Girl's name
Freya
Say it FRAY-uh
Old Norse origin mistress, lady
2 syllables
Where Freya is loved, common and rare
Loved in the UK. Common across Ireland, British Columbia, Ontario and eight more places. Rare in four German cities, Switzerland, Norway and seven more places.
1 in 67 girls born in Scotland in 2025
Scotland 1stEngland and Wales 6thNorthern Ireland 10th
LovedCommonRare
Every place
In 27 of the 40 official lists, among them Scotland (1st), England and Wales (6th) and Northern Ireland (10th).
Show all 27 placesShow less
| Place | Rank | Girls | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scotland | 1st 2025 | 268 | 1 in 67 |
| England and Wales | 6th 2025 | 1,802 | 1 in 141 |
| Northern Ireland | 10th 2025 | 78 | 1 in 93 |
| New Zealand | 18th 2025 | 109 | rank only |
| Ireland | 25th 2025 | 144 | 1 in 147 |
| Queensland state | 25th 2025 | 141 | rank only |
| New South Wales state | 49th 2025 | 129 | rank only |
| Victoria state | 50th 2025 | 122 | rank only |
| South Australia state | 52nd 2025 | 30 | rank only |
| British Columbia province | 53rd 2023 | 44 | about 1 in 272 |
| Ontario province | 76th 2024 | 123 | about 1 in 443 |
| Sweden | 89th 2025 | 113 | about 1 in 355 |
| Cologne city | 103rd 2023 | 12 | about 1 in 512 |
| Berlin city | 126th 2023 | 26 | about 1 in 558 |
| Switzerland | 129th 2025 | 54 | 1 in 630 |
| Norway | 146th 2025 | 35 | 1 in 623 |
| Austria | 154th 2025 | 39 | 1 in 916 |
| The Netherlands | 170th 2025 | 91 | about 1 in 670 |
| Munich city | 177th 2025 | 7 | about 1 in 599 |
| Poland | 266th 2025 | 18 | 1 in 6,655 |
| Catalonia region | 286th 2025 | 12 | 1 in 1,606 |
| Quebec province | 327th 2025 | 16 | about 1 in 1,625 |
| Italy | 584th 2024 | 20 | 1 in 8,958 |
| France | 632nd 2025 | 70 | 1 in 4,097 |
| Rostock city | 36th 2025 | 5 | about 1 in 197 |
| Leipzig city | 77th 2025 | 7 | about 1 in 375 |
| Bonn city | 145th 2025 | 4 | about 1 in 754 |
Rare, below the listed names: Spain, Hungary, Slovenia and Israel.
Not in a short top list, so no figure: Nova Scotia (top 21), Denmark (top 50), Finland (top 50), Iceland (top 10), Estonia (top 25), Moscow (top 61), Turkey (top 30), Argentina (top 20) and Croatia (top 50).
Germany publishes no national statistics on first names. German figures here are city lists (Berlin, Munich, Cologne, Bonn, Leipzig, Rostock), never the country.
Sources: National Records of Scotland (Scotland); Office for National Statistics (England and Wales); NISRA (Northern Ireland); Department of Internal Affairs (DIA), SmartStart (New Zealand); Central Statistics Office (CSO) (Ireland); Queensland Registry of BDM (Qld Open Data Portal) (Queensland); NSW Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages (Data.NSW) (New South Wales); Registry of BDM Victoria (DataVic) (Victoria); SA Attorney-General's Department, Births, Deaths and Marriages (data.sa.gov.au) (South Australia); BC Vital Statistics Agency (BC Data Catalogue) (British Columbia); Ontario Office of the Registrar General (Ontario Data Catalogue) (Ontario); Skatteverket (Swedish Tax Agency) (Sweden); Stadt Köln, Standesamt (offenedaten-koeln.de) (Cologne); BerlinOnline GmbH; Landesamt für Bürger- und Ordnungsangelegenheiten (LABO) / Standesämter (Berlin); Bundesamt für Statistik (BFS) / Office fédéral de la statistique (OFS) (Switzerland); Statistics Norway (SSB) (Norway); Statistik Austria (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1) (Austria); Sociale Verzekeringsbank (SVB) (the Netherlands); Landeshauptstadt München, Statistisches Amt (opendata.muenchen.de) (Munich); Ministerstwo Cyfryzacji, rejestr PESEL (dane.gov.pl) (Poland); Idescat (Institut d'Estadística de Catalunya) (Catalonia); Retraite Québec (Banque de prénoms, Données Québec) (Quebec); ISTAT, Contanomi (Italy); INSEE, Fichier des prénoms (édition 2025) (France); Hanse- und Universitätsstadt Rostock (opendata-hro.de) (Rostock); Stadt Leipzig, Standesamt (opendata.leipzig.de) (Leipzig); Bundesstadt Bonn, Standesamt (opendata.bonn.de) (Bonn). How we count, and every source
About the name
Freya is the Scottish form of Old Norse Freyja, 'mistress, lady'. Freyja is the name of a goddess in Norse mythology, which gives the name a long legendary background.
