
Meaning: the chief god of Norse myth. Old Norse: Óðinn. Say it: OH-din. Used: Norway 195; Scotland 24.
195 Norwegian parents named a boy after the chief god of Norse myth in 2025, and 24 did in Scotland. It is short and clear, which helps. If Odin feels like a lot to live up to, Tor is the shorter god.
Sverre
Meaning: wild, swinging, spinning. Old Norse: Sverrir. Say it: SVAIR-uh. Used: Norway 188.
Sverrir meant wild or swinging. King Sverre ruled Norway around 1200, and Prince Sverre Magnus of Norway was born in 2005. It is common in Norway, Iceland and the Faroes and much rarer in Denmark and Sweden.
Håkon
Meaning: high + son, descendant. Old Norse: Hákon. Say it: HAW-kon. Used: Norway 181.
High plus son or descendant, from Hákon. Each country spells it differently: Håkon in Norway, Hakon in Denmark, Håkan in Sweden, and Haakon for the Norwegian kings in English. Say HAW-kon.
Sigurd
Meaning: victory + guardian. Old Norse: Sigurðr. Say it: SIG-urd. Used: Norway 145; Denmark #44 (169); Iceland #2 of all men.
Victory plus guardian, from Sigurðr, and the hero of the Völsunga saga. Sigurður is Iceland’s second most common men’s name, with 4,073 bearers, and Sigurd made Denmark’s top 50 in 2025. Siward is the old English form. Our male Viking names list has the earls and kings who carried it.
Bjørn
Meaning: bear. Old Norse: Björn. Say it: BYURN. Used: Norway 119; Denmark #43 (173); Iceland #12 of all men.
Bjørn simply means bear. Norway and Denmark spell it with ø, Sweden and Iceland with ö, and Old English had Beorn. It is 12th in Iceland’s population and 43rd in Denmark’s 2025 list.
Leif
Meaning: heir, descendant. Old Norse: Leifr. Say it: LAYF. Used: Norway 19.
Leifr meant heir or descendant. About 17,000 Norwegian men have Leif as their first name, but only 19 boys got it in 2025, so it reads as a dad’s name there for now. Rhymes with safe, not leaf.
Viggo
Meaning: battle, or one who lies in a cradle (two theories). Old Norse: Viggeir or Vöggr. Say it: VIG-go. Used: Norway 12; Denmark #8 (430).
Two theories: a Latinised form of Viggeir, from vig, battle, or a variant of Vöggr, one who lies in a cradle. Either way, Viggo was Denmark’s eighth most popular boys’ name in 2025, with 430 babies, which makes it the highest-placed Old Norse boys’ name in any of the three national charts for 2025.
Holger
Meaning: island + spear. Old Norse: Hólmgeirr. Say it: HOL-ger. Used: Denmark #26 (255).
Hólmgeirr, island plus spear. Holger is most common in Denmark, 26th in 2025, and rare elsewhere, so it signals Danish rather than generic Nordic.
Brage
Meaning: from bragr, poetry. Old Norse: Bragi. Say it: BRAH-guh. Used: Norway 161.
From the Old Norse name Bragi, which comes from bragr, poetry. 2,813 Norwegian men had Brage as a first name in 2019, and 161 boys got it in 2025.
Jón
Meaning: God is gracious. From: Johannes. Say it: YOHN. Used: Iceland #1 of all men.
Not Norse at all but biblical, from Johannes, God is gracious. It is in this list because it is the most Icelandic name there is: 5,052 men in 2023, and in the mid-1800s one Icelandic man in six was a Jón, which is one reason Icelanders argued about adopting surnames.
How to choose a Nordic name
- Decide how Nordic it needs to sound, because the lists are full of names that are popular in Scandinavia but not Scandinavian. Emma, Noah and Olivia are top in Oslo and Glasgow alike.
- For a name that travels, pick from the crossover set: Astrid, Ingrid, Freja, Liv, Saga, Magnus, Erik, Leif, Odin. All short, and all known in English.
- For something clearly from one country, use its spelling, because the spelling is the flag: Frøya and Håkon are Norwegian, Freja and Svend are Danish, Ylva and Håkan Swedish, Guðrún and Sigurður Icelandic.
- If ø, å or ð will cause trouble at school or on forms, use the plain version (Bjorn, Hakon, Gudrun) and keep the original as a middle name.
If you want to go further back than today’s lists, our female Viking names page and its male partner have the saga names behind these modern ones, and the Norse place names guide shows where the same words ended up on the map.
