Popular Norwegian Names

Norwegian names are often distinctive and meaningful, with many drawn from Old Norse, nature, mythology and Scandinavian history. Here are some well-known Norwegian names and what they actually mean. If you are more concerned with how to use them at work, see names and titles in Norwegian business.

Boys’ Names

1. Lars: the Nordic form of the Latin Laurentius, “from Laurentum,” associated with the laurel wreath. Long one of Norway’s most common male names.
2. Henrik: from Germanic elements meaning “home ruler.” Carried abroad by the playwright Henrik Ibsen.
3. Olav: from Old Norse Áláfr, “ancestor’s descendant.” The name of Norway’s patron saint and of several kings.
4. Magnus: from Latin magnus, “great.” Introduced to Norway via King Magnus the Good in the eleventh century.
5. Einar: from Old Norse Einarr, roughly “the one who fights alone.”

Girls’ Names

1. Ingrid: from Old Norse Ingiríðr, combining the god Ing with an element meaning “fair” or “beautiful.”
2. Frida and Frøya: Frøya is the Norse goddess associated with love and fertility; the name literally means “lady.”
3. Emma: Germanic in origin, from a root meaning “whole” or “universal.” Consistently near the top of Norwegian birth registers.
4. Sofie: from Greek sophia, “wisdom.” Spelled Sofie or Sophie in Norway more often than Sofia.
5. Astrid: from Old Norse Áss-fríðr, “divinely beautiful” or “god’s strength.”

How Norwegian surnames work

Norwegian surnames fall into two broad groups. The first is patronymic: Hansen, Andersen, Larsen, Johansen and Olsen all originally meant “son of” that man, and froze into inherited family names during the nineteenth century. These are still the most common surnames in the country. The second group is toponymic, taken from the farm a family came from: Berg (“mountain”), Lie (“hillside”), Dahl (“valley”), Haugen (“the mound”).

A genuine Norwegian naming habit worth knowing is the middle name. It is common for a child to carry the mother’s maiden surname as a middle name, and for that middle name to be used in full in formal contexts. What does not happen, despite what some name lists claim, is giving a child a surname such as Hansen or Larsen as a first name — that is an American convention, not a Norwegian one.

Conclusion

Norwegian names carry a good deal of history in them, from Norse gods to the farms families came from. Whether you want something traditional or something current, the register offers plenty of options — and knowing what a name means is a reliable way to start a conversation with a Norwegian colleague.