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Gunnar

boy name
Origin
Scandinavian
Syllables
2
Peak era
2010s
Today
▬ Steady

Torn between Gunnar and another name? Compare them side by side →

Meaning

from Old Norse Gunnarr, gunnr "war" + herr "army, warrior"

The story

Gunnar is Old Norse Gunnarr, built from war and army, warrior in its two old elements, a name that sounds like what it says. In Norse legend Gunnar is the husband of Brynhildr, and no hero in the clean sense: the story has him arranging the murder of Sigurd, his own brother-in-law, on his wife's false accusation. American records carry a long quiet line, about 160 boys in the 1910s and a steady trickle for decades, then the 1990s multiplied the 1980s figure nearly tenfold to about 2,800. The 2000s reached about 4,300, the 2010s about 6,700, and about 3,000 have arrived so far this decade. Two punchy syllables with a growl in the middle, and a legend attached that is anything but tame.

More names with stories →

How popular is Gunnar around the world?

In the United States, 2,989 babies were named Gunnar between 2020 and 2025. In Norway, 16 boys were given the name Gunnar in 2025.

Gunnar is on the official records of the United States, Norway, Canada, Austria, England and Wales, Chile, Spain and Brazil.

United States

1 in 7,300

In the United States, 2,989 babies were named Gunnar between 2020 and 2025.

1890speak 2010s

Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Gunnar peaked in the 2010s.

Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration

See the full list for the United States →

Norway

1 in 1,800 · register 2026

In Norway, 16 boys were given the name Gunnar in 2025.

peak 19462025

share of the boys on the register for that year, SSB’s own figure

People who have or have had a Norwegian ID number, emigrants left out, from Statistics Norway’s name statistics (release of January 2026): by year of birth for 1945–2020 (everyone born that year who was ever registered in Norway, including people who registered later and people who have since died) and by year of naming from 2021; only first names carried by 200 or more living people are listed, counts under 4 are withheld, and SSB merges spellings that differ only by letters outside the Norwegian alphabet. The shares are SSB’s own, of the people of that sex and year in that count; the 2025 figure counts the children named that year, and no year is a count of births. Source: Statistics Norway (SSB), table 10467 (updated 2026-01-28)

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Canada

1 in 13,000

In Canada, 29 boys named Gunnar were born in 2024, the 886th most common name among boys that year.

1991peak 2017

share of that year’s name registrations

First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)

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Austria

1 in 38,000

In Austria, 2 boys named Gunnar were born in 2025, ranked 1,241st among boys that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.

Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)

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England and Wales

1 in 98,000

In England and Wales, 6 boys named Gunnar were born in 2025, ranked 3,256th among boys that year.

1996peak 2023

share of that year’s name registrations

Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales

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Chile

1 in 180,000

In Chile, 1 boy was registered as Gunnar in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.
The count never rose above 5 in a year, too few to chart.

First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021

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Spain

1 in 690,000

In Spain, 65 residents are named Gunnar, ranked 11,683rd among men, with a mean age of 50.2 years.

Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025

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Brazil

1 in 1M

At the 2022 census, 260 people in Brazil were named Gunnar, ranked 21,104th, with a median age of 30.
Among people named Gunnar living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1990s than in any other decade.

1970speak 1990s2010s

people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth

People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022

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Argentina

last on record 2016

Gunnar is not on the 2024 record for Argentina, where small counts are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.

Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024

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Montevideo City

last on record 1961

Gunnar is not on the 2011 record for Montevideo, whose registry withholds nothing, so the spelling was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.

Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial

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Scotland

last on record 2023

Gunnar is not on the 2024 record for Scotland, where spellings under 3 in total are suppressed at source.
The count never rose above 4 in a year, too few to chart.

Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names

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South Australia

last on record 1965

Gunnar is not on the 2017 record for South Australia, whose registry publishes every name given that year.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.

Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names

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Not on the record in Mexico City, Puerto Rico, Ireland, New Zealand and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.

Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown.

All records: the most popular baby names around the world →

When you meet Gunnar

Most people given the name Gunnar 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 Gunnar

Damian Anderson Troy Dimitri Arturo Oliver

Keep exploring

Strong names

The Gunnar 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 Gunnar 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 Gunnar fits with your family’s names and surname.

Both reports, explained →

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