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.
I was named by my Great Bestamore who had a very deep connection with her traditional pagan roots. She as many of her peers seemed to conduct their lives through astrology. As with my name. Rikki. I grew up with the knowledge that it is old Norse meaning “,girl ” or “the girl” the only time anyone ever made a negative comment about me was a Swedish woman. (Figures) none of my norwegian peers ever made light of my name because they seemed like they had a clue. My names sake comes to me for the date that I was born. (Early September) in astrology the girl is “Virgo ♍ ” as this only stands to reason… as the most important Scandinavian traditional holidays is your birthday. I haven’t seen it in a very long time beside my older cousins is whenever we sent off a letter or some other mailing we would along with the return address, was our birthdate..birthrate… a very strong reminder… or maybe it was just from Tonsberg??
Hi!
Now seeing the comments I’m wondering about the meaning of my last name, Olsen.
I’ve always kind of joked around that it would mean Son of Beer (øl+sønn), but I have no clue if that’s anywhere close to the truth.
Could you comment?
Thanks!
My last name is Skavdahl, just wondering if anyone know the orgin or background
It’s most likely a variation of “Skovdal” meaning; forest valley.
What would the proper old Norwegian name for Robert be? I’ve seen examples ranging from straight “it’s just Robert sorry” to “Hrodebert” which I quite like the sound of. Supposedly Robert translates to “bright fame.”
Hello. All Norwegian variants for Robert are listed here.
I would like to know about my last name, Stigvard. My family have always told me that it’s very old. But no one does really know where it comes from.
Thanks.
Your name seems to be Swedish, comprising two elements with the meaning ‘path’ + ‘guard’.
I’m looking for the ON spellings for Huginn and Muninn, so I can figure out how to write them in runes (or which runes would be appropriate for the first sound/initial). Can you offer any help? Thanks!
My grandfather’s name is oddvar hoel, when he m oved to America he changed it to Edward, would that be a proper translation? I’ve looked and have not found anything.
Oddvar: ‘sharp point’ + ‘guard’. Edward: ‘wealth’ + ‘guard’.
My name is Axtell shortened from Askatel – Ashkettle The pot that that vikings caught the blood in from sacrificial animals
Very interesting.
My last name is Seidner, and I’ve been told it is Norwegian, however I can’t seem to find anything on the name. Maybe it is an altered spelling?
The spelling is altered, but that name is much older than most of the names provided here. There are also different accents, such as on the I in your name it is topped with a small o
what name means adventurer in Norwegian?
Adventurer is Eventyrer in Norwegian.