Nisse
Meaning and origin
Wiktionary describes it as a diminutive of the male given name Nils, recorded since the Middle Ages.
Source: Wiktionary, Swedish entry for Nisse (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Popularity in Sweden
Among newborns, Nisse has been fairly steady 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 | Boys |
|---|---|
| 1998 | – |
| 1999 | – |
| 2000 | – |
| 2001 | – |
| 2002 | – |
| 2003 | – |
| 2004 | 3 |
| 2005 | 2 |
| 2006 | 3 |
| 2007 | – |
| 2008 | – |
| 2009 | 3 |
| 2010 | 7 |
| 2011 | 5 |
| 2012 | 3 |
| 2013 | 7 |
| 2014 | 6 |
| 2015 | 4 |
| 2016 | 3 |
| 2017 | 3 |
| 2018 | 4 |
| 2019 | 4 |
| 2020 | 5 |
| 2021 | 4 |
| 2022 | 2 |
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Men and boys |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 135 |
| 2000 | 137 |
| 2001 | 140 |
| 2002 | 143 |
| 2003 | 151 |
| 2004 | 151 |
| 2005 | 149 |
| 2006 | 148 |
| 2007 | 149 |
| 2008 | 153 |
| 2009 | 156 |
| 2010 | 163 |
| 2011 | 169 |
| 2012 | 172 |
| 2013 | 179 |
| 2014 | 183 |
| 2015 | 188 |
| 2016 | 192 |
| 2017 | 191 |
| 2018 | 192 |
| 2019 | 200 |
| 2020 | 204 |
Nisse in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Nisse.Hi! My name is Nisse.
- Nisse ringde och sa att han blir lite sen.Nisse called and said he'll be a bit late.
- Vet du om Nisse kommer på festen på lördag?Do you know if Nisse is coming to the party on Saturday?
- Nisses mamma är lärare.Nisse's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Nisses mamma is Nisse's mum.
More names
Questions about Nisse
How do you pronounce Nisse in Swedish?
Press Listen at the top of the page to hear Nisse in your device's Swedish voice.
What does the name Nisse mean?
Wiktionary describes it as a diminutive of the male given name Nils, recorded since the Middle Ages.
How popular is Nisse in Sweden?
2 babies were named Nisse in 2022. In 2020, 204 people in Sweden had Nisse as the first name they go by. Among newborns the name has been fairly steady 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.