According to one Swedish news site, these are the ten “oddest” names in Sweden:
- Odd, meaning “point (of a weapon), spear.” Hundreds of men in Sweden are named Odd.
- Love, pronounced low-vay, meaning “fame” + “war” (via Lovis, via Louis, via Ludovicus, via Ludwig, etc.). Thousands of men and hundreds of women in Sweden are named Love.
- Björn, meaning “bear.” Tens of thousands of men in Sweden are named Björn.
- Lillemor, meaning “little mother.” No numbers given, but said to be “a common name in Sweden.” (This one can be traced back to a 19th-century Swedish folk song. Originally it was a pet name.)
- Tintin, a pet form of names ending with -tin. Hundreds of men and hundreds of women in Sweden are named Tintin.
- Axel, meaning “shoulder.” Tens of thousands of men in Sweden are named Axel.
- Stig, meaning “path” or “trail.” Tens of thousands of men in Sweden are named Stig.
- Jerker, pronounced yerr-kerr. Thousands of men in Sweden are named Jerker.
- Saga, meaning “fairytale.” Thousands of women in Sweden are named Saga.
- Ylva, meaning “(female) wolf.” Thousands of women in Sweden are named Ylva.
Ylva is one that I bet Northwestern name-seekers would like. Many of the distinctive baby names used in Oregon and Washington state are nature names, Nordic names, and/or names with uncommon letters; Ylva fits into all three of these categories.
Sources: Ten oddest Swedish names, Nordic Names, Lillemor – Wiktionary