Vidar
Meaning and origin
Wiktionary describes it as a male given name from Old Norse. From Old Norse Víðarr, from víðr (“wide”) + herr (“army”). First recorded as a given name in Sweden in 1827.
Source: Wiktionary, Swedish entry for Vidar (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Popularity in Sweden
Among newborns, Vidar has been fairly steady over the last few years. Its best year between 1998 and 2022 was 2017. 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 | 22 |
| 1999 | 18 |
| 2000 | 28 |
| 2001 | 27 |
| 2002 | 38 |
| 2003 | 52 |
| 2004 | 77 |
| 2005 | 97 |
| 2006 | 113 |
| 2007 | 149 |
| 2008 | 155 |
| 2009 | 168 |
| 2010 | 178 |
| 2011 | 192 |
| 2012 | 201 |
| 2013 | 242 |
| 2014 | 242 |
| 2015 | 269 |
| 2016 | 308 |
| 2017 | 312 |
| 2018 | 281 |
| 2019 | 303 |
| 2020 | 262 |
| 2021 | 262 |
| 2022 | 250 |
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Men and boys |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 527 |
| 2000 | 557 |
| 2001 | 585 |
| 2002 | 634 |
| 2003 | 686 |
| 2004 | 761 |
| 2005 | 858 |
| 2006 | 956 |
| 2007 | 1,094 |
| 2008 | 1,242 |
| 2009 | 1,410 |
| 2010 | 1,579 |
| 2011 | 1,768 |
| 2012 | 1,970 |
| 2013 | 2,205 |
| 2014 | 2,436 |
| 2015 | 2,701 |
| 2016 | 3,006 |
| 2017 | 3,311 |
| 2018 | 3,593 |
| 2019 | 3,877 |
| 2020 | 4,142 |
Vidar in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Vidar.Hi! My name is Vidar.
- Vidar ringde och sa att han blir lite sen.Vidar called and said he'll be a bit late.
- Vet du om Vidar kommer på festen på lördag?Do you know if Vidar is coming to the party on Saturday?
- Vidars mamma är lärare.Vidar's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Vidars mamma is Vidar's mum.
More names
Questions about Vidar
How do you pronounce Vidar in Swedish?
Press Listen at the top of the page to hear Vidar from a native speaker's recording.
What does the name Vidar mean?
Wiktionary describes it as a male given name from Old Norse. From Old Norse Víðarr, from víðr (“wide”) + herr (“army”). First recorded as a given name in Sweden in 1827.
How popular is Vidar in Sweden?
250 babies were named Vidar in 2022. In 2020, 4,142 people in Sweden had Vidar as the first name they go by. Among newborns the name has been fairly steady lately and peaked in 2017 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.