Kjell
Meaning and origin
Wiktionary describes it as a male given name popular in the mid-twentieth century. From Old Norse Ketill, from ketill (“(sacrificial) cauldron", "helmet”) and short for names containing this element. First recorded as a given name in Sweden in 1548.
Source: Wiktionary, Swedish entry for Kjell (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Popularity in Sweden
Among newborns, Kjell has been falling 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 | Boys |
|---|---|
| 1998 | – |
| 1999 | – |
| 2000 | – |
| 2001 | – |
| 2002 | – |
| 2003 | – |
| 2004 | – |
| 2005 | 2 |
| 2006 | – |
| 2007 | 2 |
| 2008 | – |
| 2009 | 3 |
| 2010 | – |
| 2011 | 2 |
| 2012 | 2 |
| 2013 | 2 |
| 2014 | 2 |
| 2015 | 3 |
| 2016 | 4 |
| 2017 | 3 |
| 2018 | 3 |
| 2019 | 2 |
| 2020 | 2 |
| 2021 | 4 |
| 2022 | – |
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Men and boys |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 39,282 |
| 2000 | 38,707 |
| 2001 | 38,117 |
| 2002 | 37,511 |
| 2003 | 36,934 |
| 2004 | 36,348 |
| 2005 | 35,750 |
| 2006 | 35,132 |
| 2007 | 34,660 |
| 2008 | 34,152 |
| 2009 | 33,640 |
| 2010 | 33,130 |
| 2011 | 32,635 |
| 2012 | 32,088 |
| 2013 | 31,513 |
| 2014 | 30,935 |
| 2015 | 30,301 |
| 2016 | 29,662 |
| 2017 | 29,018 |
| 2018 | 28,303 |
| 2019 | 27,545 |
| 2020 | 26,700 |
Kjell in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Kjell.Hi! My name is Kjell.
- Kjell ringde och sa att han blir lite sen.Kjell called and said he'll be a bit late.
- Jag ska fika med Kjell i eftermiddag.I'm having coffee with Kjell this afternoon.
- Kjells mamma är lärare.Kjell's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Kjells mamma is Kjell's mum.
More names
Questions about Kjell
How do you pronounce Kjell in Swedish?
In IPA, Kjell is /ɕɛl/. Press Listen at the top of the page to hear it from a native speaker's recording.
What does the name Kjell mean?
Wiktionary describes it as a male given name popular in the mid-twentieth century. From Old Norse Ketill, from ketill (“(sacrificial) cauldron", "helmet”) and short for names containing this element. First recorded as a given name in Sweden in 1548.
How popular is Kjell in Sweden?
Fewer than two babies of either sex were named Kjell in 2022. In 2020, 26,700 people in Sweden had Kjell as the first name they go by. Among newborns the name has been falling 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.