70 Super Swedish Names You Should be Using
By Linda Rosenkrantz
I was recently reading an article about Noomi Rapace, the Swedish actress who starred in the original version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and its sequels, then went on to play the lead in Prometheus, with a full slate of other English language leading roles on her upcoming agenda (as Amy Winehouse? Maria Callas?). And of course, being one of the berries-in-chief, I was naturally drawn to her name, the charming Swedish version of Naomi.
Which naturally led me to search for other wonderful Swedish names that are either underused or completely unheard of in this country. Here is a long list of some of the best; I’ve indicated those that are in Sweden’s Top 100—where Alice and Lucas reign in top place—and those that have made it onto the US Top 1000. Also note that some of these names are found in other Scandinavian countries as well.
GIRLS
Agna/Agnetha
Alva #18 in Sweden—used in the US through the1950s
Annalina
Annika—#644 in the US
Astrid—#776 in the US
Ebba #9
Elsa #4 in Sweden —#622 in the US (thanks to Frozen)
Greta—#632 in the US
Ingrid —#871 in the US
Noomi
Nova #31 in Sweden–#136 in the US
Novilie
Sunniva (soo-NEE-va)
Svea (SVAY-a)
BOYS
Anders—#818 in the US
Axel #15 in Sweden–#116 in the US
Bo—#595 in the US
Edzard
Ivar (EE-var)
Gunnar #398 in the US
Leif —#969 in the US
Magnus —#796 in the US
Milian
Nils #16 in Sweden
Odin —#383 in the US
Ola
Soren—#568 in the US
Stian (stee-an)