Rune
Meaning and origin
Masculine form of Runa, also from Old Norse Rúni. First recorded as a given name in Sweden in 1865.
Source: Wiktionary, Swedish entry for Rune (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Popularity in Sweden
Among newborns, Rune has been rising over the last few years. Its best year between 1998 and 2022 was 2021. 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 | 2 |
| 2005 | 2 |
| 2006 | 3 |
| 2007 | 4 |
| 2008 | 7 |
| 2009 | 3 |
| 2010 | 3 |
| 2011 | 6 |
| 2012 | 7 |
| 2013 | 4 |
| 2014 | 12 |
| 2015 | 9 |
| 2016 | 7 |
| 2017 | 12 |
| 2018 | 11 |
| 2019 | 17 |
| 2020 | 15 |
| 2021 | 24 |
| 2022 | 18 |
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Men and boys |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 15,644 |
| 2000 | 15,304 |
| 2001 | 14,970 |
| 2002 | 14,678 |
| 2003 | 14,271 |
| 2004 | 13,920 |
| 2005 | 13,547 |
| 2006 | 13,067 |
| 2007 | 12,618 |
| 2008 | 12,079 |
| 2009 | 11,625 |
| 2010 | 11,122 |
| 2011 | 10,641 |
| 2012 | 10,149 |
| 2013 | 9,708 |
| 2014 | 9,206 |
| 2015 | 8,732 |
| 2016 | 8,247 |
| 2017 | 7,802 |
| 2018 | 7,393 |
| 2019 | 7,025 |
| 2020 | 6,603 |
Rune in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Rune.Hi! My name is Rune.
- Rune ringde och sa att han blir lite sen.Rune called and said he'll be a bit late.
- Jag ska fika med Rune i eftermiddag.I'm having coffee with Rune this afternoon.
- Runes mamma är lärare.Rune's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Runes mamma is Rune's mum.
More names
Questions about Rune
How do you pronounce Rune in Swedish?
Press Listen at the top of the page to hear Rune from a native speaker's recording.
What does the name Rune mean?
Masculine form of Runa, also from Old Norse Rúni. First recorded as a given name in Sweden in 1865.
How popular is Rune in Sweden?
18 babies were named Rune in 2022. In 2020, 6,603 people in Sweden had Rune as the first name they go by. Among newborns the name has been rising lately and peaked in 2021 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.