If you’re looking for some Norwegian names as inspiration for your baby girl or if you want to know what your name of Norwegian origin means, you’re at the right place.
Today, we’re looking at the most popular Norwegian names and their meanings.
Norway, or officially the Kingdom of Norway, is the northernmost Scandinavian country, well known for its beautiful fjords and the astonishing Northern Lights.
Norwegian girls are known for their blonde hair and warm smiles. They are also known for being very rugged and enjoy the outdoors, even though it’s typically freezing when they find themselves hiking in the mountains.
Therefore, it makes sense to choose a Norwegian name for your baby girl – especially if you want a nice sounding name that is perfectly fit for a really strong girl / woman.
Traditional Norwegian Girl Names and What They Mean
But enough talking. You are here to learn more about Norwegian girl names, so here are the most common ones and their meanings!
Ada – Short form of the name Adelaide. This name is derived as a combination of the Germanic elements adal and heid, meaning “noble” and “kind, sort, type.” So it would mean “of noble kind”.
Anna – Derived from the name Hannah, which comes from the Hebrew name Channah, meaning “grace, favor.”
Asta – Short form of the name Astrid, which is a more modern spelling of the Old Norse name Ástríðr. This name combines the elements of Old Norse words and can be translated to “beautiful God”.
Aurora – This name simply means “dawn” in Latin.
Céline – This popular Norwegian name was derived as the French feminine form of the Roman family name Caelinus. This further comes from the Latin word Caelum meaning “heaven.”
Emma – This name was originally derived as a short form of other names that began with the Germanic element ermen, meaning “whole” or “universal.”
Emilie – A Scandinavian feminine form of the name Emil, which is derived from the Roman family name Aemilius, which means “rival.”
Elise – A short form of the name Elizabeth, which means “my God is an oath.”
Ella – A diminutive form of the names Eleanor, Ellen, and other names beginning with El, and is also used as a short form for names ending in ella.
Eline – A variant of the name Elina which is the Swedish form of the name Helen. This name is also used as a diminutive form of the name Adelaide.
Frida – Derived from the Old Norse name Fríða, the name Frida means “beautiful, beloved.”
Hedda – Diminutive of the name Hedvig which is the Scandinavian form of the name Hedwig. This name comes from the Germanic elements hadu, meaning “battle, combat” and wig, meaning “war.”
Ida – This name was derived from the Germanic element id, which meant “work, labor.”
Ingrid – From the Old Norse name Ingriðr, which means “Ing is beautiful.”
If you’re looking for some more viking-sounding names, make sure to read my previous article listing 100 viking name ideas for boys and girls.
Jenny – This name might strike you as furthest from Norwegian as one would think, and that might be true regarding its origin. However the name Jenny is quite common in Norway. It means “the fair one”.
Jane – The medieval English form of the name Jehanne. Derived as a Latin form of another Greek name, which itself is derived from the Hebrew name Yochanan, this name means “God is gracious”.
Jennifer – Derived from the Welsh name Gwenhwyfar, this name gets its meaning from the elements gwen, meaning “fair, white” and sebara, meaning “phantom, magical being.” Just like Jenny, today it means “the fair one”.
Julia – Feminine form of the Roman family name Julius, which was possibly derived from the Greek word iouvenile, meaning “youthful.”
Karoline – Feminine form of the name Carolus. There are two theories about where this name gets its meaning from; one theory is that it was derived from the Germanic name Karl, which means “man” or from the Germanic name element hari, which means “army, warrior.”
Leah – From the Hebrew name Leah, which was most likely derived from the Hebrew word le’ah, meaning “weary.”
Lilly – A Scandinavian form of the name Lily, which is ultimately derived from the Latin lilium. Lilium is the Latin name for the species of Lily flowers.
Linnea – A Swedish name, given in honor of the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus, this name has caught on in Norway as a popular girl’s name.
Live – Norwegian variant of the name Liv, which is derived from the Old Norse name Hilf, meaning “protection.”
Maja – Usually a diminutive form of the name Maria, which is ultimately derived from the Hebrew name Miryam. This name was most likely derived from the Egyptian word mry, which means “beloved.”
Marie – A common girl name in Norway; it is the French form of the name Maria, which means “of the sea”.
Mathilde – A cognate of the name Matilda, which is derived from the Germanic name Mahthildis, which comes from the elements maht, meaning “might, strength” and hild, meaning “battle.” So this would mean “strength in battle”.
Mia – A Scandinavian diminutive version of the name Maria.
Nora – Short form of the names Honora or Eleanor.
Oda – The Feminine form of the name Otto, which is a more modern form of the names Audo or Odo. Derived from the Germanic element aud meaning “wealth, fortune.”
Olivia – This particular spelling of the name was first used by William Shakespeare, possibly based on the names Oliver or Oliva, or simply derived from the Latin word oliva, meaning “olive.”
Sara – A form of the name Sarah more common in Norway, this name means “lady, noblewoman.”
Selma – Unknown origin, possibly derived as a short form of the Germanic name Anselma, which combines the elements ans “god” and helm “helmet, protection.”
Sofia – Sofia is a common name in Norway, a form of the name Sophia. This name means “wisdom” in Greek.
Tuva – A Swedish and Norwegian form of the name Tove, which comes from the Old Norse name Tófa, which is a short form of the Old Norse name Þórfríðr. The name would mean “beautiful thunder”.
Victoria – This name means “victory.” In Latin, it is also the feminine form of the Roman name Victorius.
Popular Norwegian girl names and my favorite
Many of the popular Norwegian names seem to be either Scandinavian forms of universally popular names or modern forms of Old Norse names, and they’re all equally beautiful. Which absolutely makes sense.
Some of the more popular names from this list are:
Asta, Elise, Frida, Live, and one name I believe is a beautiful name, Aurora.
Of course, these are just my highlights. You will probably have a different opinion, so check them all and pick your favorite.
Many of these names share similarities to other Scandinavian names so don’t be surprised if you come across Swedish or Danish girls with similar names but with slightly different spellings.
You can also check out a list of Danish boy names and their meanings here.
Conclusion
My list covers the most popular Norwegian names, so whether you were looking for a name for your daughter, or simply wanted to know the meaning behind the name of a Norwegian girl you are interested in, this list has you covered.
