Kerstin
Meaning and origin
Vernacular form of Kristina. First recorded in Sweden as Kierstin in 1535.
Source: Wiktionary, Swedish entry for Kerstin (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Popularity in Sweden
Among newborns, Kerstin has been fairly steady over the last few years. Its best year between 1998 and 2022 was 2016. 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 | 13 |
| 1999 | – |
| 2000 | 21 |
| 2001 | 20 |
| 2002 | 14 |
| 2003 | 33 |
| 2004 | 15 |
| 2005 | 26 |
| 2006 | 28 |
| 2007 | 39 |
| 2008 | 49 |
| 2009 | 61 |
| 2010 | 59 |
| 2011 | 70 |
| 2012 | 96 |
| 2013 | 83 |
| 2014 | 90 |
| 2015 | 85 |
| 2016 | 101 |
| 2017 | 82 |
| 2018 | 80 |
| 2019 | 81 |
| 2020 | 81 |
| 2021 | 81 |
| 2022 | 77 |
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Women and girls |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 67,459 |
| 2000 | 66,755 |
| 2001 | 66,012 |
| 2002 | 65,196 |
| 2003 | 64,422 |
| 2004 | 63,562 |
| 2005 | 62,716 |
| 2006 | 61,851 |
| 2007 | 60,994 |
| 2008 | 60,171 |
| 2009 | 59,363 |
| 2010 | 58,411 |
| 2011 | 57,486 |
| 2012 | 56,532 |
| 2013 | 55,514 |
| 2014 | 54,517 |
| 2015 | 53,488 |
| 2016 | 52,402 |
| 2017 | 51,285 |
| 2018 | 50,064 |
| 2019 | 48,868 |
| 2020 | 47,564 |
Kerstin in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Kerstin.Hi! My name is Kerstin.
- Kerstin ringde och sa att hon blir lite sen.Kerstin called and said she'll be a bit late.
- Jag ska fika med Kerstin i eftermiddag.I'm having coffee with Kerstin this afternoon.
- Kerstins mamma är lärare.Kerstin's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Kerstins mamma is Kerstin's mum.
More names
Questions about Kerstin
How do you pronounce Kerstin in Swedish?
In IPA, Kerstin is /²ɕæʂtɪn/. Press Listen at the top of the page to hear it from a native speaker's recording.
What does the name Kerstin mean?
Vernacular form of Kristina. First recorded in Sweden as Kierstin in 1535.
How popular is Kerstin in Sweden?
77 babies were named Kerstin in 2022. In 2020, 47,564 people in Sweden had Kerstin as the first name they go by. Among newborns the name has been fairly steady lately and peaked in 2016 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.