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Espen
OriginScandinavian
Meaning"god bear"
GenderBoy & girl
US rank · boys#3879
2025 SSA
US rank · girls#7239
2025 SSA
About Espen
Strong and unusual Scandinavian name, but with two possible pitfalls: people might mis-hear it as Aspen, or associate it with sports network ESPN. Variants include Esper and Esben.
Espen is also given to girls, where it ranks #7239 in the US.
Pronounced ES-pun.
As of October 2026, Espen ranked #3879 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #2916 in 2005.
Popularity & trends
US popularity — history
US rank, lower is more popular · SSA data 2014–2025
Actual · SSA
20142025
18802025
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #3,642 | 29 | 15.1 |
| 2015 | #3,099 | 37 | 19.3 |
| 2016 | #3,553 | 31 | 16.3 |
| 2017 | #4,146 | 25 | 13.5 |
| 2018 | #3,468 | 32 | 17.6 |
| 2019 | #3,828 | 28 | 15.6 |
| 2020 | #3,673 | 29 | 16.8 |
| 2021 | #3,379 | 34 | 19.4 |
| 2022 | #4,468 | 23 | 13.2 |
| 2023 | #4,932 | 20 | 11.7 |
| 2024 | #3,710 | 30 | 17.4 |
| 2025 | #3,879 | 28 | 16.4 |
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Espen.
Espen on lists
Famous Espens
- Espen LindBoy
Norwegian musician
- Espen FadnesBoy
Norwegian multisport extreme athlete
Espen in pop culture
- Espen Anker HansenBoy
character on TV's "Maniac"
Espen in blog posts
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