We just recently found out my husband and I are expecting a first child. He comes from a family full of Norwegians with Norwegian names, and we’d like to carry on the tradition. We’d like names actually used in Norway if possible. We’re not big fans of most of the names in his family, though. We’re not opposed to Swedish names, either.
We’re thinking of some names like the following:
Boys:
[name_m]Einar[/name_m]
[name_m]Espen[/name_m]
[name_m]Eirik[/name_m]
[name_m]Bjorn[/name_m]
[name_m]Oskar[/name_m]
[name_m]Mathias[/name_m]
[name_m]Espen[/name_m] is my top boy’s name. We fell in love with it as soon as we discovered the name. I also like [name_m]Mathias[/name_m]. I am personally not a fan of the other names.
That is a great consideration. We’re upper-midwesterners (though I originally come from another area of the U.S. which is also heavy with Norwegians).
I actually think it won’t be weird at all where we live to have Nordic names for our kids. If it helps, I saw a guy named [name_m]Ole[/name_m] [name_m]Olson[/name_m] recently on a list, and nobody else thought his super stereotypical Norwegian name was funny!
My dad’s parents were from Denmark and his middle name is [name_m]Bjorn[/name_m]! I’ll give you some other names from my Danish family, which are close, right?!
Boys:
[name_u]Torrey[/name_u] (This is my dad’s name and he always hated it because he says that no men are named [name_u]Torrey[/name_u]. He changed his name to Torr this year)
Thorbjorn (Pronounced [name_m]Tor[/name_m]-bien. NN [name_m]Thor[/name_m])
[name_m]Karim[/name_m]
Eilif
[name_m]Jens[/name_m]
[name_m]Erling[/name_m]
[name_m]Sven[/name_m]
[name_m]Andreas[/name_m]
[name_m]Hans[/name_m]
[name_m]Jesper[/name_m]
[name_m]Johannes[/name_m]
[name_m]Soren[/name_m]
[name_m]Anders[/name_m]
[name_m]Rasmus[/name_m]
[name_m]Mads[/name_m]
[name_m]Mathias[/name_m]
Scandinavian names in use in my Scandinavian family and circle of friends: [name_m]Eric[/name_m]/[name_m]Erik[/name_m]/[name_f]Erica[/name_f]/[name_f]Erika[/name_f], [name_m]Carl[/name_m]/[name_m]Karl[/name_m], [name_f]Linnea[/name_f] (national flower of [name_u]Sweden[/name_u]). I can’t recommend [name_m]Kellen[/name_m] (boy name that is often misheard as [name_u]Kelly[/name_u] or [name_f]Ellen[/name_f]). And [name_m]Bjorn[/name_m] has the unfortunate “BJ” beginning to it which can lead to teasing. [name_f]Annika[/name_f] is on my baby name list (and it’s the name of a famous golfer, so it’s more known that it used to be). We know an adult neighbor named [name_m]Thor[/name_m] but that is a tough name to live with. I also like [name_m]Leif[/name_m] (i.e., [name_m]Leif[/name_m] [name_m]Erikson[/name_m]). Also look for Scandinvian spellings of popular Bible/[name_m]Christian[/name_m] names. Easier to carry those challenging spellings in places like the midwest where there is more Scandinavian heritage. Google the Scandinavian royals, who are in a baby boom lately, and you may notice a name you like on a young prince or princess. Good luck. These are strong names from the Vikings!
[name_m]Espen[/name_m], [name_m]Oskar[/name_m], and I [name_f]LOVE[/name_f], [name_f]LOVE[/name_f], [name_f]LOVE[/name_f] [name_m]Mathias[/name_m]! Out of the girls, [name_f]Helena[/name_f], [name_f]Astrid[/name_f], & [name_f]Elsa[/name_f]. Other suggestions:
Girl names:
[name_f]Agnes[/name_f]
[name_f]Elise[/name_f]
[name_f]Nina[/name_f]
[name_f]Nora[/name_f]
[name_u]Andrea[/name_u]
[name_f]Brenda[/name_f]
[name_f]Cecilie[/name_f]
[name_u]Dagny[/name_u]
Boy names:
[name_m]Edvard[/name_m].
[name_m]Emil[/name_m]
[name_m]Henrik[/name_m]
[name_m]Tobias[/name_m]
[name_f]Happy[/name_f] naming!
p.s. some of those may not be Norse/Nordic, 'cause the website I researched had Hebrew & English mixed in. [name_f]Hope[/name_f] it’s not inconvenient.
