How popular is the baby name Johan in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Find out using the graph below! Plus, check out all the blog posts that mention the name Johan.

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Popularity of the Baby Name Johan


Posts that Mention the Name Johan

What popularized the baby name Oscar in Scandinavia?

Oscar I of Sweden (as crown prince, in 1823)
Oscar I of Sweden

For a number of generations, the name Oscar has been particularly popular in Scandinavia — that is, the countries of Sweden, Norway, and Denmark.

Why?

The simplest answer is King Oscar I of Sweden. But the more accurate answer, in my opinion, is Napoleon.

The story starts with Scottish poet James Macpherson, who, during the early 1760s, published a series of epic poems. He claimed that they were his translations of 3rd-century Scottish Gaelic poems by a bard named Ossian, but many of his contemporaries were suspicious of this claim. (The current consensus is that they were composed by Macpherson himself and based largely upon Irish mythology. The name Ossian, for instance, is Macpherson’s interpretation of the Irish name Oisín.)

Despite the controversy, Macpherson’s poems became extremely popular throughout Europe. And they were very influential: “[I]t is arguable that these poems constitute one of the canonical Ur-texts of the romantic nationalisms which spread across the Continent” over the century that followed.

French military officer Napoleon was among the prominent admirers of Macpherson’s poems.

Incidentally, Napoleon had tried his hand at writing. One of his unpublished novels, Clisson et Eugénie, written in 1795, was based in part upon his relationship with then-fiancée Désirée Clary.

He ended up marrying a different woman, Josephine, in March of 1796.

And former fiancée Désirée went on to marry a different French military officer, Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte, in August of 1798.

Oscar Bernadotte (as a child, circa 1806) who later became Oscar I of Sweden
Oscar Bernadotte (circa 1806)

Désirée gave birth to the couple’s only child, a boy, in July of 1799. The baby was named Joseph François Oscar Bernadotte. “Joseph” was in honor of the baby’s uncle, Joseph Bonaparte — Napoléon’s brother, who happened to be married to Desiree’s sister. “François,” I presume, was a patriotic nod to France. And “Oscar”? Included at the suggestion of godfather Napoleon, the name Oscar referred to a heroic character from Macpherson’s poems. (Oscar was Ossian’s son.)

Later the same year, Napoleon became First Consul of the French Republic.

In May of 1804, he declared himself Emperor. Soon after, he promoted Bernadotte (and seventeen other generals) to the rank of Marshal of the Empire.

Bernadotte continued fighting in the Napoleonic Wars throughout the rest of the decade.

Then, in August of 1810, Bernadotte was unexpectedly invited to become heir-presumptive to the Swedish throne. The king of Sweden at the time, Carl XIII, was elderly and had no male heir.

(Why would the Swedes ask a Frenchman with no royal blood to rule their country? For several reasons, including: he had strong ties to Napoleon, he had proven military and administrative abilities, and, not least of all, “he already had a son to ensure the succession.”)

Bernadotte accepted. Several months later, he moved his family to Sweden. converted to Lutheranism, and was legally adopted by the king — thus becoming the country’s crown prince.

He became the de facto head of state right away, playing a key part in the formation of the Sixth Coalition (which fought against Napoleon from 1813 to mid-1814) and gaining control of Norway to create the United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway (later in 1814).

In 1818, Carl XIII passed away. Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte — under the regnal name Carl XIV Johan — ascended to become King of Sweden and Norway. His wife Désirée became queen, and their son Oscar became crown prince.

Oscar I of Sweden (in the 1850s)
Oscar I of Sweden

More than a quarter century later, in 1844, Carl XIV Johan (Bernadotte) himself passed away, and Oscar succeeded his father as King of Sweden and Norway.

This explains the popularity of the name Oscar in the countries of Sweden and Norway, but what about Denmark? Usage started to increase there in 1848, when King Oscar sided with Denmark (instead of Germany) in the territorial dispute over Schleswig and Holstein.

Usage of the name is still strong in all three countries today. In 2021, the baby name Oscar/Oskar ranked 14th in Sweden, 2nd in Norway, and 1st in Denmark.

