Swede's Personal Name List

From the Old French name Aalis, a short form of Adelais, itself a short form of the Germanic name Adalheidis (see Adelaide). This name became popular in France and England in the 12th century. It was among the most common names in England until the 16th century, when it began to decline. It was revived in the 19th century.

This name was borne by the heroine of Lewis Carroll's novels Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking Glass (1871).

This name became popular after the Battle of Alma (1854), which took place near the River Alma in Crimea and ended in a victory for Britain and France. However, the name was in rare use before the battle; it was probably inspired by Latin almus "nourishing". It also coincides with the Spanish word meaning "the soul".

Variant of Amalia, though it is sometimes confused with Emilia, which has a different origin. The name became popular in England after the German House of Hanover came to the British throne in the 18th century — it was borne by daughters of both George II and George III. The author Henry Fielding used it for the title character in his novel Amelia (1751). Another famous bearer was Amelia Earhart (1897-1937), the first woman to make a solo flight over the Atlantic Ocean.

This name experienced a rise in popularity at the end of the 20th century. It was the most popular name for girls in England and Wales from 2011 to 2015.

Scandinavian form of Andreas (see Andrew). A famous bearer was the Swedish physicist Anders Jonas Ångström (1814-1874).

Modern Scandinavian form of Ástríðr. This name was borne by the Swedish writer Astrid Lindgren (1907-2002), the author of Pippi Longstocking. It was also borne by a Swedish princess (1905-1935) who became the queen of Belgium as the wife of Leopold III.

German, Polish, Scandinavian and Catalan form of Augustus. This was the name of three Polish kings.

As an English name it can also derive from the month of August, which was named for the Roman emperor Augustus.

German and Scandinavian variant of Karl (see Charles). Noteworthy bearers of the name include the Swedish biologist Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778), who founded modern taxonomy, the German mathematician Carl Gauss (1777-1855), who made contributions to number theory and algebra as well as physics and astronomy, and the Swiss psychologist Carl Jung (1875-1961), who founded analytical psychology. It was imported to America in the 19th century by German immigrants.

Simply from the English word for the white flower, ultimately derived from Old English dægeseage meaning "day eye". It was first used as a given name in the 19th century, at the same time many other plant and flower names were coined.

This name was fairly popular at the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th. The American author F. Scott Fitzgerald used it for the character of Daisy Buchanan in The Great Gatsby (1925). The Walt Disney cartoon character Daisy Duck was created in 1940 as the girlfriend of Donald Duck. It was at a low in popularity in the United States in the 1970s when it got a small boost from a character on the television series The Dukes of Hazzard in 1979.

Diminutive of Elizabeth.

English form of Henriette, and thus a feminine form of Harry. It was first used in the 17th century, becoming very common in the English-speaking world by the 18th century. Famous bearers include the Americans Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811-1896), the author of Uncle Tom's Cabin, and the abolitionist Harriet Tubman (1820-1913).

Diminutive of Hedvig. This is the name of the heroine of the play Hedda Gabler (1890) by the Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen.

From the Germanic name Heimirich meaning "home ruler", composed of the elements heim "home" and rih "ruler". It was later commonly spelled Heinrich, with the spelling altered due to the influence of other Germanic names like Haganrich, in which the first element is hag "enclosure".

Heinrich was popular among continental royalty, being the name of seven German kings, starting with the 10th-century Henry I the Fowler (the first of the Saxon kings), and four French kings. In France it was usually rendered Henri from the Latin form Henricus.

The Normans introduced the French form to England, and it was subsequently used by eight kings, ending with the infamous Henry VIII in the 16th century. During the later Middle Ages it was fairly popular, and was generally rendered as Harry or Herry in English pronunciation. Notable bearers include arctic naval explorer Henry Hudson (1570-1611), American-British novelist Henry James (1843-1916), American automobile manufacturer Henry Ford (1863-1947), and American actor Henry Fonda (1905-1982).

Derived from Old Norse hulda meaning "hiding, secrecy". This was the name of a sorceress in Norse mythology. As a modern name, it can also derive from archaic Swedish huld meaning "gracious, sweet, lovable" [2].

Modern Scandinavian form of Iðunn.

Scandinavian form of Ivor.

