Scandinavian Origin Names

This is a list of names in which the origin is Scandinavian. This is the collective name for the North Germanic languages spoken in Scandinavia. See Danish, Norwegian, Swedish and Icelandic for more specific lists.
gender
usage
origin
Alda 2 f Icelandic
Means "wave" in Icelandic.
Birkir m Icelandic
From Icelandic birki meaning "birch", specifically the downy birch (species Betula pubescens).
Bjarki m Icelandic
Masculine form of Björk.
Björk f Icelandic
Means "birch tree" in Icelandic.
Fannar m Icelandic
Possibly derived from Old Norse fǫnn meaning "snow drift".
Gry f Norwegian, Danish, Swedish
Means "to dawn" in Norwegian, Danish and Swedish.
Harpa f Icelandic
From the name of the first summer month in the old Icelandic calendar, which might have originally been named for an unattested pre-Christian goddess. It also means "harp" in Icelandic.
Hekla f Icelandic
From the name of an active Icelandic volcano, derived from Old Norse hekla meaning "cloak".
Hjörtur m Icelandic
Means "deer" in Icelandic.
Hlynur m Icelandic
Means "maple" in Icelandic.
Ingalill f Swedish
Combination of Inga and Swedish lilla, an inflected form of liten meaning "little".
Jensen m English (Modern)
From a Danish surname meaning "son of Jens".
Jökull m Icelandic
Means "glacier, ice" in Icelandic.
Juni f Swedish, Norwegian
Swedish and Norwegian cognate of June.
Lærke f Danish
Means "lark" in Danish.
Lilja f Icelandic, Faroese, Finnish
Icelandic, Faroese and Finnish cognate of Lily.
Lill f Norwegian, Swedish
Diminutive of Elisabet and other names containing li. It is also associated with Norwegian and Swedish lille, an inflected form of liten meaning "little".
Lillemor f Swedish, Norwegian (Rare)
Means "little mother", from Swedish and Norwegian lille, an inflected form of liten meaning "little", combined with mor meaning "mother". This name was first recorded in Norway and Sweden at the beginning of the 20th century.
Lilli f German, Danish, Finnish
German, Danish and Finnish variant of Lili.
Linn f Swedish, Norwegian
Short form of Linnéa and other names containing the same sound.
Linnéa f Swedish
From the name of a flower, also known as the twinflower. The Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus named it after himself, it being his favourite flower.
Lykke f Danish
Means "good fortune, happiness" in Danish.
Majvor f Swedish
From Swedish maj meaning "May (month)" combined with vår meaning "spring" or the Old Norse name element vǫr meaning "vigilant, cautious". This name was first used in the early 20th century.
Meja f Swedish (Modern)
Possibly from a Low German diminutive of names beginning with the Old German element megin meaning "power, strength". It was popularized by the Swedish singer Meja (1969-), born Anna Pernilla Torndahl.
Moa f Swedish
Possibly derived from Swedish moder meaning "mother". This was the pen name of the Swedish author Moa Martinson (real name Helga Maria Martinson).
Mynte f Danish
Means "mint" in Danish.
Nea f Swedish, Finnish
Short form of Linnéa.
Orla 2 m Danish
Danish name, meaning unknown.
Ronja f Swedish, Finnish
Invented by Swedish children's author Astrid Lindgren, who based it on the middle portion of Juronjaure, the name of a lake in Sweden. Lindgren used it in her 1981 book Ronia the Robber's Daughter (Ronia is the English translation).
Rós f Icelandic
Means "rose" in Icelandic.
Rósa f Icelandic, Faroese
Icelandic and Faroese form of Rosa 1.
Rosa 1 f Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Catalan, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, Dutch, German, English
Generally this can be considered to be from Latin rosa meaning "rose", though originally it may have come from the unrelated Germanic name Roza 2. This was the name of a 13th-century saint from Viterbo in Italy. In the English-speaking world it was first used in the 19th century. Famous bearers include the Polish-German revolutionary Rosa Luxemburg (1871-1919) and the American civil rights activist Rosa Parks (1913-2005).
Saga f Norse Mythology, Swedish, Icelandic
From Old Norse Sága, possibly meaning "seeing one", derived from sjá "to see". This is the name of a Norse goddess, possibly connected to Frigg. As a Swedish and Icelandic name, it is also derived from the unrelated word saga "story, fairy tale, saga".
Sóley f Icelandic
Means "buttercup (flower)" in Icelandic (genus Ranunculus), derived from sól "sun" and ey "island".
Sólja f Faroese
Means "buttercup (flower)" in Faroese (genus Ranunculus). The buttercup is the national flower of the Faroe Islands.
Stellan m Swedish
Meaning unknown, perhaps related to Old Norse stilling "calm", or perhaps of German origin.
Storm m & f English (Modern), Dutch (Modern), Danish (Modern), Norwegian (Modern)
From the vocabulary word, ultimately from Old English or Old Dutch storm, or in the case of the Scandinavian name, from Old Norse stormr. It is unisex as an English name, but typically masculine elsewhere.
Sture m Swedish, Medieval Scandinavian
Derived from Old Norse stura meaning "to be contrary". This was the name of three viceroys of Sweden.
Svea f Swedish
From a personification of the country of Sweden, in use since the 17th century. It is a derivative of Svear, the Swedish name for the North Germanic tribe the Swedes. The Swedish name of the country of Sweden is Sverige, a newer form of Svear rike meaning "the realm of the Svear".
Tage m Danish, Swedish
From the medieval Danish byname Taki, derived from Old Norse taka meaning "to take, to capture".
Taki m Old Danish
Old Danish form of Tage.
Tindra f Swedish (Modern)
Means "to twinkle, to sparkle" in Swedish.
Tiril f Norwegian
Possibly inspired by the Norwegian poem Lokkende Toner (1859) by Johan Sebastian Welhaven, which features the folk heroine Tirilil Tove.
Varg m Norwegian (Rare), Swedish (Rare)
Means "wolf" in Old Norse.
Veslemøy f Norwegian
Means "little girl" from Norwegian vesle "little" and møy "girl". This name was created by Norwegian writer Arne Garborg for the main character in his poem Haugtussa (1895).
Vide m Swedish
Means "willow" in Swedish, from Old Norse víðir.
Víkingur m Icelandic
Icelandic form of Viking.
Vilde 2 m Swedish (Rare)
From Swedish vild meaning "wild, untamed".
Víðir m Icelandic
Icelandic form of Vide.