Bjarne
Meaning and origin
Wiktionary describes it as a male given name from Old Norse of Norwegian origin. From Old Norse Bjarni, short form of names starting with Bjarn-, from bjǫrn (“bear”).
Source: Wiktionary, Swedish entry for Bjarne (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Popularity in Sweden
Few babies have been given the name since 1998; it belongs mostly to older generations. 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 | Boys |
|---|---|
| 1998 | – |
| 1999 | – |
| 2000 | – |
| 2001 | – |
| 2002 | – |
| 2003 | – |
| 2004 | – |
| 2005 | – |
| 2006 | – |
| 2007 | – |
| 2008 | – |
| 2009 | – |
| 2010 | – |
| 2011 | – |
| 2012 | – |
| 2013 | 2 |
| 2014 | – |
| 2015 | 2 |
| 2016 | 2 |
| 2017 | 2 |
| 2018 | – |
| 2019 | – |
| 2020 | – |
| 2021 | – |
| 2022 | – |
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Men and boys |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 1,526 |
| 2000 | 1,520 |
| 2001 | 1,524 |
| 2002 | 1,526 |
| 2003 | 1,519 |
| 2004 | 1,510 |
| 2005 | 1,495 |
| 2006 | 1,490 |
| 2007 | 1,482 |
| 2008 | 1,479 |
| 2009 | 1,466 |
| 2010 | 1,453 |
| 2011 | 1,443 |
| 2012 | 1,425 |
| 2013 | 1,410 |
| 2014 | 1,387 |
| 2015 | 1,377 |
| 2016 | 1,362 |
| 2017 | 1,342 |
| 2018 | 1,320 |
| 2019 | 1,301 |
| 2020 | 1,276 |
Bjarne in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Bjarne.Hi! My name is Bjarne.
- Bjarne bor i Umeå och jobbar som snickare.Bjarne lives in Umeå and works as a carpenter.
- Jag ska fika med Bjarne i eftermiddag.I'm having coffee with Bjarne this afternoon.
- Bjarnes mamma är lärare.Bjarne's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Bjarnes mamma is Bjarne's mum.
More names
Questions about Bjarne
How do you pronounce Bjarne in Swedish?
Press Listen at the top of the page to hear Bjarne from a native speaker's recording. J is said like the English y.
What does the name Bjarne mean?
Wiktionary describes it as a male given name from Old Norse of Norwegian origin. From Old Norse Bjarni, short form of names starting with Bjarn-, from bjǫrn (“bear”).
How popular is Bjarne in Sweden?
Fewer than two babies of either sex were named Bjarne in 2022. In 2020, 1,276 people in Sweden had Bjarne as the first name they go by.
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.