Watch out for: names that look Norse and are not. Frida is Germanic, from fried, peace. Alma is probably Latin. Vera is Slavic for faith. Oscar has a mixed history. And Finnish names are not Norse at all: Finland’s naming traditions were only brought together in the early 20th century, with its first names act in 1921, and many Finnish first names are Christian, Finnish or Swedish in origin.
Quick list: 75 Nordic names with roots and meanings
| Name | Origin form | Meaning | Say it | For | Root | Where used (latest figures) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agnes | Greek Hagne | pure, holy | AG-ness | Girl | Bible and saints | Norway 127; Denmark #3 (450); Iceland #86 of all women; Scotland 5 |
| Alfred | Anglo-Saxon Ælfrǣd | elf + counsel | AL-fred | Boy | Other European | Norway 211; Sweden top 5 (#5); Denmark #3 (479); Scotland 18 |
| Alice | Old French Alis, from Adalhaidis | noble | a-LEESS | Girl | Other European | Norway 26; Sweden top 5 (#3); Scotland 75 |
| Alma | Latin almus (debated) | kind, nourishing | AL-ma | Girl | Other European | Norway 297; Denmark #1 (499); Scotland 14 |
| Anna | Hebrew Hannah | favour, grace | AN-na | Girl | Bible and saints | Norway 196; Denmark #17 (284); Iceland #1 of all women; Scotland 74 |
| Arne | from Arnfinnr | eagle + Finn or Sámi | AR-nuh | Boy | Old Norse | Norway 19 |
| Asger | Ásgeirr | god + spear | ASS-ger | Boy | Old Norse | Denmark #49 (155) |
| Astrid | Ástríðr | god + beautiful | AS-trid | Girl | Old Norse | Norway 296; Sweden top 5 (#2); Denmark #21 (250); Scotland 16 |
| Bjørn | Björn | bear | BYURN | Boy | Old Norse | Norway 119; Denmark #43 (173); Iceland #12 of all men |
| Brage | Bragi | from bragr, poetry | BRAH-guh | Boy | Old Norse | Norway 161 |
| Dagny | Dagný | day + new | DAG-nee | Girl | Old Norse | Norway 24 |
| Einar | Einarr | linked to the einherjar, the warriors of Valhalla | AY-nar | Boy | Old Norse | Norway 118; Iceland #7 of all men |
| Elsa | short form of Elisabeth | from Elisabeth | EL-sa | Girl | Bible and saints | Norway 41; Sweden top 5 (#5); Iceland #93 of all women; Scotland 8 |
| Embla | Embla | the first woman in Norse myth; meaning uncertain | EM-bla | Girl | Old Norse | Norway 62; Iceland #90 of all women |
| Emil | Latin Aemilius | rival, eager | EH-meel | Boy | Other European | Norway 405; Denmark #18 (337); Scotland 4 |
| Emma | Germanic ermen | whole, universal | EM-ma | Girl | Other European | Norway 386; Denmark #5 (413); Iceland #84 of all women; Scotland 46 |
| Erik | Eiríkr | one or ever + ruler (debated) | ER-ik | Boy | Old Norse | Norway 111; Denmark #35 (207); Scotland 4 |
| Even | Eyvindr | gift or luck + winner | EH-ven | Boy | Old Norse | Norway 163 |
| Freja | Freyja | the goddess Freyja; the name means the Lady | FRAY-ah | Girl | Old Norse | Norway 14; Denmark #9 (391); Scotland 3 |
| Frida | Germanic fried | peace | FREE-da | Girl | Other European | Norway 337; Denmark #6 (413); Scotland 3 |
| Frøya | Freyja | the goddess Freyja | FRUR-ya | Girl | Old Norse | Norway 114 |
| Gry | Gry | dawn | GREE | Girl | Old Norse | Denmark #44 (152) |
| Gunhild | Gunnhildr | war + war | GUN-hild | Girl | Old Norse | rare in the latest lists |
| Gunnar | Gunnarr | battle + warrior | GUN-nar | Boy | Old Norse | Norway 16; Iceland #4 of all men |
| Guðrún | Guðrún | god + rune or secret lore | GVOOTH-roon | Girl | Old Norse | Iceland #2 of all women |
| Harald | Haraldr | the Norse form of Harold | HA-rald | Boy | Old Norse | Norway 60 |
| Helga | Helga | holy, dedicated to the gods | HEL-ga | Girl | Old Norse | Norway 6; Iceland #6 of all women |
| Helgi | Hailaga (Proto-Norse) | dedicated to the gods | HEL-gee | Boy | Old Norse | Iceland #17 of all men |
| Hildur | hildr | battle | HIL-dur | Girl | Old Norse | Iceland #13 of all women |
| Holger | Hólmgeirr | island + spear | HOL-ger | Boy | Old Norse | Denmark #26 (255) |
