Leif
Meaning and origin
From Norwegian Leif, from Old Norse Leifr. First recorded as a given name in Sweden in 1852.
Source: Wiktionary, Swedish entry for Leif (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Popularity in Sweden
Among newborns, Leif has been rising over the last few years. Its best year between 1998 and 2022 was 2019. 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 | 4 |
| 2006 | 2 |
| 2007 | 4 |
| 2008 | 4 |
| 2009 | 2 |
| 2010 | – |
| 2011 | 5 |
| 2012 | – |
| 2013 | 3 |
| 2014 | 4 |
| 2015 | 5 |
| 2016 | 5 |
| 2017 | 3 |
| 2018 | – |
| 2019 | 7 |
| 2020 | 7 |
| 2021 | 5 |
| 2022 | 5 |
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Men and boys |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 44,888 |
| 2000 | 44,341 |
| 2001 | 43,792 |
| 2002 | 43,265 |
| 2003 | 42,775 |
| 2004 | 42,230 |
| 2005 | 41,699 |
| 2006 | 41,194 |
| 2007 | 40,727 |
| 2008 | 40,297 |
| 2009 | 39,897 |
| 2010 | 39,459 |
| 2011 | 38,974 |
| 2012 | 38,453 |
| 2013 | 37,943 |
| 2014 | 37,386 |
| 2015 | 36,795 |
| 2016 | 36,166 |
| 2017 | 35,491 |
| 2018 | 34,739 |
| 2019 | 34,006 |
| 2020 | 33,083 |
Leif in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Leif.Hi! My name is Leif.
- Leif ringde och sa att han blir lite sen.Leif called and said he'll be a bit late.
- Jag ska fika med Leif i eftermiddag.I'm having coffee with Leif this afternoon.
- Leifs mamma är lärare.Leif's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Leifs mamma is Leif's mum.
More names
Questions about Leif
How do you pronounce Leif in Swedish?
In IPA, Leif is /ˈlɛjf/. Press Listen at the top of the page to hear it in your device's Swedish voice.
What does the name Leif mean?
From Norwegian Leif, from Old Norse Leifr. First recorded as a given name in Sweden in 1852.
How popular is Leif in Sweden?
5 babies were named Leif in 2022. In 2020, 33,083 people in Sweden had Leif as the first name they go by. Among newborns the name has been rising lately and peaked in 2019 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.