Old Norse girl names
Most widely given today: Freya, Liv and Ingrid.
23 girl names whose etymology traces to Old Norse, with the rank in the home country where one publishes a list.
mistress, lady
Say it FRAY-uh
Old Norse origin
mistress, lady
2 syllablesGiven in her home country: Sweden 89th and Norway 146th
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
defense, protection
Say it LIV
Roots in Old Norse and English
defense, protection
1 syllableGiven in her home country: Sweden 48th, Norway 73rd and Denmark 43rd
Common across the Netherlands, five German cities, Sweden and four more places. Rare in Berlin, France, Canada and six more places.
1 in 4,225 girls born in Ireland in 2025
beautiful, fair
Say it ING-grid
Old Norse origin
beautiful, fair
2 syllablesGiven in her home country: Sweden 43rd, Norway 15th and Denmark 25th
Common across Norway, Sweden and one more place. Rare in Catalonia, Italy, Austria and three more places.
1 in 8,443 girls born in England and Wales in 2025
1 in 5,964 in Scotland
Say it FRAY-uh
Roots in Old Norse and Icelandic 2 syllables
Given in her home country: Sweden 7th, Norway 273rd and Denmark 9th
Loved in Sweden and one more place. Rare in Slovenia, Norway, three German cities and six more places.
1 in 5,964 girls born in Scotland in 2025
1 in 152 in Norway
Say it SIG-neh
Old Norse origin 2 syllables
Given in her home country: Sweden 14th and Norway 41st
Common across Sweden and Norway.
1 in 152 girls born in Norway in 2025
1 in 352 in Norway
Say it EM-blah
Old Norse origin 2 syllables
Given in her home country: Sweden 246th and Norway 95th
Common in Norway. Rare in Sweden. Loved in Iceland.
1 in 352 girls born in Norway in 2025
lady
Say it FRAY-uh
Old Norse origin
lady
2 syllablesGiven in her home country: Sweden 241st
Rare in Britain, Sweden, Canada and seven more places. Common in Rostock.
1 in 942 girls born in Scotland in 2025
1 in 161 in Norway
Say it IL-vah
Old Norse origin 2 syllables
Given in her home country: Sweden 126th and Norway 46th
Common across Norway and one more place. Rare in Sweden, three German cities, Switzerland and two more places.
1 in 161 girls born in Norway in 2025
hall, house
Say it SOOL-vay
Old Norse origin
hall, house
2 syllablesGiven in her home country: Sweden 123rd, Norway 27th and Denmark 37th
Common across Norway and one more place. Rare in Sweden, France and Switzerland.
1 in 122 girls born in Norway in 2025
sole ruler
Say it AIR-ih-kuh
Roots in Germanic and Old Norse
sole ruler
3 syllablesGiven in her home country: Norway 201st
Rare in four German cities, Norway, Italy and ten more places.
1 in 2,556 girls born in Scotland in 2025
1 in 84,427 in England and Wales
Say it AHS-tah
Old Norse origin 2 syllables
Given in her home country: Sweden 128th, Norway 219th and Denmark 20th
Rare in Sweden, Norway, Berlin and three more places. Common in Denmark.
1 in 84,427 girls born in England and Wales in 2025
1 in 396 in Norway
Say it ING-eh-borg
Old Norse origin 3 syllables
Given in her home country: Norway 104th
Rare in Norway.
1 in 396 girls born in Norway in 2025
1 in 641 in Norway
Say it SAN-neh
Old Norse origin 2 syllables
Given in her home country: Norway 150th
Rare in Norway and the Netherlands.
1 in 641 girls born in Norway in 2025
1 in 1,038 in Norway
Say it ING-gah
Old Norse origin 2 syllables
Given in her home country: Sweden 558th and Norway 206th
Rare in Poland, three German cities, Norway and two more places.
1 in 1,038 girls born in Norway in 2025
god
Say it OH-seh
Old Norse origin
god
2 syllablesGiven in her home country: Norway 93rd
Common in Norway.
1 in 341 girls born in Norway in 2025
holy
Say it HEL-gah
Old Norse origin
holy
2 syllablesGiven in her home country: Sweden 436th and Norway 424th
Rare in Norway, Sweden, Berlin and two more places.
1 in 3,633 girls born in Norway in 2025
sun
Say it SOHL-dees
Old Norse origin
sun
2 syllablesLoved in Iceland.
Number 5 in Iceland in 2025
7th in Iceland
Say it HIL-dur
Roots in Old Norse and Icelandic 2 syllables
Loved in Iceland.
Number 7 in Iceland in 2025
rune, secret, confidante
Say it GVUTH-roon
Old Norse origin
rune, secret, confidante
2 syllablesLast listed in Iceland, 131st in 2022.
possibly she-bear
Say it IR-sah
Old Norse origin
possibly she-bear
2 syllablesLast listed in Sweden, 717th in 2023.
Last listed in Iceland in 2022
Say it OY-thur
Old Norse origin 2 syllables
Last listed in Iceland, 55th in 2022.
Last listed in Iceland in 2022
Say it SIG-ree-thur
Old Norse origin 3 syllables
Last listed in Iceland, 55th in 2022.
Last listed in Iceland in 2022
Say it ING-ih-byurg
Old Norse origin 3 syllables
Last listed in Iceland, 83rd in 2022.