Knut
Meaning and origin
From Old Norse Knútr, cognate with Danish Knud and English Canute.
Source: Wiktionary, Swedish entry for Knut (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Popularity in Sweden
Among newborns, Knut has been rising over the last few years. Its best year between 1998 and 2022 was 2021. 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 | 14 |
| 2000 | 10 |
| 2001 | 14 |
| 2002 | 20 |
| 2003 | 11 |
| 2004 | 21 |
| 2005 | 18 |
| 2006 | 13 |
| 2007 | 17 |
| 2008 | 44 |
| 2009 | 47 |
| 2010 | 72 |
| 2011 | 58 |
| 2012 | 64 |
| 2013 | 79 |
| 2014 | 85 |
| 2015 | 77 |
| 2016 | 103 |
| 2017 | 87 |
| 2018 | 85 |
| 2019 | 101 |
| 2020 | 108 |
| 2021 | 125 |
| 2022 | 118 |
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Women and girls | Men and boys |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 18 | 11,840 |
| 2000 | 16 | 11,190 |
| 2001 | 16 | 10,580 |
| 2002 | 14 | 10,003 |
| 2003 | 15 | 9,471 |
| 2004 | 14 | 8,973 |
| 2005 | 14 | 8,477 |
| 2006 | 13 | 8,028 |
| 2007 | 13 | 7,617 |
| 2008 | 10 | 7,261 |
| 2009 | 10 | 6,899 |
| 2010 | 10 | 6,598 |
| 2011 | 10 | 6,282 |
| 2012 | 10 | 6,008 |
| 2013 | 10 | 5,753 |
| 2014 | 10 | 5,533 |
| 2015 | 10 | 5,310 |
| 2016 | 10 | 5,110 |
| 2017 | 10 | 4,924 |
| 2018 | 10 | 4,733 |
| 2019 | 11 | 4,584 |
| 2020 | 11 | 4,462 |
Knut in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Knut.Hi! My name is Knut.
- Knut ringde och sa att han blir lite sen.Knut called and said he'll be a bit late.
- Vet du om Knut kommer på festen på lördag?Do you know if Knut is coming to the party on Saturday?
- Knuts mamma är lärare.Knut's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Knuts mamma is Knut's mum.
More names
Questions about Knut
How do you pronounce Knut in Swedish?
In IPA, Knut is /knʉːt/. Press Listen at the top of the page to hear it in your device's Swedish voice.
What does the name Knut mean?
From Old Norse Knútr, cognate with Danish Knud and English Canute.
How popular is Knut in Sweden?
118 babies were named Knut in 2022. In 2020, 4,473 people in Sweden had Knut as the first name they go by. Among newborns the name has been rising lately and peaked in 2021 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.