Norwegian baby names have a reputation for being joyful and positive. Read through the popular names in the lists below and see if you can stop yourself from smiling when reading the beautiful names.
Norwegian baby names have a long history and tradition. Still, Norwegian parents have been choosing traditionally Western names for their children for several decades. This trend shows up in the most current selection of popular baby names in Norway.
Norwegian Baby Girl Names
In 2020, the most popular feminine name given to Norwegian children was Nora. This might be surprising to some readers, as the name Nora is often associated with English culture and the Latin language.
Still, there’s hardly a single traditionally Norwegian name among the most popular baby names in Norway. The most Norwegian of the top twenty girls’ names for 2020 was Ada, a name which can be traced back to either the Old Norse word “aðal” (noble) or the Hebrew עָדָה (ornament).
Some of the most popular Norwegian baby girl names are:
- Emma
- Nora
- Sofie
- Ella
- Olivia
- Ada
- Sofia
- Sara
- Maja
This selection may not be exactly what some readers might expect, as all of the above names are common to English-speaking communities throughout Europe and North America. The most popular masculine names in Norway follow this trend as well, but perhaps to a lesser extent.
Most Popular Baby Girl Names in Norway
| Norwegian girl names | Count | Different spelling |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Nora | 416 | |
| Nora | 398 | |
| Norah | 18 | |
| 2 Emma | 362 | |
| 3 Ella | 337 | |
| 4 Maja | 321 | |
| Maja | 206 | |
| Maia | 60 | |
| Maya | 55 | |
| 5 Olivia | 315 | |
| 6 Emilie | 306 | |
| 7 Sofie | 296 | |
| Sofie | 268 | |
| Sophie | 28 | |
| 8 Leah | 288 | |
| Leah | 201 | |
| Lea | 87 | |
| 9 Sofia | 282 | |
| Sofia | 207 | |
| Sophia | 75 | |
| 10 Ingrid | 271 | |
| 11 Frida | 268 | |
| 12 Sara | 264 | |
| Sara | 199 | |
| Sarah | 58 | |
| Zara | 7 | |
| 13 Tiril | 244 | |
| Tiril | 239 | |
| Tirill | 5 | |
| 14 Selma | 241 | |
| 15 Ada | 239 | |
| 16 Hedda | 238 | |
| 17 Amalie | 232 | |
| 18 Anna | 227 | |
| 19 Alma | 225 | |
| 20Hanna | 221 | |
| Hanna | 146 | |
| Hannah | 75 | |
| 21 Eva | 220 | |
| 22 Mia | 207 | |
| 23 Thea | 203 | |
| 24 Live | 198 | |
| 25 Ida | 197 | |
| 26 Astrid | 197 | |
| Astrid | 186 | |
| Astri | 11 | |
| 27 Ellinor | 194 | |
| 28 Vilde | 193 | |
| 29 Linnea | 185 | |
| Linnea | 165 | |
| Linea | 20 | |
| 30 Iben | 180 | |
| 31 Aurora | 174 | |
| 32 Mathilde | 171 | |
| Mathilde | 134 | |
| Matilde | 37 | |
| 33 Jenny | 171 | |
| 34 Tuva | 170 | |
| 35 Julie | 162 | |
| 36 Oda | 159 | |
| 37 Sigrid | 158 | |
| 38 Amanda | 153 | |
| 39 Lilly | 148 | |
| Lilly | 119 | |
| Lily | 29 | |
| 40 Hedvig | 139 | |
| 41 Victoria | 138 | |
| Victoria | 116 | |
| Viktoria | 22 | |
| 42 Amelia | 136 | |
| 43 Josefine | 134 | |
| Josefine | 117 | |
| Josephine | 17 | |
| 44 Agnes | 134 | |
| 45 Solveig | 132 | |
| 46 Saga | 132 | |
| 47 Marie | 132 | |
| 48 Eline | 128 | |
| 49 Oline | 126 | |
| 50 Maria | 124 |
Norwegian Baby Boy Names
Though the most popular boys’ names in Norway follow a similar trend to the girls’ names, there are some unmistakably Scandinavian touches to many of these Western names. The consistent and common usage of the letter “k” in place of the letter “c” is one such stylistic marker.
