Alva
Meaning and origin
A 19th century feminine form of Alf, or a short form of female compound names beginning with Alf-, such as Alfhild and Alfrida.
Source: Wiktionary, Swedish entry for Alva (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Popularity in Sweden
Among newborns, Alva has been fairly steady over the last few years. Its best year between 1998 and 2022 was 2006. The figures are for this exact spelling; other spellings of the name are counted on their own.
Years with fewer than two babies (fewer than ten before 2004) show as zero in the chart and as – in the table.
Show the figures
| Year | Girls |
|---|---|
| 1998 | 290 |
| 1999 | 354 |
| 2000 | 451 |
| 2001 | 546 |
| 2002 | 683 |
| 2003 | 830 |
| 2004 | 833 |
| 2005 | 844 |
| 2006 | 895 |
| 2007 | 753 |
| 2008 | 701 |
| 2009 | 754 |
| 2010 | 699 |
| 2011 | 592 |
| 2012 | 569 |
| 2013 | 590 |
| 2014 | 509 |
| 2015 | 519 |
| 2016 | 489 |
| 2017 | 499 |
| 2018 | 444 |
| 2019 | 468 |
| 2020 | 431 |
| 2021 | 457 |
| 2022 | 393 |
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Women and girls |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 3,854 |
| 2000 | 4,146 |
| 2001 | 4,565 |
| 2002 | 5,120 |
| 2003 | 5,810 |
| 2004 | 6,508 |
| 2005 | 7,204 |
| 2006 | 7,968 |
| 2007 | 8,606 |
| 2008 | 9,253 |
| 2009 | 9,903 |
| 2010 | 10,528 |
| 2011 | 11,052 |
| 2012 | 11,528 |
| 2013 | 12,023 |
| 2014 | 12,455 |
| 2015 | 12,885 |
| 2016 | 13,302 |
| 2017 | 13,728 |
| 2018 | 14,095 |
| 2019 | 14,502 |
| 2020 | 14,851 |
Alva in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Alva.Hi! My name is Alva.
- Alva ringde och sa att hon blir lite sen.Alva called and said she'll be a bit late.
- Alva har bott i Uppsala i tre år.Alva has lived in Uppsala for three years.
- Alvas mamma är lärare.Alva's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Alvas mamma is Alva's mum.
Related names and other spellings
More names
Questions about Alva
How do you pronounce Alva in Swedish?
Press Listen at the top of the page to hear Alva in your device's Swedish voice.
What does the name Alva mean?
A 19th century feminine form of Alf, or a short form of female compound names beginning with Alf-, such as Alfhild and Alfrida.
How popular is Alva in Sweden?
393 babies were named Alva in 2022. In 2020, 14,851 people in Sweden had Alva as the first name they go by. Among newborns the name has been fairly steady lately and peaked in 2006 in the years SCB covers (1998–2022).
Popularity figures: Statistics Sweden (SCB), name statistics (BE0001) from the Statistical Database, released as open data under CC0. Each spelling is counted as its own name, as SCB does. SCB's open name statistics end with babies named in 2022 and the population on 31 December 2020; SCB stopped producing name statistics in 2024 and now points to the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) for newer figures.
Origins, IPA and recordings: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0), via kaikki.org; recordings from Lingua Libre on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA). Lingolib is not affiliated with SCB or Wiktionary. Sources last checked 7 October 2026.