Svetlana
Meaning and origin
Wiktionary describes it as a female given name, common in Slavic nations in which Orthodox Christianity is established. Transliteration of Russian Светла́на (Svetlána), from свет (svet, “light”). Made up by Alexander Vostokov in 1802, later borrowed into English and other languages.
Source: Wiktionary, English entry for Svetlana (CC BY-SA 4.0). This is the origin of the name in English; families in Sweden may have taken it from another language.
Popularity in Sweden
Few babies have been given the name since 1998; it belongs mostly to older generations. 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 | – |
| 2002 | – |
| 2003 | – |
| 2004 | – |
| 2005 | – |
| 2006 | – |
| 2007 | – |
| 2008 | 2 |
| 2009 | – |
| 2010 | – |
| 2011 | – |
| 2012 | – |
| 2013 | – |
| 2014 | – |
| 2015 | – |
| 2016 | – |
| 2017 | – |
| 2018 | – |
| 2019 | – |
| 2020 | – |
| 2021 | – |
| 2022 | – |
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Women and girls |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 547 |
| 2000 | 579 |
| 2001 | 598 |
| 2002 | 637 |
| 2003 | 678 |
| 2004 | 707 |
| 2005 | 753 |
| 2006 | 799 |
| 2007 | 834 |
| 2008 | 880 |
| 2009 | 921 |
| 2010 | 961 |
| 2011 | 1,003 |
| 2012 | 1,040 |
| 2013 | 1,079 |
| 2014 | 1,114 |
| 2015 | 1,118 |
| 2016 | 1,138 |
| 2017 | 1,172 |
| 2018 | 1,181 |
| 2019 | 1,201 |
| 2020 | 1,202 |
Svetlana in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Svetlana.Hi! My name is Svetlana.
- Svetlana ringde och sa att hon blir lite sen.Svetlana called and said she'll be a bit late.
- Vet du om Svetlana kommer på festen på lördag?Do you know if Svetlana is coming to the party on Saturday?
- Svetlanas mamma är lärare.Svetlana's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Svetlanas mamma is Svetlana's mum.
More names
Questions about Svetlana
How do you pronounce Svetlana in Swedish?
Press Listen at the top of the page to hear Svetlana in your device's Swedish voice.
What does the name Svetlana mean?
Wiktionary describes it as a female given name, common in Slavic nations in which Orthodox Christianity is established. Transliteration of Russian Светла́на (Svetlána), from свет (svet, “light”). Made up by Alexander Vostokov in 1802, later borrowed into English and other languages.
How popular is Svetlana in Sweden?
Fewer than two babies of either sex were named Svetlana in 2022. In 2020, 1,202 people in Sweden had Svetlana as the first name they go by.
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.