Freya

Meaning

traditionally goddess of love

Famously borne by Freya Stark, who traveled alone through parts of Arabia and Persia few Westerners had seen.

The story

Freya is the Norse goddess of love wearing her own name; the word itself traces to a title, the Lady. For most of a century America barely touched it, a trickle of 13 to 180 girls a decade from the 1930s through the 1990s, while Britain fell for it properly and kept it near the top of its own charts. The import finally took: about 770 in the 2000s, 7,000 in the 2010s, and 11,400 so far this decade, already past the full 2010s total. One figure in our records is absolute: in more than ninety years, not a single recorded boy, 19,800 girls to zero, a unanimity even Charlotte cannot match. The appeal is the combination: a real mythological pedigree, a soft two-syllable sound, and none of the paperwork of Aphrodite. The goddess drove a chariot pulled by cats, which families tend to learn after committing.

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Popularity, 1890–2024

Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Freya peaked in the 2020s.

When you meet Freya

Most people given the name Freya in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.

Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.

Names that fit alongside Freya

Freja Jaya Aadhya Vidya Saga Alva

The Freya deep dive

Written for you · $1.99 →

Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Freya truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Freya fits with your family’s names and surname.

Both reports, explained →

Keep exploring

Names like Freya · Global crossover names · Names of explorers and adventurers · Strong names

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