| Hugo | Old High German hugu | mind, thought | HOO-go | Boy | Other European | Norway 64; Sweden top 5 (#2); Denmark #16 (347); Scotland 44 |
| Håkon | Hákon | high + son, descendant | HAW-kon | Boy | Old Norse | Norway 181 |
| Ida | Germanic id, or the goddess Iðunn | work, labour (or a link to Iðunn) | EE-da | Girl | Other European | Norway 151; Denmark #11 (369); Scotland 7 |
| Idun | Iðunn | ever young, the rejuvenating one | EE-dun | Girl | Old Norse | Norway 13 |
| Ingrid | Ingiríðr | the god Ing + beloved, beautiful | ING-rid | Girl | Old Norse | Norway 237; Denmark #25 (220) |
| Iver | Ívarr | possibly yew + warrior | EE-ver | Boy | Old Norse | Norway 186; Scotland 3 |
| Jón | Johannes | God is gracious | YOHN | Boy | Bible and saints | Iceland #1 of all men |
| Karl | Old High German | man, freeman | KARL | Boy | Other European | Norway 27; Denmark #2 (514); Iceland #44 of all men |
| Knut | Knútr | knot | k-NOOT | Boy | Old Norse | Norway 37 |
| Leif | Leifr | heir, descendant | LAYF | Boy | Old Norse | Norway 19 |
| Liam | Irish short form of Uilliam | from William | LEE-am | Boy | Other European | Norway 314; Sweden top 5 (#3); Denmark #27 (255); Scotland 81 |
| Liv | hlíf | shelter, protection; now heard as life | LEEV | Girl | Old Norse | Norway 86; Denmark #43 (156); Scotland 4 |
| Magnus | Magnús | great (Latin, adopted by Norse kings) | MAG-nus | Boy | Old Norse | Norway 252; Denmark #32 (213); Iceland #8 of all men; Scotland 41 |
| Nils | Niels, from Nicholas | from Nicholas | NILS | Boy | Bible and saints | Norway 113; Sweden top 5 (#4) |
| Noah | Hebrew | rest | NOH-a | Boy | Bible and saints | Norway 460; Sweden top 5 (#1); Denmark #4 (460); Scotland 318 |
| Nora | Honora (Latin) | honour | NOR-a | Girl | Other European | Norway 357; Denmark #4 (416); Scotland 49 |
| Odin | Óðinn | the chief god of Norse myth | OH-din | Boy | Old Norse | Norway 195; Scotland 24 |
| Olav | Óláfr | ancestor + heirloom, descendant | OH-lav | Boy | Old Norse | Norway 285; Iceland #5 of all men |
| Olivia | Latin oliva | olive | oh-LIV-ee-a | Girl | Other European | Norway 368; Sweden top 5 (#4); Denmark #10 (389); Scotland 251 |
| Oscar | mixed English, Old Norse and Irish roots | god’s spear (one theory) | OS-kar | Boy | Other European | Norway 236; Denmark #1 (540); Scotland 157 |
| Otto | Old High German aud | wealth, prosperity | OT-to | Boy | Other European | Norway 52; Denmark #10 (423); Scotland 20 |
| Ragnar | Ragnarr | counsel + army | RAG-nar | Boy | Old Norse | Norway 23; Iceland #21 of all men |
| Ragnhild | Ragnhildr | counsel of the gods + battle | RAG-n-hild | Girl | Old Norse | Norway 18 |
| Runa | Rúna | rune, secret lore | ROO-na | Girl | Old Norse | Norway 19; Scotland 5 |
| Saga | saga | a story, what is said | SAH-ga | Girl | Old Norse | Norway 152; Denmark #39 (165) |
| Signe | Signý | victory + new | SIG-nuh | Girl | Old Norse | Norway 143 |
| Sigrid | Sigríðr | victory + beautiful | SIG-rid | Girl | Old Norse | Norway 143 |
| Sigríður | Sigríðr | victory + beautiful | SIG-ree-thur | Girl | Old Norse | Iceland #4 of all women |
| Sigrún | Sigrún | victory + rune | SIG-roon | Girl | Old Norse | Iceland #7 of all women |
| Sigurd | Sigurðr | victory + guardian | SIG-urd | Boy | Old Norse | Norway 145; Denmark #44 (169); Iceland #2 of all men |
| Siv | Sif | bride; Sif is Thor’s wife | SEEV | Girl | Old Norse | rare in the latest lists |
| Solveig | Sólveig | house or sun + strength (disputed) | SOL-vay | Girl | Old Norse | Norway 178; Denmark #37 (171); Iceland #31 of all women |
| Svend | Sveinn | young man, servant | SVEN | Boy | Old Norse | Norway 14; Denmark #36 (200); Iceland #34 of all men |
| Sverre | Sverrir | wild, swinging, spinning | SVAIR-uh | Boy | Old Norse | Norway 188 |
| Thora | Þóra | feminine of Thor | TOR-ah | Girl | Old Norse | Norway 26; Scotland 3 |
