Ivar

EE-vahr

Norse

"yew wood, archer, warrior"

Ivar Origin and Meaning

The name Ivar is a boy's name of Scandinavian, Norse origin meaning "yew wood, archer, warrior".

Closer to the original Norse name Ívarr, it is part of a small group of names with similar roots: Ivor, Iver, Ivo, Ives, and Evander, which all make rugged yet gentle feeling choices. Used throughout Scandinavia, Ivar is in the Swedish Top 100 and is also on the rise in the UK, outranking the English variation, Ivor.

Deriving from the Old Norse elements, ýr meaning "yew tree" or "bow" and herr meaning "warrior", the name relates to archery and soldiers who carry bow and arrows. It was brought to England by Scandinavian settlers in the Middle Ages, and to the US by in the 19th century. Willa Cather features an Ivar in her novel O Pioneers! which tells the story of a family of Swedish-American immigrants.

Used by just a handful of boys each year in the US until 2016, the TV series Vikings
may have brought it to more people's attention, when it featured the historical figure, Ivar Ragnarsson (or "Ivar the Boneless"). In 2023, it was given to around 125 boys -- the highest number of Ivars born in a single year as yet.

Ivar Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 783 on Nameberry

Ivar Popularity

• 783 Nameberry 2024
• 436 Unique 2023
• 506 England 2021
• 68 Sweden 2022

20 Names Similar to Ivar

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Ivar.

• Ivor
• Iver
• Bjorn
• Sigurd
• Ragnar
• Kurt
• Torsten
• Feivel
• Eldon
• Stellen
• Endymion
• Ilya
• Nirel
• Gulliver
• Sven
• Cherie
• Lars
• Lorn
• Vilhelm
• Ifor

Famous People Named Ivar

• Ivar (or Ímar) Ragnarsson Viking king
• Ivar Vidfamne legendary Danish king of at least Scania and Zealand
• Ivar of Waterford Norse king of Waterford and briefly King of Dublin
• Ivar of Limerick last Norse king of Limerick
• Ímar Ua Donnabáin (Ivor O'Donovan) legendary Irish navigator and sorcerer
• Ivar Hippe Norwegian consultant and former journalist
• Ivar Frithiof Andresen Norwegian opera singer
• Ivar Ballangrud Norwegian speed skater
• Ivar Otto Bendixson Swedish mathematician
• Ivar Bern Norwegian chess player
• Ivar Formo Norwegian cross,country skier
• Ivar Asbjørn Følling Norwegian physician
• Ivar Giaever Norwegian physicist
• Ivars Godmanis prime minister of Latvia 1990,1993, 2007–2009
• Ivar Haglund Seattle folk singer and founder of Ivar's
• Ivar Jacobson Swedish computer scientist
• Ivar Kants Australian actor
• Ivar Larsen Kirkeby Garstad, Norwegian politician
• Ivar Kleiven Norwegian historian and poet
• Ivar Kreuger Swedish businessman
• Ivar Langen Norwegian rector
• Ivar Lo Johansson, Swedish writer
• Ivar Lykke Norwegian politician and prime minister from 1926 to 1928
• Ivar Rooth Swedish banker
• Ivar Skulstad Norwegian politician
• Ivar Bergersen Sælen Norwegian politician
• Ivar Tengbom Swedish architect
• Ivar Peterson Tveiten Norwegian politician
• Ivar Smilga Bolshevik revolutionary leader
• Ivar Vennerström Swedish politician
• Ivar Enger Norwegian former,guitarist of Darkthrone
• Ivar Aasen Norwegian lexicographer, creator of Nynorsk

Ivar in Pop Culture

• Ivar a character in the video game Tales Of Xilla, pronounced "eye,ver"
• Ivar the Timewalker Valiant Comics universe
• Ivar the Boneless A character from the tv show "Vikings."