Swedish culture is deeply rooted in nature and it shows in the way people name their children. Many of the most popular names in Sweden come from Scandinavian mythology and history. For example: Isabella – after Saint Isabelle; Birgitta – after Birgid, one of the three daughters of Odin, goddess of war and love; Sigurd – after the legendary hero Siegfried; and Gunhild – after Gudrun, the wife of Hrothgar, king of the Danes.
The Swedish language is rich in nouns and adjectives. It also has a large number of different verbs which makes it easy to create new words by adding prefixes or suffixes. This gives rise to a lot of interesting names like Emma – meaning “noble†or “princessâ€; Emilie – meaning “belovedâ€; and Emelie – meaning “beautifulâ€.
Below you’ll find the best 50 Swedish Baby Names and their meanings to inspire you:
Tip of the day
After you finally decided on the baby’s name, many parents order a wooden sign with all of its letters and make it into something special for their nurseries.
If you haven’t decided yet, here are a few more related articles with all kinds of unique baby names to help you decide:
Top 25 Swedish Boy Names And Their Meanings
1. Acke – meaning “my father is for peace.”
2. Andreas – (Greek, Swedish origin) meaning “creative, manly”; derivative to Andrew.
3. Axel – meaning “divine source of life”; is associated with the popular song ‘Axel F’ by Crazy Frog.
4. Bo – meaning “to live”; is a gender-neutral name taken by both male and female public figures. This was a common Viking boys name.
5. Boje – meaning “man from the castle”.
6. Bosse – meaning “to live”; is also another cool-sounding badass baby name.
7. Calle – meaning “a freeman”; associated with the popular band ‘Calle 13’.
8. Caspian – (Finnish, Swedish origin) meaning “from the Caspian Sea”.
9. Claes – meaning “victory of people”; derived from Nicholas.
10. Dolph – meaning “noble wolf”.
11. Eddy – meaning “wealthy guardian”.
12. Edvin – meaning “a wealthy friend”; associated with the Swedish actor named Edvin Endre.
13. Elfred – meaning “popular human being”.
14. Elimar – meaning “famous personality.”
15. Elof – meaning “everlasting, heir”.
16. Emil- meaning “eager and lively.”
17. Fabian – meaning “bean farmer”; is one of the famous names in the sports field with people like Fabian Allen (cricketer), Fabian Delph (footballer), Fabian Cancellara (bicycler) using the name.
18. Filip – meaning “lover of horses”.
19. Flor – meaning “blooming person”; the word is also a Swedish name for flower.
20. Franz – meaning “freeman”; known after the famous author of the book ‘Metamorphosis’, named Franz Kafka.
21. Frederick – meaning “peaceful ruler”; is also a place name in Maryland.
22. Garth – meaning “garden”.
23. Henke – meaning “ruler of the house”.
24. Jager – meaning “to hunt, chase”; one of the popular names amongst the spirit lovers for ‘Jagermeister’.
25. Lars – meaning “crowned with Laurel”.
Top 25 Swedish Girl Names and their meanings
- Adahlia – This meaning of this name is ‘a flower’ or ‘a noble person’. This name is derived by adding prefix A to dahlia, a flower, which is named after the Swedish botanist Anders Dahl. This name could also be the variant of Adalia, which is derived from the name Adal, a German name.
- Agda – A Swedish version of the name Agata which means ‘good-hearted’. This name means ‘pure’. This name would be perfect for your innocent little girl.
- Agnes – The name Agnes is of Greek origin and means ‘chaste’ or ‘sacred’. In Greek, the name is ‘Hagnes’. A beautiful name for the little lady.
- Agneta – This name means ‘pure’. This name could also seem to be inspired by St. Agnes of Rome. Isn’t that a sweet name for your little girl!
- Aalis – was a shortened version of the German name Adalheidis. It means ‘of the nobility’. From Aalis came Alice which is a very popular name in many countries now. Alice also has roots in Greek where it means ‘truth’.
- Alma – In Latin, Almus means ‘nourishing’ and Alma has come from there. The name Alma which is of Latin origin means ‘soul’ and ‘nurturing’.
- Andrine – Mostly used in English speaking countries Andrine means ‘brave’. This would be a befitting name for your brave little girl.
- Barbro – This name of Scandinavian origin comes from the name Barbara which means ‘foreign’. This was also the name of the famous Saint Barbara.
- Berget – A Swedish form of the name Bridget, this name means ‘strength’ or ‘the exalted one’.
- BirgittaIt – is an Irish name which means ‘higher one’ or ‘strong’. It is believed that a person with this name will have leadership qualities.
- Clara – This name has come from Rome and it means ‘clear’ or ‘bright’. It would be a perfect name for your little girl.
- Ebba – A shorter form of German name ‘Eberhard’, it means ‘strengthâ€â€™. This name is a variant of Ebbe, which is an old English name.
- EdithIt – is an English name which means ‘riches’ or ‘blessed’. It was also the name of famous nun in 10th century St. Edith.
- Ellie – The name Ellie is of Hebrew origin and another form of the name, Eleanor. It means ‘God is my source of light’.
- Elsa – The name Elsa is of Hebrew origin and means ‘joyful’. This name also means ‘noble’.
- Eva – This name is derived from a Hebrew name and it means ‘life’.
- Filippa – This name has its roots in Greek, Italy, and Sweden. It is the feminine form of the name Philip and means ‘a lover of horses’.
- Freja – A Scandinavian origin name, it is famous across many parts of Europe. It is a short form of Freyja and means ‘noblewoman’.
- Gunilla – This has origin in Sweden and means ‘battle maiden’. Your little girl may grow up to be a fearless woman with this name.
- Gustava – This name of Swedish origin means ‘staff of the Gods’.
- Helmi – Helmi is a Finnish name meaning ‘pearl’ or ‘bead’. It is a cute name with a beautiful meaning.
- Hilma – A popular name in Germany and Scandinavian countries, Hilma means ‘protective helmet’.
- Ines – Ines is a name of Portuguese origin and means ‘pure’. This meaning of this name is as good as it sounds. If you want a short 4-letter Swedish name for your baby girl, you can definitely consider this name.
- Isabelle – This name is of French origin and means ‘pledged to God’. It is believed that a girl with this name tends to be spiritual and idealistic in nature.
- Jannicke – Jannicke is a variation of the Scandinavian name Jan. It means ‘God is gracious’.