Outside of Scandinavia, it came in 8th in England and Wales, 27th in Scotland, 30th in Ireland, and 44th in Northern Ireland.

Speaking of England and Ireland…the name Oscar became trendy in England during the 1880s and 1890s thanks to Irish poet and playwright Oscar Wilde. Not long after he was born, in late 1854, his mother wrote to a friend: “He is to be called Oscar Fingal Wilde. Is not that grand, misty, and Ossianic?”

What are your thoughts on the name Oscar?

Sources:

P.S. The House of Bernadotte remains the royal family of Sweden to this day. Descendants of Carl XIV Johan include Prince Bertil (b. 1912) and Princess Estelle (b. 2012).

Popular baby names in the Faroe Islands, 2021

Faroe

The Faroe Islands, which are part of the kingdom of Denmark, are a North Atlantic archipelago located between Iceland and Scotland‘s Shetland Islands.

Last year, the Faroes welcomed 683 babies — 327 girls and 356 boys.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Lea/Lív (tie) and Jónas.

Here are the Faroe Islands’ top 20+ girl names and top 30+ boy names of 2021:

Girl Names

  1. Lea, 7 baby girls (tie)
  2. Lív, 7 (tie)
  3. Emma, 5 (4-way tie)
  4. Julia, 5 (4-way tie)
  5. Ria, 5 (4-way tie)
  6. Sólja, 5 (4-way tie)
  7. Hjørdis, 4 (6-way tie)
  8. Isabella, 4 (6-way tie)
  9. Nora, 4 (6-way tie)
  10. Ronja, 4 (6-way tie)
  11. Sofía, 4 (6-way tie)
  12. Vár, 4 (6-way tie)
  13. Alda, 3 (13-way tie)
  14. Amalia, 3 (13-way tie)
  15. Ann, 3 (13-way tie)
  16. Anna, 3 (13-way tie)
  17. Bára, 3 (13-way tie)
  18. Eva, 3 (13-way tie)
  19. Eyð, 3 (13-way tie)
  20. Joan, 3 (13-way tie)
  21. Klara, 3 (13-way tie)
  22. Liva, 3 (13-way tie)
  23. Maria, 3 (13-way tie)
  24. Olivia, 3 (13-way tie)
  25. Petra, 3 (13-way tie)

Boy Names

  1. Jónas, 10 baby boys
  2. Nóa, 9
  3. Andrias, 6 (4-way tie)
  4. Jógvan, 6 (4-way tie)
  5. Markus, 6 (4-way tie)
  6. Mattias, 6 (4-way tie)
  7. Adrian, 5 (4-way tie)
  8. Gilli, 5 (4-way tie)
  9. Jákup, 5 (4-way tie)
  10. Tróndur, 5 (4-way tie)
  11. Bragi, 4 (9-way tie)
  12. Brandur, 4 (9-way tie)
  13. Brimir, 4 (9-way tie)
  14. Hjalti, 4 (9-way tie)
  15. Jóhan, 4 (9-way tie)
  16. Liam, 4 (9-way tie)
  17. Ólavur, 4 (9-way tie)
  18. Óli, 4 (9-way tie)
  19. Ragnar, 4 (9-way tie)
  20. Áki, 3 (14-way tie)
  21. Benjamin, 3 (14-way tie)
  22. Dávid, 3 (14-way tie)
  23. Elias, 3 (14-way tie)
  24. Filip, 3 (14-way tie)
  25. Hans, 3 (14-way tie)
  26. Jens, 3 (14-way tie)
  27. Jóel, 3 (14-way tie)
  28. Jón, 3 (14-way tie)
  29. Kári, 3 (14-way tie)
  30. Leon, 3 (14-way tie)
  31. Silas, 3 (14-way tie)
  32. Teitur, 3 (14-way tie)
  33. Uni, 3 (14-way tie)

Some of the other baby names bestowed in the Faroe Islands in 2021 include…

  • Brá (2 girls), based on the Old Norse word brá, meaing “eyelash.”
  • Brosi (1 boy), based on the Old Norse word brosa, meaning “to smile.”
  • Drós (1 girl), based on an Old Norse word meaning “woman.”
  • Fípa (1 girl), based on the Old Norse word fífa, meaning “cotton grass.”
  • Flykra (1 girl), means “(snow) flake” in Faroese.
  • Glæma (1 girl), means “ray of light” in Faroese.
  • Glóð (2 girls), based on an Old Norse word meaning “ember, glow.”
  • Røskva (1 girl), based on an Old Norse word meaning “vigorous, brave.”
  • Smæra (1 girl), means “clover” in Faroese.
  • Urð (1 girl), based on an Old Norse word meaning “fate, destiny.”

