User:SvareJM/Sandbox/Nordic Given Names

Online Resources
Nordic Names A website studying given names in the Nordic countries.

History of Names in the Nordic Countries

 * Pre-Christian and Pagan Origin
 * Christian

Many pre-Christian names still exist in placenames.

Name Interchangeability
Some caution must be exercised regarding the form of names found in the records. In many cases records were created by a person educated in another country or regions or taught to write by a person educated elsewhere. As in many cases we have no record of what a person called themselves, we are forced to rely on the records which tell us what the recorder considered was the correct form of a person’s name.

These name variants above are indicative of an important principle about names. In Sweden, it is not uncommon to call a person by an affectionate form of the given name. William, for example, in English-speaking countries is often know as Bill. This can be confusing in research, where for example someone may be called Kjerstin in the birth record, but later is called Stina in another record. Most names also have variant spellings. It really is not much of a problem, once you have learned to recognize these names. Some of the more common names and variants are listed below:

These are not all-inclusive, nor exclusive lists. Some names may be found across cultures or regions. Regional variations are found in all countries.

Male Names
1Diminutive form of Johan 2Diminutive form of Nicholas

Common Names
The following names, listed by country and grouped by gender, are commonly found in the records.

Male
• 6

Female
• 6

Male
• 6

Female
• 6

Male
• 6

Female
• 6

Male
• 6

Female
• 6

Abbreviations
Perhaps the most commonly encountered abbreviation is in names containing the word Christ, where it is written as X, it being a modern siglum of the Greek Χρ, representing the first two letters in the Greek spelling of Christ.