Can we talk about Swedish names?

Scarlett&Gatsby

My background is mostly Swedish (three of my great-grandparents were off-the-boat Swedes), and I've been thinking that might be a good way to honor my family with the next baby.

Girls

Dagny - probably my favorite, but do you automatically go to Atlas Shrugged? We're not really Ayn Rand people...

Signe (or Signy) - absolutely too unheard of?

Sonja - a good choice because my (now-deceased) grandfather wanted this to be my mother's name. We don't really want another name ending in A, though.

Astrid - I love it, but I don't think DH will ever get past The Office joke.

Marina - I love this name, but I don't know that it's "Swedish enough." It's a name in like, a million languages.

 

Boys

Lars (or Larson) - really reflective of my mom's family because Larson is her maiden name. I like Lars as a FN for a boy and Larson as a MN for either sex.

Alfred - my grandfather's name (not the dead one)

Otto - works because it has significance in German as well (DH's primary background); kind of weird with our LN

 

Thoughts? Suggestions?

 

Dr.Loretta

I never read Atlas Shrugged, but I'm not a fan of Dagny

I like Signe or Signy. Just be prepared to help people learn to spell/pronounce it

Love Sonja

I can't get past the Office Astrid joke either, sorry

Marina is beautiful, and I like that it works across languages. You could always pair it with a more Swedish MN

Other options: Annika, Britta, Sigrid, Ulrika, Gretel. Also from the Swedish Royal Family, Silvia, Victoria, Estelle, Madeleine, Ingrid

I love your boy names, and think any one could work

Other options: Daniel, Gustav, Alrik, Bjorn, Hans, Magnus, Mattias, Soren, Sven

WolFox

I like Sonja and Astrid.... I like the look of Signe/y, but I have no idea how to pronounce it (sorry :-(     )  When I see Marina I thing of the place where you put your boat.... 

Manderlin923

I love Sonja & Larson.

Scarlett&Gatsby

Dr.Loretta said:

I never read Atlas Shrugged, but I'm not a fan of Dagny

I like Signe or Signy. Just be prepared to help people learn to spell/pronounce it

Love Sonja

I can't get past the Office Astrid joke either, sorry

Marina is beautiful, and I like that it works across languages. You could always pair it with a more Swedish MN

Other options: Annika, Britta, Sigrid, Ulrika, Gretel. Also from the Swedish Royal Family, Silvia, Victoria, Estelle, Madeleine, Ingrid

I love your boy names, and think any one could work

Other options: Daniel, Gustav, Alrik, Bjorn, Hans, Magnus, Mattias, Soren, Sven

These are great suggestions! Thanks!

Scarlett&Gatsby

WolFox said:

I like Sonja and Astrid.... I like the look of Signe/y, but I have no idea how to pronounce it (sorry :-(     )  When I see Marina I thing of the place where you put your boat.... 

I believe it's SIG-nee.

WolFox

Scarlett&Gatsby said:

WolFox said:

I like Sonja and Astrid.... I like the look of Signe/y, but I have no idea how to pronounce it (sorry :-(     )  When I see Marina I thing of the place where you put your boat.... 

I believe it's SIG-nee.

Thanks! It reminds me of Sidney, but I knew a terrible Sidney so I'll have remove myself from that discussion haha. It may be one of those names where I love how it looks but not how it sounds... 

SplashingFishy

I'm a Sonja and I love my name. Sure it gets mispronounced, but that's not really a huge deal to me.

WolFox

@splashingfishy    I LOVE your siggy gif. In this context it looks likes he's dancing and singing "I love my name, I'm awesome, screw you, yea buddy, Sonja rocks...."

ChelsiAnn13

I like Dagny, Signy ( I would pronounce Signe as sign if I just looked at it but I don't mind the spelling), and Astrid.
I like Lars and Magnus. Otto is okay.

diamondduck13

I like Dagny or Sonja. Marina sounds pretty, but agree with PP when reading it my first association is a place for boats

msmerymac

I like Astrid, Otto and Larson. 

I like Dagny in theory, but I'd avoid it due to the Ayn Rand association.

Cat&S

I like most of the names you have listed, as well as Swedish names in general. But I do have a hard time picturing Alfred or Otto on a child.

My favorite Swedish or Norse boy name is Torsten.

bobcee

Love Sonja. Of the boys I think Otto is my favorite though all I think of when I hear it is A Fish Called Wanda. Love pp suggestion of Mattias.

zaramarie81

Love Sonja and Lars!

jburdet1

I really like Signy and I actually pronounced it correctly, so I'm proud of myself
I also like Dagny, but it does come off a little harsh. After saying it a few times, I find it cute and spunky.
My favorite of the boy names is Larson. I prefer it as a fn and use Lars as a nn.

Marsee

I like Dagny. Very few people IRL (in my experience) even know who Ayn Rand is. Just asked my FIL if he ever read Atlas Shrugged and he had no idea what I was talking about.

I also like Lars/Larson.

macska3

Scarlett&Gatsby said:

Dagny How is this pronounced? Dag-knee? Not a fan.

