We want to honor my husband’s Scandinavian ancestry when naming our daughter. What do you think of these names from his family tree? Can they work in English-speaking countries?
Audhild - I love this one. It’s so unique
Ingvild - [name_u]Love[/name_u] how this name takes the classic [name_f]Ingrid[/name_f] a step further
Sunniva - Beautiful and feminine
[name_f]Solveig[/name_f] - This name sounds really pretty when my mother-in-law says it in Norwegian, but I’m worried non-Norwegians won’t know how to pronounce it
What do you think? Any other suggestions to add to the list?
[name_f]Sunniva[/name_f] would be fine to use, no doubt about it. It’s easy to spell, there’s not much chance of someone mucking up the pronunciation and and ‘sunni’ aspect is quite familar - so it’s not going to be a name that people stare at and try to figure out. I’m not sure about the others though. The spellings are a bit more complicated and the pronunciations more… I suppose ‘alien’ in nature when compared to the English/Irish/Scottish/Welsh/[name_m]French[/name_m]/Spanish/[name_m]German[/name_m] names I’m used to. I’m not actually sure if I’m saying them correctly, to be honest. Plus, if I encountered these names outside of ‘Girl [name_u]Baby[/name_u] Names’ section of this website, I would have no idea what sex they belonged to, as Audhild, Ingvild and [name_f]Solveig[/name_f] could just as easily be boys to me.
So, for me personally, I’d stick with [name_f]Sunniva[/name_f]. But I suppose it does really come down to the country you’re currently living in, and perhaps the amount of Scandi’s living in said country, as that would make a big difference in terms of the usability of these names. But, at the end of it all, if they are culturally connected to your husband, technically speaking that’s a pretty good reason to use any of them in my book, as I’d never deny anyone the right to use names from their own culture…
[name_f]Edit[/name_f]: I don’t know any Scandi names, but assuming some of the lists I have since exploited are accurate, I quite like the look and sound of [name_f]Agne[/name_f], [name_f]Agata[/name_f], [name_f]Gerda[/name_f], [name_f]Helga[/name_f], [name_f]Elke[/name_f], [name_f]Signe[/name_f] and [name_f]Ola[/name_f].
I’m Australian and unfamiliar with all of these. I don’t know how to pronounce any of them but could have a go at sunniva and it is quite pretty and fashionable sounding
I live in the UK and I’d think all those names would be pronounced incorrectly here.
I believe [name_f]Sunniva[/name_f] is pronounced SOO-nee-vah in Norwegian and the D and G at the end of Audhild, Ingvild and [name_f]Solveig[/name_f] are meant to be silent? I don’t think people here would be aware of that. The spellings Ingvil and Solvei for Ingvild and [name_f]Solveig[/name_f] might be easier to wear in an English-speaking country.
In terms of what would be easily pronounceable, I’ll agree with all the others that [name_f]Sunniva[/name_f] is the only one that seems straight forward (I say suh-nee-va?). But each seems so lovely in its own regard!
I, too, am not too sure about the pronunciation for a lot of these. I think I might have [name_f]Sunniva[/name_f] and [name_f]Solveig[/name_f] sorted (soo-NEE-vah and SOLE-vay?) sorted, but have no idea for the others. I’ve recently discovered I have Scandinavian (Norwegian) ancestry, and have been very keen on finding some Scandinavian names to add to my list, but have found that the short-and-sweet ones are easiest for English-speakers to handle (i.e. [name_f]Kaja[/name_f] said like [name_u]KYE[/name_u]-ah is something an American can wrap their minds around, but [name_f]Solveig[/name_f] with a silent “G” is perplexing). Then again, maybe I just love the feel of some of the shorter ones–[name_f]Greta[/name_f], [name_f]Liv[/name_f], [name_f]Anna[/name_f]-[name_f]Maja[/name_f], [name_f]Maja[/name_f], [name_f]Kaja[/name_f]/[name_f]Kaia[/name_f], [name_u]Malin[/name_u], [name_f]Magdalena[/name_f] (admittedly not short, but I love how this could honor my Scandinavian ancestry, and also my Spanish ancestry–it seems so international!), [name_f]Mia[/name_f], [name_u]Dagny[/name_u], [name_f]Dagmar[/name_f] (probably seen as very clunky here in the states, but I love it!), [name_f]Anneli[/name_f], etc. I really don’t know what’s stylish or dated, though, so I’ve just been going by what appeals to me personally.