Some of the most popular baby boys’ names in Norway include:
- Jakob
- Lucas
- Filip
- Oskar
- Oliver
- Emil
- Henrik
- William
- Noah
While some of these names have Germanic or Norse origins (Oliver, Oskar), others have far more Latin, Hebrew, and Greek beginnings. Jakob, for example, is a Scandanavian spelling of the Hebrew name עקב (Jacob).
Lucas comes from the Greek Loukas, meaning “man from Lucania.” The name Filip also comes from Greek and is roughly translated to mean “the horse friend.” Consequently, the most popular boys’ names in Norway aren’t very Norwegian.
Most Popular Baby Boy Names in Norway
| Norwegian Boy Names | Count | Differens Spelling |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Jakob | 422 | |
| Jakob | 271 | |
| Jacob | 151 | |
| 2 Emil | 419 | |
| 3 Noah | 396 | |
| Noah | 378 | |
| Noa | 18 | |
| 4 Oliver | 382 | |
| 5 Filip | 381 | |
| Filip | 240 | |
| Fillip | 39 | |
| Philip | 66 | |
| Phillip | 36 | |
| 6 William | 339 | |
| 7 Lucas | 316 | |
| Lucas | 167 | |
| Lukas | 149 | |
| 8 Liam | 308 | |
| 9 Henrik | 300 | |
| 10 Oskar | 297 | |
| Oskar | 195 | |
| Oscar | 102 | |
| 11 Aksel | 291 | |
| Aksel | 235 | |
| Axel | 56 | |
| 12 Theodor | 284 | |
| Theodor | 239 | |
| Teodor | 45 | |
| 13 Elias | 283 | |
| 14 Kasper | 282 | |
| Kasper | 173 | |
| Casper | 89 | |
| Kacper | 20 | |
| 15 Magnus | 280 | |
| 16 Johannes | 275 | |
| 17 Isak | 274 | |
| Isak | 243 | |
| Isaac | 11 | |
| Isac | 20 | |
| 18 Mathias | 264 | |
| Mathias | 239 | |
| Matias | 25 | |
| 19 Tobias | 254 | |
| 20 Olav | 250 | |
| 21 Sander | 244 | |
| 22 Håkon | 227 | |
| Håkon | 193 | |
| Haakon | 34 | |
| 23 Jonas | 226 | |
| 24 Ludvig | 222 | |
| Ludvig | 148 | |
| Ludvik | 74 | |
| 25 Benjamin | 222 | |
| 26 Matheo | 217 | |
| 27 Alfred | 215 | |
| 28 Alexander | 210 | |
| Alexander | 122 | |
| Aleksander | 88 | |
| 29 Victor | 204 | |
| Victor | 87 | |
| Viktor | 117 | |
| 30 Markus | 203 | |
| Markus | 135 | |
| Marcus | 68 | |
| 31 Theo | 202 | |
| Theo | 174 | |
| Teo | 28 | |
| 31 Mohammad | 202 | |
| Mohammad | 49 | |
| Mohamed | 29 | |
| Mohammed | 39 | |
| Muhammad | 69 | |
| Muhammed | 16 | |
| 33 Herman | 200 | |
| Herman | 188 | |
| Hermann | 12 | |
| 34 Adam | 198 | |
| 35 Ulrik | 185 | |
| 36 Iver | 178 | |
| 37 Sebastian | 177 | |
| 38 Johan | 172 | |
| Johan | 166 | |
| Johann | 6 | |
| 39 Odin | 171 | |
| 39 Leon | 171 | |
| 41 Nikolai | 170 | |
| Nikolai | 106 | |
| Nicolai | 55 | |
| Nicolay | 7 | |
| 42 Even | 169 | |
| 43 Leo | 165 | |
| 44 Kristian | 162 | |
| Kristian | 89 | |
| Christian | 73 | |
| 45 Mikkel | 160 | |
| 45 Gustav | 160 | |
| 47 Felix | 159 | |
| 48 Sverre | 154 | |
| 49 Adrian | 153 | |
| 50 Erik | 150 | |
| Erik | 145 | |
| Eric | 5 |
Read more: Danish baby names / Swedish baby names / Finish baby names
Summary of Norwegian Baby Names
Popular Norwegian baby boy names include Jakob, Emil, Lucas and Filip. Norwegian baby girl names that top the popular list include Emma, Nora and Ella.