Svea
Meaning and origin
Wiktionary describes it as a female given name used since the 19th century. From old singular feminine form of svear (“Swedes”). Popularized as a name by Esaias Tegnér's poem Svea, published in 1817.
Source: Wiktionary, Swedish entry for Svea (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Popularity in Sweden
Among newborns, Svea has been fairly steady over the last few years. Its best year between 1998 and 2022 was 2013. 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 | – |
| 1999 | – |
| 2000 | – |
| 2001 | 11 |
| 2002 | 10 |
| 2003 | 23 |
| 2004 | 40 |
| 2005 | 66 |
| 2006 | 78 |
| 2007 | 110 |
| 2008 | 154 |
| 2009 | 185 |
| 2010 | 179 |
| 2011 | 173 |
| 2012 | 196 |
| 2013 | 217 |
| 2014 | 173 |
| 2015 | 178 |
| 2016 | 166 |
| 2017 | 175 |
| 2018 | 164 |
| 2019 | 175 |
| 2020 | 155 |
| 2021 | 183 |
| 2022 | 138 |
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Women and girls |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 11,372 |
| 2000 | 10,635 |
| 2001 | 9,962 |
| 2002 | 9,266 |
| 2003 | 8,608 |
| 2004 | 7,987 |
| 2005 | 7,431 |
| 2006 | 6,936 |
| 2007 | 6,533 |
| 2008 | 6,183 |
| 2009 | 5,896 |
| 2010 | 5,655 |
| 2011 | 5,423 |
| 2012 | 5,262 |
| 2013 | 5,142 |
| 2014 | 5,041 |
| 2015 | 4,920 |
| 2016 | 4,840 |
| 2017 | 4,764 |
| 2018 | 4,711 |
| 2019 | 4,663 |
| 2020 | 4,622 |
Svea in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Svea.Hi! My name is Svea.
- Svea har bott i Uppsala i tre år.Svea has lived in Uppsala for three years.
- Vet du om Svea kommer på festen på lördag?Do you know if Svea is coming to the party on Saturday?
- Sveas mamma är lärare.Svea's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Sveas mamma is Svea's mum.
More names
Questions about Svea
How do you pronounce Svea in Swedish?
Press Listen at the top of the page to hear Svea in your device's Swedish voice.
What does the name Svea mean?
Wiktionary describes it as a female given name used since the 19th century. From old singular feminine form of svear (“Swedes”). Popularized as a name by Esaias Tegnér's poem Svea, published in 1817.
How popular is Svea in Sweden?
138 babies were named Svea in 2022. In 2020, 4,622 people in Sweden had Svea as the first name they go by. Among newborns the name has been fairly steady lately and peaked in 2013 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.