Zelda
Meaning and origin
Wiktionary describes it as a female given name from the Germanic languages. Shortened from Griselda.
Source: Wiktionary, English entry for Zelda (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
Among newborns, Zelda has been rising over the last few years. Its best year between 1998 and 2022 was 2021. 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 | 5 |
| 2005 | 17 |
| 2006 | 11 |
| 2007 | 13 |
| 2008 | 19 |
| 2009 | 24 |
| 2010 | 27 |
| 2011 | 30 |
| 2012 | 28 |
| 2013 | 27 |
| 2014 | 46 |
| 2015 | 39 |
| 2016 | 42 |
| 2017 | 39 |
| 2018 | 45 |
| 2019 | 61 |
| 2020 | 65 |
| 2021 | 72 |
| 2022 | 56 |
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Women and girls |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 16 |
| 2000 | 23 |
| 2001 | 33 |
| 2002 | 40 |
| 2003 | 50 |
| 2004 | 57 |
| 2005 | 73 |
| 2006 | 85 |
| 2007 | 99 |
| 2008 | 120 |
| 2009 | 142 |
| 2010 | 168 |
| 2011 | 198 |
| 2012 | 227 |
| 2013 | 253 |
| 2014 | 300 |
| 2015 | 342 |
| 2016 | 384 |
| 2017 | 425 |
| 2018 | 473 |
| 2019 | 534 |
| 2020 | 595 |
Zelda in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Zelda.Hi! My name is Zelda.
- Zelda ringde och sa att hon blir lite sen.Zelda called and said she'll be a bit late.
- Zelda har bott i Uppsala i tre år.Zelda has lived in Uppsala for three years.
- Zeldas mamma är lärare.Zelda's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Zeldas mamma is Zelda's mum.
More names
Questions about Zelda
How do you pronounce Zelda in Swedish?
Press Listen at the top of the page to hear Zelda in your device's Swedish voice.
What does the name Zelda mean?
Wiktionary describes it as a female given name from the Germanic languages. Shortened from Griselda.
How popular is Zelda in Sweden?
56 babies were named Zelda in 2022. In 2020, 595 people in Sweden had Zelda as the first name they go by. Among newborns the name has been rising lately and peaked in 2021 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.