Derived from Jackin (earlier Jankin), a medieval diminutive of John [1]. There could be some early influence from the unrelated French name Jacques [2]. It is often regarded as an independent name. During the Middle Ages it was very common, and it became a slang word meaning "man", as seen in the terms jack-o'-lantern, jack-in-the-box, lumberjack and so on. It was frequently used in fairy tales and nursery rhymes, such as Jack and the Beanstalk, Jack and Jill, Little Jack Horner, and Jack Sprat.

American writers Jack London (1876-1916) and Jack Kerouac (1922-1969) were two famous bearers of this name. It is also borne by the actor Jack Nicholson (1937-) and the golfer Jack Nicklaus (1940-). Apart from Nicklaus, none of these famous bearers were given the name Jack at birth.

In the United Kingdom this form has been bestowed more frequently than John since the 1990s, being the most popular name for boys from 1996 to 2008.

Derived from the Old Norse name Hlíf meaning "protection". Its use has been influenced by the modern Scandinavian word liv meaning "life".

Swedish form of Louis.

Danish short form of the Old German name Helmold. This name was used by the Austrian author Rainer Maria Rilke for the title character in his novel The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge (1910).

Simply from the English word ocean for a large body of water. It is ultimately derived from Greek Ὠκεανός (Okeanos), the name of the body of water thought to surround the Earth.

Variant of Oisín used by James Macpherson in his 18th-century poems, which he claimed to have based on early Irish legends. In the poems Ossian is the son of Fingal, and serves as the narrator.

Feminine form of Rune.

From Old Norse Sága, possibly meaning "seeing one", derived from sjá "to see". This is the name of a Norse goddess, possibly connected to Frigg. As a Swedish and Icelandic name, it is also derived from the unrelated word saga "story, fairy tale, saga".

From the Hebrew name שְׁמוּאֵל (Shemuʾel) meaning "name of God", from the roots שֵׁם (shem) meaning "name" and אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". Other interpretations have the first root being שָׁמַע (shamaʿ) meaning "to hear" leading to a meaning of "God has heard". As told in the Books of Samuel in the Old Testament, Samuel was the last of the ruling judges. He led the Israelites during a period of domination by the Philistines, who were ultimately defeated in battle at Mizpah. Later he anointed Saul to be the first king of Israel, and even later anointed his successor David.

As a Christian name, Samuel came into common use after the Protestant Reformation. It has been consistently popular in the English-speaking world, ranking yearly in the top 100 names in the United States (as recorded since 1880) and performing similarly well in the United Kingdom.

Famous bearers include English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834), American inventor Samuel Morse (1791-1872), Irish writer Samuel Beckett (1906-1989), and American actor Samuel L. Jackson (1948-). This was also the real name, Samuel Clemens, of the American author Mark Twain (1835-1910).

Modern Scandinavian form of Signý.

From the Old Norse name Sigsteinn, which was derived from the elements sigr "victory" and steinn "stone".

Form of Sophia used in various languages.

Means "sun" in Spanish or Portuguese.

From the vocabulary word, ultimately from Old English or Old Dutch storm, or in the case of the Scandinavian name, from Old Norse stormr. It is unisex as an English name, but typically masculine elsewhere.

From a personification of the country of Sweden, in use since the 17th century. It is a derivative of Svear, the Swedish name for the North Germanic tribe the Swedes. The Swedish name of the country of Sweden is Sverige, a newer form of Svear rike meaning "the realm of the Svear".

From the Old Norse name Þýri, a variant of the Norse names Þórví or Þórveig. Use of the name in the English-speaking world (especially among African Americans) may be in part from the Swedish name, though it is probably also viewed as a feminine form of Tyrone or Tyree. A famous bearer is the American model and actress Tyra Banks (1973-).

Scandinavian form of Waldemar, also used as a translation of the Slavic cognate Vladimir. This was the name of four kings of Denmark and a king of Sweden. It was introduced to Scandinavia by the 12th-century Danish king Valdemar I who was named after his mother's grandfather: Vladimir II, a grand prince of Kievan Rus.

From Old Norse Víðarr, which was possibly derived from víðr "wide" and herr "army, warrior". In Norse mythology Víðarr was the son of Odin and Grid. At the time of the end of the world, Ragnarök, it is said he will avenge his father's death by slaying the wolf Fenrir.

From the Old Norse name Víkingr meaning "viking, raider", ultimately from vík "cove, inlet".

Scandinavian and Finnish form of William.

From the Old German elements walt "power, authority" and mari "famous", also used as a translation of the Slavic cognate Vladimir.

From the name of the tree, which is ultimately derived from Old English welig.