Magdalena
Meaning and origin
Wiktionary describes it as a female given name, equivalent to English Magdalene. From Ancient Greek Μαγδαληνή (Magdalēnḗ, “woman from Magdala”).
Source: Wiktionary, Swedish entry for Magdalena (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Popularity in Sweden
Among newborns, Magdalena has been falling over the last few years. Its best year between 1998 and 2022 was 1999. 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 | 51 |
| 1999 | 54 |
| 2000 | 43 |
| 2001 | 41 |
| 2002 | 39 |
| 2003 | 34 |
| 2004 | 21 |
| 2005 | 23 |
| 2006 | 25 |
| 2007 | 24 |
| 2008 | 14 |
| 2009 | 21 |
| 2010 | 16 |
| 2011 | 24 |
| 2012 | 9 |
| 2013 | 16 |
| 2014 | 10 |
| 2015 | 12 |
| 2016 | 14 |
| 2017 | 18 |
| 2018 | 8 |
| 2019 | 9 |
| 2020 | 6 |
| 2021 | 7 |
| 2022 | 9 |
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Women and girls |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 4,185 |
| 2000 | 4,266 |
| 2001 | 4,370 |
| 2002 | 4,457 |
| 2003 | 4,548 |
| 2004 | 4,634 |
| 2005 | 4,695 |
| 2006 | 4,828 |
| 2007 | 4,940 |
| 2008 | 5,053 |
| 2009 | 5,143 |
| 2010 | 5,217 |
| 2011 | 5,285 |
| 2012 | 5,312 |
| 2013 | 5,402 |
| 2014 | 5,480 |
| 2015 | 5,552 |
| 2016 | 5,613 |
| 2017 | 5,676 |
| 2018 | 5,702 |
| 2019 | 5,719 |
| 2020 | 5,741 |
Magdalena in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Magdalena.Hi! My name is Magdalena.
- Magdalena bor i Göteborg och pluggar till sjuksköterska.Magdalena lives in Gothenburg and is training to be a nurse.
- Magdalena har bott i Uppsala i tre år.Magdalena has lived in Uppsala for three years.
- Magdalenas mamma är lärare.Magdalena's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Magdalenas mamma is Magdalena's mum.
More names
Questions about Magdalena
How do you pronounce Magdalena in Swedish?
Press Listen at the top of the page to hear Magdalena from a native speaker's recording.
What does the name Magdalena mean?
Wiktionary describes it as a female given name, equivalent to English Magdalene. From Ancient Greek Μαγδαληνή (Magdalēnḗ, “woman from Magdala”).
How popular is Magdalena in Sweden?
9 babies were named Magdalena in 2022. In 2020, 5,741 people in Sweden had Magdalena as the first name they go by. Among newborns the name has been falling lately and peaked in 1999 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.