You’re completely right, and I think most people outside Scandi countries will say it wrong. I think even [name_f]Sunniva[/name_f] will bring pronunciation issues
Some other suggestions: [name_f]Inga[/name_f], [name_f]Sanna[/name_f], [name_f]Frida[/name_f], [name_f]Siri[/name_f], [name_f]Maren[/name_f], [name_f]Kajsa[/name_f].
I love [name_f]Solveig[/name_f]. I grew up with a [name_f]Solveig[/name_f] (in the US) and once people were told how to pronounce it, there was no confusion and we all loved her name. [name_f]Sunniva[/name_f] is also pretty.
Oh my goodness [name_f]Sunniva[/name_f] is a name I fell in love with about 15 years ago when I came across it. I absolutely adore it! I’ve had it on my top 10 this entire time, it’s the only one that has steadily been on my list that long. [name_f]Sunniva[/name_f] is one of those names that’s both sunny (pun intended) and hauntingly evocative (because of the history surrounding the name). Absolutely gorgeous!
I live in the U.S. but in a VERY Scandinavian area. I don’t think any of these names are too uncommon. Many of the people in my area have very Scandinavian names though, so I understand the basics of how to read and pronounce them. Personally, I wouldn’t give my child a name like that because I know that most places would have a lot more trouble understanding.
As far as names go, I like [name_f]Solveig[/name_f] the best, but I understand your pronunciation concerns. Tied for second for me are Ingvild and [name_f]Sunniva[/name_f]. Good luck!
I like all of these, the only one I’m not fond of in English is Audhild, which sounds very dark and ominous.
(I’m Norwegian, by the way). Maybe you like Alvhild? It’s a little lighter and if you want it to be even more accessible there’s Alvilda or Alvilde as well.
Ingvild is very sweet, but I don’t like her with the hard G sound that [name_f]Ingrid[/name_f] typically gets when travelling. And the final D is silent (same with all final D’s in Norwegian names, including Audhild and [name_f]Ingrid[/name_f].)
[name_f]Sunniva[/name_f] is probably the easiest to export, but I personally don’t care for her, she seems a little weak, flimsy even.
[name_f]Solveig[/name_f] is also lovely, I’m not sure the way you people are writing it out makes sense to me, and there are dialectal differences, so I added a pronunciation to forvo.com, the four earlier ones they had were all from the [name_m]Oslo[/name_m] region or thereabouts, mine is from the west-coast (I’m Dearest there as well!) –> link
You can look up Ingvild there as well, I’ll approve of the pronunciation already in the database for that.
I added another [name_f]Sunniva[/name_f] pronunciation because the others were also [name_m]Oslo[/name_m]-esque and their cadence is very distinctive and not very representative of the rest of Norway. And I added Audhild for you as well, should be searchable.
[name_f]Siri[/name_f] is my sister’s name ^^ It’s actually a contracted form of [name_f]Sigrid[/name_f], maybe you like that? It means ‘beautiful victory’ and is a gorgeous name!
I also wanted to mention Idunn, [name_f]Signe[/name_f]/[name_f]Signy[/name_f] and [name_f]Eira[/name_f], which I think work really well. And if you like the -ild names, some of my favourite obscure ones are Solhild, Eirhild (also Eiril), Ishild, Magnhild, Roshild, Vivild and Linhild. (Also Venill, but I don’t think Venhild has seen any use)
Audhild - absolutely gorgeous and completely unpronounceable to most Americans.
Ingvild - absolutely gorgeous and completely unpronounceable to most Americans.
[name_f]Sunniva[/name_f] - the straightforward pronunciation, but the name doesn’t excite me.
[name_f]Solveig[/name_f] - I think this is a good balance of exotic and a name that others can become more familiar with. It’s worth the trouble of learning correctly.
I love [name_f]Solveig[/name_f] and [name_f]Sunniva[/name_f]. I feel like people will have problems with all of them (except perhaps [name_f]Sunniva[/name_f]) but they aren’t hard to learn, at least if you’re not concerned with people getting using a Norwegian accent.
My (American) cousin is named [name_f]Solveig[/name_f], and it’s not that much of an issue once someone learns to pronounce it. [name_f]Sunniva[/name_f] could also work, but I don’t know about the others. They’re cool and easier to pronounce, but they still don’t fit in as well.
I actually love [name_f]Solveig[/name_f]. I heard it on a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model named [name_f]Solveig[/name_f] [name_m]Hanson[/name_m]. I think it’s a beautiful, evocative name. Perhaps if one takes the g off the end English speakers will understand it better.
I wasn’t sure.