Linnea
Meaning and origin
A flower name coined in the eighteenth century, from Linnaea borealis, twinflower, named after the Swedish botanist Carl von Linné (1707-1778). His original family name Linnaeus was a Latinization of Swedish Lind (“linden tree”). First recorded as a Swedish given name in 1842 as Linnaea.
Source: Wiktionary, Swedish entry for Linnea (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Popularity in Sweden
Among newborns, Linnea has been falling over the last few years. Its best year between 1998 and 2022 was 2010. 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 | 450 |
| 1999 | 424 |
| 2000 | 446 |
| 2001 | 411 |
| 2002 | 438 |
| 2003 | 428 |
| 2004 | 415 |
| 2005 | 423 |
| 2006 | 428 |
| 2007 | 405 |
| 2008 | 392 |
| 2009 | 400 |
| 2010 | 477 |
| 2011 | 428 |
| 2012 | 355 |
| 2013 | 345 |
| 2014 | 328 |
| 2015 | 303 |
| 2016 | 277 |
| 2017 | 228 |
| 2018 | 164 |
| 2019 | 111 |
| 2020 | 152 |
| 2021 | 139 |
| 2022 | 108 |
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Women and girls |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 8,099 |
| 2000 | 8,468 |
| 2001 | 8,803 |
| 2002 | 9,183 |
| 2003 | 9,523 |
| 2004 | 9,878 |
| 2005 | 10,228 |
| 2006 | 10,575 |
| 2007 | 10,902 |
| 2008 | 11,251 |
| 2009 | 11,581 |
| 2010 | 12,005 |
| 2011 | 12,363 |
| 2012 | 12,653 |
| 2013 | 12,937 |
| 2014 | 13,204 |
| 2015 | 13,466 |
| 2016 | 13,718 |
| 2017 | 13,900 |
| 2018 | 14,014 |
| 2019 | 14,077 |
| 2020 | 14,163 |
Linnea in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Linnea.Hi! My name is Linnea.
- Har du träffat Linnea? Hon började jobba här i måndags.Have you met Linnea? She started working here on Monday.
- Linnea har bott i Uppsala i tre år.Linnea has lived in Uppsala for three years.
- Linneas mamma är lärare.Linnea's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Linneas mamma is Linnea's mum.
Related names and other spellings
More names
Questions about Linnea
How do you pronounce Linnea in Swedish?
In IPA, Linnea is /lɪ²neːa/. Press Listen at the top of the page to hear it from a native speaker's recording.
What does the name Linnea mean?
A flower name coined in the eighteenth century, from Linnaea borealis, twinflower, named after the Swedish botanist Carl von Linné (1707-1778). His original family name Linnaeus was a Latinization of Swedish Lind (“linden tree”). First recorded as a Swedish given name in 1842 as Linnaea.
How popular is Linnea in Sweden?
108 babies were named Linnea in 2022. In 2020, 14,163 people in Sweden had Linnea as the first name they go by. Among newborns the name has been falling lately and peaked in 2010 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.