In 2020, the top names in the Faroe Islands were Anna/Olivia (tie) and Benjamin/Elias/Lukas (3-way tie).

Sources: Statistical Database (Names) – Hagstova Føroya, Faroe Islands – Wikipedia, Nordic Names

Popular baby names in Denmark, 2021

Copenhagen, Denmark

The country of Denmark, which is located in northern Europe and shares a border with only Germany, consists of two-thirds of the Jutland peninsula plus an archipelago of hundreds of islands.

Last year, Denmark welcomed 63,473 babies. The most popular names among these babies? Alma and Oscar.

Here are Denmark’s top 50 girl names and top 50 boy names of 2021:

Girl Names

  1. Alma, 482 baby girls
  2. Ida, 474
  3. Clara, 437
  4. Ella, 436
  5. Olivia, 428
  6. Freja, 425
  7. Emma, 420
  8. Luna, 411
  9. Agnes, 410
  10. Nora, 398
  11. Karla, 393 (tie)
  12. Sofia, 393 (tie)
  13. Anna, 387
  14. Ellie, 370
  15. Asta, 356 (tie)
  16. Lily, 356 (tie)
  17. Alberte, 353
  18. Frida, 313
  19. Josefine, 306
  20. Laura, 299
  21. Esther, 297
  22. Ellen, 287
  23. Astrid, 267
  24. Isabella, 259
  25. Saga, 245
  26. Aya, 242 – Anglicized form of Aija.
  27. Lærke, 237 – means “lark” in Danish.
  28. Marie, 223
  29. Liva, 220
  30. Hannah, 219
  31. Mathilde, 214
  32. Maja, 213 (tie)
  33. Vilma, 213 (tie)
  34. Merle, 209
  35. Victoria, 205
  36. Mille, 199
  37. Liv, 190
  38. Emily, 189
  39. Sofie, 183
  40. Leonora, 178 (tie)
  41. Molly, 178 (tie)
  42. Lea, 176
  43. Andrea, 175
  44. Gry, 172 – (pronounced groo, roughly) means “dawn” in Danish and Norwegian.
  45. Emilie, 167
  46. Vera, 161
  47. Rosa, 156
  48. Alva, 153
  49. Elina, 148
  50. Johanne, 147

Boy Names

  1. Oscar, 562 baby boys
  2. Karl, 555
  3. William, 520
  4. Oliver, 494
  5. Alfred, 470
  6. August, 462
  7. Valdemar, 458
  8. Malthe, 452
  9. Arthur, 451
  10. Emil, 447
  11. Lucas, 439
  12. Aksel, 435
  13. Noah, 427
  14. Victor, 395
  15. Elias, 375
  16. Theo, 355
  17. Otto, 340
  18. Viggo, 319
  19. Magnus, 306
  20. Felix, 301
  21. Elliot, 300
  22. Nohr, 293 – related to the Germanic word for “north.”
  23. Liam, 291 (tie)
  24. Matheo, 291 (tie)
  25. Anton, 289
  26. Hugo, 267
  27. Loui, 264
  28. Alexander, 254
  29. Theodor, 249
  30. Frederik, 248
  31. Konrad, 244
  32. Lauge, 243 – based on the Old Norse word félagi, meaning “companion, partner.”
    • The Old Norse word félag (“fellowship, partnership”), which referred to a joint financial venture during the Viking Age, gave rise to both the Old Norse word félagi and the modern English word fellow.
  33. Anker, 241
  34. Albert, 235
  35. Johan, 215
  36. Storm, 209
    • About half as many U.S. baby boys (105) were given the English word Storm as a name last year.
  37. Adam, 199
  38. Milas, 197
  39. Erik, 195 (tie)
  40. Pelle, 195 (tie)
  41. Vincent, 189
  42. Villads, 185 – form of Willihad.
  43. Villum, 183 – form of Vilhelm (William).
  44. Marius, 182
  45. Christian, 181
  46. Holger, 174 – derived from an Old Norse name that was comprised of elements meaning “small island” and “spear.”
  47. Ebbe, 169
  48. Walter, 168
  49. Luca, 167
  50. Benjamin, 162

