The story behind Sven
Borrowed from Swedish Sven.
Other language forms and explanations (3)
Dutch entry
Borrowed from Swedish Sven in the 20th century.
German entry
Borrowed from Swedish Sven.
Swedish entry
Inherited from Old Norse Sveinn; borne by three medieval kings of Denmark. Cognate with Faroese Sveinur, Icelandic Sveinn, Danish Svend, Norwegian Nynorsk Svein, and English Sweyn. Doublet of Soini.
Pronunciation
US English (ARPAbet): S V EH1 N
Regional pronunciation variants
- Dutch: /sʋɛn/
- Dutch: /sfɛn/
- German: /svɛn/
- German: /tsvɛn/
- Swedish: /svɛn/
This is a US English dictionary reading of the spelling; personal pronunciations may differ. Digits mark stress: 0 is unstressed, 1 is primary, 2 is secondary. Pronunciation source and notation.
Popularity
Sven ranked #3645 in US for 2025.
Source: SSA national baby names
Names Similar to Sven
Steinn
Inherited from Old Norse Steinn, from stæinn (“stone”).
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 1 syllable
- Ending
- ends N
- same syllable count
- similar length
Sveinn
Inherited from Old Norse Sveinn. Cognate with Faroese Sveinur, Danish Svend, Norwegian Nynorsk Svein, Swedish Sven, English Sweyn, and Finnish Soini.
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 1 syllable
- Ending
- ends N
- same syllable count
- similar length
Sean
Anglicised form of Irish Seán, from Old French Jehan, from Latin Johannes, variant of Ioannes, from Koine Greek Ἰωάννης (Iōánnēs), from Hebrew יוֹחָנָן (Yōḥānān, literally “God…
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 1 syllable
- Ending
- ends N
- same syllable count
- similar length
Sian
An anglicization of Welsh Siân, ultimately from Latin Joanna, from Koine Greek Ἰωάννα (Iōánna), from Hebrew יוֹחָנָה (Yôḥānāh, literally “God is gracious”), the feminized form…
- Gender
- feminine
- Syllables
- 2 syllables
- Ending
- ends N
- same syllable count
- similar length
Björn
Borrowed from Swedish Björn in the 1930s.
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 1 syllable
- Ending
- ends N
- same syllable count
- similar length
Brjánn
From Old Norse Brjánn (referring to the Irish king Brian Boru), from Irish Brian.
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 1 syllable
- Ending
- ends N
- same syllable count
- similar length
Middle Names for Sven
Ari
Of the first sense, derives directly from Hebrew: אֲרִי (arí, “lion”); compare Yiddish: לייב (leyb, “Leib”), English: Leo, Leon, French: Léo, Léon, Czech: Lev, Polish: Lew,…
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 2 syllables
- Ending
- ends I
- balanced syllable contrast
- good length contrast
Mia
A German, Dutch and North Germanic diminutive of Maria.
- Gender
- feminine
- Syllables
- 2 syllables
- Ending
- ends A
- balanced syllable contrast
- good length contrast
Aadolf
From Swedish Adolf, of Germanic origin (from Old High German adal (“noble”) + wolf (“wolf”)). Cognate with English Adolf, Adolph.
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 2 syllables
- Ending
- ends F
- balanced syllable contrast
- good length contrast
Sibling Names for Sven
Alex
Clipping of Alexander, from Ancient Greek Ἀλέξανδρος (Aléxandros) 'he who wards off men', i.e. protector, possibly of Hittite origin. Also from Alexius, from the same Ancient…
- Gender
- neutral
- Syllables
- 2 syllables
- Ending
- ends X
- compatible short style
- shared origin connection
Ari
Of the first sense, derives directly from Hebrew: אֲרִי (arí, “lion”); compare Yiddish: לייב (leyb, “Leib”), English: Leo, Leon, French: Léo, Léon, Czech: Lev, Polish: Lew,…
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 2 syllables
- Ending
- ends I
- compatible short style
- shared origin connection
Bo
Either borrowed from modern Danish Bo or Swedish Bo, or a spelling variant of the male given name Beau. From Old Norse Búi (“dweller, long-time resident”), originally a…
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 1 syllable
- Ending
- ends O
- compatible short style
- shared origin connection