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Two syllables, FRAY-uh, give it a bright, open sound. Freyja keeps the Old Norse spelling, and Freja, Frøya and Freia are further variants.
Freya is the top girls' name in Scotland and among the leading names in England and Wales and in Northern Ireland. It is much less common in Scandinavia itself, where it sits lower down the lists in Sweden and Norway. The Ontario and British Columbia records first show it in 1999, and it has been rising in almost every place where it is tracked.
Meaning, origin, pronunciation
- Pronounced
- FRAY-uh, 2 syllables
- Meaning
mistress, lady
- Origin
- Old Norse
- Other spellings
- Freyja
- Freja
- Frøya
- Freia
Etymology
Scottish form of Old Norse Freyja (“mistress, lady”).
From the Wiktionary entry, CC BY-SA 4.0, shortened.
Over time
Over five years: rising in 12 of 25 regions, falling in 1.
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Rank in each place since 1996; higher on the chart is more popular.
Ten years of ranks
Her rank each year, English-speaking regions first. A blank means no published rank for her that year.
| Region | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England and Wales | 19 | 20 | 18 | 10 | 12 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 6 |
| Scotland | 15 | 14 | 13 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| Northern Ireland | 35 | 26 | 26 | 16 | 10 | 15 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| Ireland | 36 | 29 | 26 | 22 | 24 | 22 | 15 | 18 | 12 | 25 |
| Ontario | 136 | 128 | 158 | 143 | 172 | 116 | 87 | 114 | 76 | |
| British Columbia | 59 | 70 | 78 | 66 | 49 | 56 | 67 | 53 | ||
| New South Wales | 98 | 90 | 56 | 48 | 51 | 54 | 54 | 38 | 41 | 49 |
| Victoria | 82 | 79 | 58 | 58 | 58 | 46 | 59 | 53 | 50 | |
| Queensland | 87 | 56 | 61 | 53 | 29 | 40 | 27 | 28 | 27 | 25 |
| South Australia | 124 | 58 | 90 | 60 | 80 | 77 | 53 | 33 | 63 | 52 |
| New Zealand | 64 | 56 | 27 | 31 | 37 | 22 | 24 | 30 | 25 | 18 |
| Quebec | 425 | 651 | 662 | 646 | 411 | 329 | 301 | 427 | 355 | 327 |
| France | 2023 | 1297 | 1024 | 861 | 607 | 567 | 555 | 551 | 543 | 632 |
| The Netherlands | 543 | 422 | 276 | 284 | 206 | 196 | 183 | 163 | 170 | |
| Austria | 353 | 411 | 264 | 262 | 196 | 210 | 222 | 153 | 157 | 154 |
| Switzerland | 471 | 370 | 390 | 471 | 191 | 212 | 166 | 123 | 138 | 129 |
| Berlin | 211 | 213 | 309 | 172 | 113 | 117 | 154 | 126 | ||
| Munich | 142 | 178 | 159 | 149 | 89 | 110 | 177 | |||
| Cologne | 213 | 345 | 171 | 206 | 320 | 223 | 643 | 103 | ||
| Bonn | 119 | 134 | 359 | 221 | 117 | 264 | 181 | 115 | 115 | 145 |
| Leipzig | 108 | 124 | 110 | 151 | 74 | 98 | 87 | 46 | 63 | 77 |
| Rostock | 69 | 228 | 64 | 78 | 47 | 76 | 33 | 105 | 12 | 36 |
| Norway | 188 | 238 | 222 | 149 | 176 | 170 | 177 | 115 | 143 | 146 |
| Sweden | 139 | 133 | 140 | 144 | 126 | 137 | 127 | 97 | 92 | 89 |
| Catalonia | 541 | 615 | 445 | 275 | 258 | 197 | 229 | 220 | 330 | 286 |
| Italy | 684 | 950 | 584 | |||||||
| Poland | 426 | 658 | 369 | 520 | 330 | 440 | 397 | 317 | 266 |
England and Wales, 1996 to 2025
| Year | Rank | Girls | per 100,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 6 | 1,802 | 711.5 |
| 2024 | 7 | 1,929 | 747.7 |
| 2023 | 5 | 2,086 | 813.1 |
| 2022 | 7 | 2,162 | 820.5 |
| 2021 | 6 | 2,187 | 798.0 |
| 2020 | 12 | 1,982 | 738.4 |
| 2019 | 10 | 2,264 | 808.4 |
| 2018 | 18 | 1,921 | 666.4 |
| 2017 | 20 | 2,021 | 675.7 |
| 2016 | 19 | 2,079 | 676.9 |
| 2015 | 21 | 2,090 | 678.7 |
| 2014 | 21 | 2,164 | 705.6 |
| 2013 | 20 | 2,266 | 734.6 |
| 2012 | 19 | 2,557 | 793.9 |
| 2011 | 19 | 2,619 | 815.1 |
| 2010 | 19 | 2,574 | 801.8 |
| 2009 | 21 | 2,228 | 711.0 |
| 2008 | 27 | 2,111 | 668.5 |
| 2007 | 26 | 1,949 | 636.7 |
| 2006 | 24 | 2,067 | 690.8 |
| 2005 | 31 | 1,794 | 622.4 |
| 2004 | 33 | 1,605 | 561.5 |
| 2003 | 42 | 1,211 | 434.6 |
| 2002 | 49 | 1,049 | 392.3 |
| 2001 | 52 | 967 | 360.8 |
| 2000 | 75 | 686 | 251.1 |
| 1999 | 92 | 589 | 209.1 |
| 1998 | 93 | 563 | 194.7 |
| 1997 | 113 | 450 | 153.5 |
| 1996 | 118 | 394 | 133.1 |
Sources: Office for National Statistics (1996-2025), OGL v3.