In 2020, the top two names were Alma and Alfred.

P.S. The country of Denmark is part of the larger Kingdom of Denmark, which includes the two autonomous countries of Greenland and the Faroe Islands. I’ll post the rankings for both later this week…

Sources: Names of newborn children – Statistics Denmark, Denmark – Wikipedia, Nordic Names, Behind the Name, Félag – Wikipedia

Image by Matthias Kirchner from Pixabay

Popular baby names in the Faroe Islands, 2020

According to Statistics Faroe Islands, the most popular baby names in the Faroe Islands (part of Denmark) were Anna/Olivia and Benjamin/Elias/Lukas last year.

Here are the Faroe Islands’ top 10+ girl names and top 10+ boy names of 2020:

Girl Names

  1. Anna, 6 baby girls (two-way tie)
  2. Olivia, 6 (two-way tie)
  3. Emma, 5 (six-way tie)
  4. Hanna, 5 (six-way tie)
  5. Lilja, 5 (six-way tie)
  6. Ronja, 5 (six-way tie)
  7. Tóra, 5 (six-way tie)
  8. Vár, 5 (six-way tie)
  9. Aria, 4 (seven-way tie)
  10. Bára, 4 (seven-way tie)
  11. Eir, 4 (seven-way tie)
  12. Eva, 4 (seven-way tie)
  13. Lív, 4 (seven-way tie)
  14. Lóa, 4 (seven-way tie)
  15. Rebekka, 4 (seven-way tie)

Boy Names

  1. Benjamin, 8 baby boys (three-way tie)
  2. Elias, 8 (three-way tie)
  3. Lukas, 8 (three-way tie)
  4. Jóhan, 7
  5. Levi, 6 (two-way tie)
  6. Øssur, 6 (two-way tie)
  7. Brandur, 5 (five-way tie)
  8. Hákun, 5 (five-way tie)
  9. Mattias, 5 (five-way tie)
  10. Poul, 5 (five-way tie)
  11. Teitur, 5 (five-way tie)
    • Based on an Old Norse word meaning “cheerful, merry.”

Some of the other baby names bestowed in the Faroe Islands in 2020 include…

  • Aðallín (1 girl), made up of two Old Norse elements: adal, “noble,” and lín, “flax, linen.”
  • Børka (1 girl), from the Faroese word børkuvísa, which refers to the tormentil flower.
  • Eik (1 girl), from the Old Norse word eik, meaning “oak.”
  • Eindri (1 boy), made up of two Old Norse elements: einn, meaning “one, alone,” and either ríða, meaning “to ride,” or reiða, meaning “to swing (a sword).”
  • Grímur (1 boy), from an Old Norse word meaning “mask, helmet.”
  • Munin (1 boy), from the Old Norse word munr, meaning “thought, mind, will.” (Also a raven name!)
  • Ørvar (2 boys), from the Old Norse word orvar, meaning “arrow.”
  • Rúnar (3 boys) could be a modern creation based on the Old Norse words rún meaning “secret, secret lore” and herr, meaning “army.”
  • Sigurrós (1 girl), made up of two Old Norse elements: sigr, meaning “victory,” and rós meaning “rose.” (The Icelandic band Sigur Rós was named after the lead singer’s little sister.)
  • Vilja (1 girl) has several potential origins, including the Finnish word vilja, meaning “grain, cereal.”

In 2019, the top two names in the Faroe Islands were Anna and Jónas.

Sources: Statistical Database – Statbank, Nordic Names Wiki