Every Swede has at least two names. A first- and a last name. Using names is convenient because it makes it easier for you to understand who your best friend is talking about, or if you want to check out some attractive person’s profile on Facebook.
Unfortunately though, Swedes haven’t been very innovative when it come to creating new names. Many Swedes share the same last name. And as you already suspected it usually ends with “-sson”.
Further below, lists with the Top 10 most popular first-names in Sweden.
Swedish last names
More than one third of all Swedish surnames end with –sson. (Source: SCB.) Those names are so common that you will probably find at least one of them on every mailboxes in any Swedish apartment building.
List of 10 Most Common Swedish Surnames
The 10 most popular surnames in Sweden.
Minor name variations, such as Karlsson and Carlsson are collected under the variation that is most common. For example, the amount of people with the name Carlsson is added to Karlsson.
| Rank | Surname | Amount |
| 1 | Andersson | 241 854 |
| 2 | Johansson | 241 685 |
| 3 | Karlsson | 214 920 |
| 4 | Nilsson | 165 106 |
| 5 | Eriksson | 143 219 |
| 6 | Larsson | 120 795 |
| 7 | Olsson | 109 964 |
| 8 | Persson | 104 111 |
| 9 | Svensson | 97 761 |
| 10 | Gustafsson | 94 403 |
What typical Swedish last names mean
The following words appear often in Swedish names and refer mostly to nature.
- Ström – stream (river)
- Berg – mountain/hill
- Lind – linden
- Ek – oak
- Sjö – lake/sea
- Sund – sea gate/strait
- Å – small stream/creek
- Ö – island
- Björk – birch
- Ny – new
- Söder – south
- Lund – small forrest
- Gren – branch
- Fors – cataract
- Vik – bay
- Holm – little island
- Qvist/Kvist – twig
Swedish first-names for girls
Are you a woman, moving to Sweden? If you don’t like your current first-name you might want to change it to one of the top 10 Swedish girl names from the list below.
Top 10 Swedish girl names
For new borns in 2015
| Rank | Female first name | Amount |
| 1 | Elsa | 872 |
| 2 | Alice | 847 |
| 3 | Maja | 674 |
| 4 | Saga | 671 |
| 5 | Ella | 627 |
| 6 | Lilly | 613 |
| 7 | Olivia | 583 |
| 8 | Ebba | 576 |
| 9 | Wilma | 575 |
| 10 | Julia | 574 |
What’s your favorite?
Complete list with top 100 Swedish girl names.
Swedish first-names for boys
Here are the 10 names that where the most popular for new born boys in 2015.
Top 10 Swedish boy names
| Rank | Swedish Male Names | Amount |
| 1 | William | 977 |
| 2 | Lucas | 802 |
| 3 | Liam | 752 |
| 4 | Oscar | 737 |
| 5 | Elias | 732 |
| 6 | Hugo | 711 |
| 7 | Oliver | 709 |
| 8 | Charlie | 664 |
| 9 | Axel | 627 |
| 10 | Vincent | 602 |
Complete list with Top 1oo Swedish boy names.
So, dear soon to be new-Swede, if you feel like making a change to the name written above your door bell or on your business card, and want to sound more Swedish, feel inspired by the list above.
Or find more Swedish name lists.
Learn more about Sweden and the Swedes
If you are interested in Swedish culture and quirks, you might want to read this book “How to be Swedish – A Quick Guide to Swedishness, In 55 Steps“.
