Smilla
Meaning and origin
Wiktionary describes it as a female given name of modern usage. From Danish Smilla, or directly from the Swedish translation of Peter Høeg's book.
Source: Wiktionary, Swedish entry for Smilla (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Popularity in Sweden
Among newborns, Smilla has been falling over the last few years. Its best year between 1998 and 2022 was 2002. 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 | 11 |
| 1999 | 33 |
| 2000 | 48 |
| 2001 | 72 |
| 2002 | 128 |
| 2003 | 120 |
| 2004 | 113 |
| 2005 | 109 |
| 2006 | 103 |
| 2007 | 102 |
| 2008 | 108 |
| 2009 | 86 |
| 2010 | 100 |
| 2011 | 69 |
| 2012 | 66 |
| 2013 | 39 |
| 2014 | 48 |
| 2015 | 38 |
| 2016 | 16 |
| 2017 | 22 |
| 2018 | 14 |
| 2019 | 9 |
| 2020 | 12 |
| 2021 | 18 |
| 2022 | 17 |
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Women and girls |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 51 |
| 2000 | 95 |
| 2001 | 169 |
| 2002 | 294 |
| 2003 | 407 |
| 2004 | 520 |
| 2005 | 622 |
| 2006 | 720 |
| 2007 | 823 |
| 2008 | 931 |
| 2009 | 1,023 |
| 2010 | 1,119 |
| 2011 | 1,186 |
| 2012 | 1,255 |
| 2013 | 1,297 |
| 2014 | 1,348 |
| 2015 | 1,384 |
| 2016 | 1,404 |
| 2017 | 1,422 |
| 2018 | 1,436 |
| 2019 | 1,442 |
| 2020 | 1,452 |
Smilla in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Smilla.Hi! My name is Smilla.
- Smilla ringde och sa att hon blir lite sen.Smilla called and said she'll be a bit late.
- Vet du om Smilla kommer på festen på lördag?Do you know if Smilla is coming to the party on Saturday?
- Smillas mamma är lärare.Smilla's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Smillas mamma is Smilla's mum.
More names
Questions about Smilla
How do you pronounce Smilla in Swedish?
Press Listen at the top of the page to hear Smilla from a native speaker's recording.
What does the name Smilla mean?
Wiktionary describes it as a female given name of modern usage. From Danish Smilla, or directly from the Swedish translation of Peter Høeg's book.
How popular is Smilla in Sweden?
17 babies were named Smilla in 2022. In 2020, 1,452 people in Sweden had Smilla as the first name they go by. Among newborns the name has been falling lately and peaked in 2002 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.