Ontario and British Columbia since 1925
Half of the babies named Freya in Ontario and British Columbia since 1925 were born in or after 2019. First recorded in 1999. Her peak year there: 2022, at 229.9 per 100,000 girls.
Babies named Freya per 100,000 girls born in Ontario and British Columbia, by five-year period. Her 2022 peak is averaged into its five-year period, so the line sits below it.
Sources: Ontario Office of the Registrar General (Ontario Data Catalogue) (1917-2024), OGL-Ontario; BC Vital Statistics Agency (BC Data Catalogue) (1924-2023), OGL-BC.
Sister names for Freya
1 in 109 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Freya.
1 in 141 in Scotland
1 in 138 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Freya.
1 in 201 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Freya.
1 in 143 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Freya.
1 in 124 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Freya.
1 in 92 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Freya.
1 in 188 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Freya.
1 in 138 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Freya.
1 in 142 in England and Wales
Rose and fell with Freya.
Middle names for Freya
1 in 57 in Northern Ireland
Freya Grace
2-1 beats · initials FG
Changes the beat after Freya: 2 syllables, then 1 syllable.
1 in 71 in Scotland
Freya Olivia
2-4 beats · initials FO · Freya slides into Olivia: vowel meets vowel.
Changes the beat after Freya: 2 syllables, then 4 syllables. Freya slides into Olivia: vowel meets vowel.
1 in 99 in Scotland
Freya Sophia
2-3 beats · initials FS
Changes the beat after Freya: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
1 in 311 in Ireland
Freya Maria
2-3 beats · initials FM
Changes the beat after Freya: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
1 in 214 in Northern Ireland
Freya Rose
2-1 beats · initials FR
Changes the beat after Freya: 2 syllables, then 1 syllable.
1 in 78 in Northern Ireland
Freya Emily
2-3 beats · initials FE · Freya slides into Emily: vowel meets vowel.
Changes the beat after Freya: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables. Freya slides into Emily: vowel meets vowel.
1 in 491 in Ireland
Freya Julia
2-3 beats · initials FJ
Changes the beat after Freya: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
1 in 1,286 in England and Wales
Freya Miriam
2-3 beats · initials FM
Changes the beat after Freya: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
Same style as Freya
Names whose popularity rose and fell with hers across regions and decades.
1 in 92 in Scotland
96% alike: moves with Freya across countries and decades.
1 in 166 in England and Wales
95% alike: moves with Freya across countries and decades.
1 in 109 in Ireland
95% alike: moves with Freya across countries and decades.
1 in 189 in Ireland
95% alike: moves with Freya across countries and decades.
1 in 436 in Scotland
94% alike: moves with Freya across countries and decades.
1 in 175 in England and Wales
94% alike: moves with Freya across countries and decades.
1 in 141 in Scotland
93% alike: moves with Freya across countries and decades.
1 in 208 in Northern Ireland
93% alike: moves with Freya across countries and decades.
Famous people named Freya
Freya Allan, Freya Stark, Freya Mavor, Freya Anderson, Freya Tingley, Freya Ridings and Freya von Moltke.
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English actress born 2001
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British travel writer (1893-1993)
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Scottish actress born 1993
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British swimmer born 2001
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Australian actress born 1994
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English singer, pianist and songwriter born 1994
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German writer and scholar (1911–2010)
People: Wikidata (CC0), linked to Wikipedia in this page's language when an article exists.
Questions about Freya
5 questions, on how popular she is, what it means, how to say it, whether she is rising and sister names.
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How popular is Freya?
Her best rank is No. 1 in Scotland in 2025, about 1 in 67 girls. She is in the published lists of 27 of our 40 regions.
What does Freya mean?
Wiktionary glosses Freya as "mistress, lady".
How do you pronounce Freya?
FRAY-uh, with 2 syllables.
Is Freya getting more popular?
Over five years: rising in 12 of 25 regions, falling in 1.
Which sister names go with Freya?
The deck's top five sisters for Freya: Ellie, Aria, Harper, Aurora and Willow. Each is scored on style, era, popularity and origin, with sound clashes flagged.