Kirsten
Meaning and origin
Wiktionary describes it as a female given name from Ancient Greek. From North Germanic (Danish Kirsten and Norwegian Kirsten). Doublet of Christina.
Source: Wiktionary, English entry for Kirsten (CC BY-SA 4.0). This is the origin of the name in English; families in Sweden may have taken it from another language.
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 | Girls |
|---|---|
| 1998 | – |
| 1999 | – |
| 2000 | – |
| 2001 | – |
| 2002 | – |
| 2003 | – |
| 2004 | – |
| 2005 | – |
| 2006 | – |
| 2007 | – |
| 2008 | 2 |
| 2009 | – |
| 2010 | – |
| 2011 | – |
| 2012 | – |
| 2013 | – |
| 2014 | – |
| 2015 | – |
| 2016 | – |
| 2017 | – |
| 2018 | – |
| 2019 | – |
| 2020 | – |
| 2021 | – |
| 2022 | – |
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Women and girls |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 777 |
| 2000 | 787 |
| 2001 | 779 |
| 2002 | 776 |
| 2003 | 787 |
| 2004 | 781 |
| 2005 | 791 |
| 2006 | 791 |
| 2007 | 793 |
| 2008 | 798 |
| 2009 | 791 |
| 2010 | 790 |
| 2011 | 770 |
| 2012 | 762 |
| 2013 | 759 |
| 2014 | 743 |
| 2015 | 722 |
| 2016 | 716 |
| 2017 | 696 |
| 2018 | 680 |
| 2019 | 660 |
| 2020 | 645 |
Kirsten in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Kirsten.Hi! My name is Kirsten.
- Kirsten ringde och sa att hon blir lite sen.Kirsten called and said she'll be a bit late.
- Jag ska fika med Kirsten i eftermiddag.I'm having coffee with Kirsten this afternoon.
- Kirstens mamma är lärare.Kirsten's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Kirstens mamma is Kirsten's mum.
More names
Questions about Kirsten
How do you pronounce Kirsten in Swedish?
Press Listen at the top of the page to hear Kirsten in your device's Swedish voice.
What does the name Kirsten mean?
Wiktionary describes it as a female given name from Ancient Greek. From North Germanic (Danish Kirsten and Norwegian Kirsten). Doublet of Christina.
How popular is Kirsten in Sweden?
Fewer than two babies of either sex were named Kirsten in 2022. In 2020, 645 people in Sweden had Kirsten 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.