| Tor | Þórr | the god Thor | TOR | Boy | Old Norse | Norway 22 |
| Torstein | Þórsteinn | Thor + stone | TOR-stayn | Boy | Old Norse | Norway 16 |
| Tove | Tófa or Þórfríðr | Thor + beautiful | TOH-vuh | Girl | Old Norse | Norway 5 |
| Ulf | Úlfr | wolf | OOLF | Boy | Old Norse | rare in the latest lists |
| Valdemar | Old High German wald + mar | power + fame | VAL-de-mar | Boy | Other European | Denmark #14 (366); Iceland #99 of all men |
| Vera | Slavic | faith | VAIR-a | Girl | Other European | Norway 77; Sweden top 5 (#1); Denmark #26 (216) |
| Viggo | Viggeir or Vöggr | battle, or one who lies in a cradle (two theories) | VIG-go | Boy | Old Norse | Norway 12; Denmark #8 (430) |
| William | Germanic | will + helmet | VIL-ee-am | Boy | Other European | Norway 368; Denmark #9 (429); Scotland 80 |
| Ylva | from úlfr | she-wolf | IL-va | Girl | Old Norse | Norway 135 |
| Ásta | from Ástríðr | short form of Astrid | OW-sta | Girl | Old Norse | Norway 19; Denmark #20 (266); Iceland #19 of all women |
FAQ about Nordic names
What are the most popular Nordic names right now?
In 2025 the top names were Emma and Noah in Norway, Vera and Noah in Sweden, and Alma and Oscar in Denmark. Iceland’s most common names in the population are Anna and Jón. The most popular names with Old Norse roots are Astrid, Freja, Ingrid, Solveig, Magnus, Olav, Viggo, Sigurd and Odin.
Are Nordic names and Scandinavian names the same thing?
Nearly. Scandinavian usually means Norway, Sweden and Denmark; Nordic adds Iceland, the Faroes and Finland. Norse-rooted names are shared across Scandinavia and Iceland, while Finnish comes from the unrelated Uralic language family, so Finnish names are Nordic but not Norse.
How do Icelandic last names work?
Most Icelanders take their father’s first name plus -son or -dóttir: Jón’s son Ólafur is Ólafur Jónsson and his daughter Sigríður is Sigríður Jónsdóttir. Some use the mother’s name, and since 2019 non-binary people can use -bur. Statistics Iceland found about 82% of Icelanders have a patronymic or matronymic last name.
What are Old Norse names that are still used today?
Plenty. In 2025 Norwegian parents chose Astrid, Ingrid, Solveig, Saga, Sigrid, Olav, Magnus, Odin, Sverre, Håkon and Sigurd; Danish parents chose Freja, Asta, Viggo, Holger and Bjørn. In Iceland, Guðrún, Sigríður, Sigurður, Gunnar and Einar are among the commonest names of all.
Can you give a baby an Icelandic name outside Iceland?
Yes. The Icelandic Naming Committee only governs names registered in Iceland, so elsewhere you can use any name on its list, or any other. Just expect to explain ð and þ: many parents outside Iceland write Gudrun or Thora instead.
Final thoughts on Nordic names
The honest picture is that Scandinavian parents pick from the same international pool as everyone else, then reach for Old Norse names in the second tier. That second tier is where the good stuff is: Astrid, Solveig, Saga, Freja, Sigurd and Viggo are all in real use and all carry their meaning on their sleeve.
If the names have you planning a trip, our comparison of Oslo and Stockholm and our one day in Reykjavik itinerary are a good start. You will meet a lot of Jóns.
Sources
- Statistics Norway (SSB), Name statistics, 2025, and table 10467
- Skatteverket, Namn på nyfödda, 2025 (updated 15 June 2026)
- Statistics Denmark, Names for newborns, top 50 for 2025
- Statistics Iceland, Male and female names, 1 January 2023
- Statistics Iceland, Icelandic names and naming practice, 2018
- National Records of Scotland, Babies’ First Names 2025
- Ragnhild Ljosland, Delving into the roots of Norse first names, UHI Institute for Northern Studies
- Wikipedia, Icelandic name
- Wikipedia, Icelandic Naming Committee
- Wikipedia, Scandinavian family name etymology
- Wikipedia, Finnish name
- Wikipedia, Scandinavia (languages)
