Tova
Meaning and origin
An old Swedish equivalent of Tove. Recorded in runes and revived as a modern Swedish name since 1912.
Source: Wiktionary, Swedish entry for Tova (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Popularity in Sweden
Among newborns, Tova has been falling over the last few years. Its best year between 1998 and 2022 was 2004. 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 | 82 |
| 1999 | 138 |
| 2000 | 172 |
| 2001 | 173 |
| 2002 | 196 |
| 2003 | 200 |
| 2004 | 202 |
| 2005 | 174 |
| 2006 | 156 |
| 2007 | 127 |
| 2008 | 76 |
| 2009 | 86 |
| 2010 | 116 |
| 2011 | 79 |
| 2012 | 68 |
| 2013 | 67 |
| 2014 | 53 |
| 2015 | 44 |
| 2016 | 55 |
| 2017 | 40 |
| 2018 | 31 |
| 2019 | 36 |
| 2020 | 32 |
| 2021 | 33 |
| 2022 | 29 |
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Women and girls |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 752 |
| 2000 | 918 |
| 2001 | 1,092 |
| 2002 | 1,280 |
| 2003 | 1,479 |
| 2004 | 1,665 |
| 2005 | 1,838 |
| 2006 | 1,990 |
| 2007 | 2,113 |
| 2008 | 2,188 |
| 2009 | 2,284 |
| 2010 | 2,398 |
| 2011 | 2,471 |
| 2012 | 2,538 |
| 2013 | 2,604 |
| 2014 | 2,652 |
| 2015 | 2,692 |
| 2016 | 2,744 |
| 2017 | 2,783 |
| 2018 | 2,818 |
| 2019 | 2,843 |
| 2020 | 2,872 |
Tova in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Tova.Hi! My name is Tova.
- Tova ringde och sa att hon blir lite sen.Tova called and said she'll be a bit late.
- Vet du om Tova kommer på festen på lördag?Do you know if Tova is coming to the party on Saturday?
- Tovas mamma är lärare.Tova's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Tovas mamma is Tova's mum.
Related names and other spellings
More names
Questions about Tova
How do you pronounce Tova in Swedish?
Press Listen at the top of the page to hear Tova in your device's Swedish voice.
What does the name Tova mean?
An old Swedish equivalent of Tove. Recorded in runes and revived as a modern Swedish name since 1912.
How popular is Tova in Sweden?
29 babies were named Tova in 2022. In 2020, 2,872 people in Sweden had Tova as the first name they go by. Among newborns the name has been falling lately and peaked in 2004 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.