Signe (or Signy) Is this sig-knee? Still really confused

Sonja beautiful and easy to pronounce!

Astrid love it!

Marina pretty!

Boys

Lars (or Larson) Lars reminds me of Mars and I think of Arson when I hear Larson.

Alfred not bad--I just think of Batman's butler.

Otto not bad, would be a good MN.

Scarlett&Gatsby

nadchael said:

Scarlett&Gatsby said:

Dagny How is this pronounced? Dag-knee? Not a fan.

Signe (or Signy) Is this sig-knee? Still really confused

Sonja beautiful and easy to pronounce!

Astrid love it!

Marina pretty!

Boys

Lars (or Larson) Lars reminds me of Mars and I think of Arson when I hear Larson.

Alfred not bad--I just think of Batman's butler.

Otto not bad, would be a good MN.

You have the pronunciations of Dagny and Signe right. Thanks for your comments!

drunkindonuts

I like Marina and Larson. I do associate marina with boating, but that's not a negative thing.

Scarlett&Gatsby

DaisyBlinks said:

I like all your girl names, except Astrid, which I feel is a little too harsh, especially with the sibset. I particularly love Dagny and Sonja. (did you know that I've considered Sonja? Also, did you know that I'm like, half Swedish? True story.)

I love all the boys names. And I think Otto sounds just fine with your LN. 

Whaaaat?! It's like I don't even know you any more.

Scarlett&Gatsby

DaisyBlinks said:

Scarlett&Gatsby said:

DaisyBlinks said:

I like all your girl names, except Astrid, which I feel is a little too harsh, especially with the sibset. I particularly love Dagny and Sonja. (did you know that I've considered Sonja? Also, did you know that I'm like, half Swedish? True story.)

I love all the boys names. And I think Otto sounds just fine with your LN. 

Whaaaat?! It's like I don't even know you any more.

Yeah my dad is almost completely Swedish (My grandmother's name is Astrid! You KNEW this, right?). My mom is 100% German. DH is pretty much 100% German. We consider ourselves a German family but the Swedish is THERE.

You know, I should've figured, with Grandma Astrid...

You should own that heritage. OWN it.

oliversbear

Of the girl names, I really like Astrid.
Boys, my choice would be Lars.

Other suggestions:
Girls:  Karina, Inger
Boys:  Jens, Per

annabelle.27

I am the first to admit my Swedish is not up to par and I am going to feel like an idiot if you are a fluent speaker, but I think the pronunciation of Signe is actually more like SEEN-uh...? I took Swedish classes some time ago and something about sig-nee isn't sounding right

JaysonandKristin

annabelle.27 said:

I am the first to admit my Swedish is not up to par and I am going to feel like an idiot if you are a fluent speaker, but I think the pronunciation of Signe is actually more like SEEN-uh...? I took Swedish classes some time ago and something about sig-nee isn't sounding right

I just went through a few pronunciations via the internet, and this is how I've heard it pronounced as well.  What am I missing?

In any event, I like all of your names.

Sonja and Otto are my favorites.   

Scarlett&Gatsby

JaysonandKristin said:

annabelle.27 said:

I am the first to admit my Swedish is not up to par and I am going to feel like an idiot if you are a fluent speaker, but I think the pronunciation of Signe is actually more like SEEN-uh...? I took Swedish classes some time ago and something about sig-nee isn't sounding right

I just went through a few pronunciations via the internet, and this is how I've heard it pronounced as well.  What am I missing?

In any event, I like all of your names.

Sonja and Otto are my favorites.   

I don't think you're missing anything. The quick research I'd done indicated "SIG-nee" (perhaps there was no pronunciation listed and I assumed it was pronounced phonetically, since it was on an English site?). I could have sworn it was SIG-nee do to some level of research, but it's honestly been a while since I looked into the name.

ladameperdue

I worked with a Signe last year (she was Danish though) and she pronounced it See-na.

Eilis123

I'll also vote for Lars and Astrid, out of your list.    

Other names I haven't seen mentioned here yet are Elsa, Elina, and Linnea for girls, and Benedikt for a boy.

I'm Swedish, husband is Portuguese (how is that for a weird ethnic mix?)  Our 16 month old is Annika Cristina, number 2 will be Elsa Juliana if it is a girl.  If it is a boy...well we are still disagreeing about that

mrstengallonhat1

For the girls, I actually do like Dagny and Signe!  I'm also a fan of Elin, but that's just me.

For the boys, I really like Lars and Otto.

Great lists!

queenbone

I like Astrid best.

Is Sigrid a possible option? Something about Signe seems off to me, like it isn't a name.

Dagney doesn't seem very feminine to me because it reminds me of Dabney, like the actor Dabney Coleman. I think it is the ucommonness and similarity of both names that does it for me.

Sonja and Marina are both lovely, buut I do like the idea of using a non -a ending for #3, hense my vote for Astrid.

I like Lars and Otto for a boy.

swarley+sparkles

No suggestions, but I LOVE Dagny and Astrid! I kind of like Otto as well, more of a GP name.

ramoseecology

Sonja and Lars are my favorites. I like PP suggestions of Annika, and Mattias.