Magnus
Meaning and origin
A Latinization of Old Norse Magni, influenced by Latin magnus (“great”). First recorded as a given name in Sweden in the 12th century.
Source: Wiktionary, Swedish entry for Magnus (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Popularity in Sweden
Among newborns, Magnus has been fairly steady over the last few years. Its best year between 1998 and 2022 was 1998. 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 | 78 |
| 1999 | 44 |
| 2000 | 50 |
| 2001 | 49 |
| 2002 | 42 |
| 2003 | 29 |
| 2004 | 24 |
| 2005 | 30 |
| 2006 | 17 |
| 2007 | 17 |
| 2008 | 17 |
| 2009 | 25 |
| 2010 | 18 |
| 2011 | 10 |
| 2012 | 11 |
| 2013 | 8 |
| 2014 | 13 |
| 2015 | 12 |
| 2016 | 6 |
| 2017 | 9 |
| 2018 | 8 |
| 2019 | 9 |
| 2020 | 8 |
| 2021 | 9 |
| 2022 | 15 |
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Men and boys |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 38,534 |
| 2000 | 39,200 |
| 2001 | 39,770 |
| 2002 | 40,298 |
| 2003 | 41,073 |
| 2004 | 41,490 |
| 2005 | 41,475 |
| 2006 | 41,730 |
| 2007 | 41,730 |
| 2008 | 41,962 |
| 2009 | 41,923 |
| 2010 | 41,877 |
| 2011 | 41,846 |
| 2012 | 41,797 |
| 2013 | 41,763 |
| 2014 | 41,689 |
| 2015 | 41,664 |
| 2016 | 41,640 |
| 2017 | 41,614 |
| 2018 | 41,581 |
| 2019 | 41,611 |
| 2020 | 41,642 |
Magnus in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Magnus.Hi! My name is Magnus.
- Har du träffat Magnus? Han började jobba här i måndags.Have you met Magnus? He started working here on Monday.
- Jag ska fika med Magnus i eftermiddag.I'm having coffee with Magnus this afternoon.
- Magnus mamma är lärare.Magnus's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Magnus mamma is Magnus's mum. Because Magnus already ends in s, nothing is added.
More names
Questions about Magnus
How do you pronounce Magnus in Swedish?
In IPA, Magnus is /¹maŋnɵs/. Press Listen at the top of the page to hear it in your device's Swedish voice.
What does the name Magnus mean?
A Latinization of Old Norse Magni, influenced by Latin magnus (“great”). First recorded as a given name in Sweden in the 12th century.
How popular is Magnus in Sweden?
15 babies were named Magnus in 2022. In 2020, 41,642 people in Sweden had Magnus as the first name they go by. Among newborns the name has been fairly steady lately and peaked in 1998 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.