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NAMES

Nora and Jakob: What do Norway’s favourite baby names say about the country?

In Norway, baby names are not just a matter of individual tastes or family tradition. In fact, they expose deep cultural and political trends and give insight into the times we live in.

Published: 22 January 2021 11:19 CET
Nora and Jakob: What do Norway's favourite baby names say about the country?
Photo: Polina Tankilevitch / Pexels

Three years have passed since the airing of the final episode of the wildly popular Norwegian TV-show Skam. But Norwegians, it seems, are reluctant to say goodbye to the show’s main character Nora. The name was yet again the most popular name in Norway in 2020, according to data from Statistics Norway (SSB).

In total, 416 girls were given the name Nora, or Norah, in 2020. The name was also the most popular in 2017, 2016, 2014 and 2012.

TV crazed?

“Nora is a short form of Eleonore, and appeared in the wake of Ibsen’s (1879 play) A Doll’s House,” said name researcher Jørgen Ouren in the SSB press release.

“Nora was rarely used between 1940 and 1980, but then became popular alongside other short names for girls that end with an ‘a’,” he said.

Emma and Sarah have also risen to prominence since the turn of the 21st century. Norwegian newspaper VG speculates that the enduring popularity of Emma may be linked to another TV-megahit, the show Friends.

Biblical trend

But television is not the only important cultural influence in Norway. Ingrid, Leah and Linnea, names of the youngest generation of Norwegian royals, have become popular in the last decade.

For boys, Jakob or Jacob, the name of famous Norwegian runner Jakob Ingebrigtsen, was last year’s most common baby name.

Jakob, however, is also a name from the bible. And while most Norwegians are not excessively religious, biblical names are increasingly common.

“When we find Noah in third place, Filip in fifth and Lucas in seventh, we see that the wave of biblical boys’ names is still strong,” Ouren said.

“1.5 percent of new-borns were given these kinds of names around 1950, and in 2006 the share was 22.5 percent. Since then it’s receded somewhat and is now 20.4 percent,” he added.

Emil, Oliver and William are also on the list of last year’s most popular names for boys. William is another beloved Skam-character.

Generations of names

The names Norwegians choose for their babies come in waves, and vary between generations.

“First it becomes popular, and then even more popular, often because someone famous has the name,” Ouren told newspaper VG.

“Then, when it’s been on the list of top names for a while, it begins to fall in popularity. Eventually it almost completely disappears,” he continued.

Ouren points out that people consider the names of older people to be out of date. After that generation dies, the name might have a resurrection.

Examples of outdated names include Erna, the name of Prime Minister Erna Solberg, and Mette-Marit, the names of Norway’s Crown Princess.

“No celebrity in the world can make Mette or Marit popular again right now,” Ouren said.

Most popular names for girls in 2020

  1. Nora / Norah               
  2. Emma                         
  3. Ella                             
  4. Maja/Maia/Maya         
  5. Olivia                          
  6. Emilie                         
  7. Sofie/Sophie               
  8. Leah/Lea                    
  9. Sofia/Sophia              
  10. Ingrid                          

Most popular names for boys in 2020

  1. Jakob/Jacob               
  2. Emil                            
  3. Noah/Noa                  
  4. Oliver                         
  5. Filip/Fillip/Philip/Phillip         
  6. William                      
  7. Lucas/Lukas               
  8. Liam                           
  9. Henrik                        
  10. Oskar/Oscar               

Source: Statistics Norway

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LIVING IN NORWAY

Five places to find a sense of community in Norway 

One of the easiest ways to adjust to life in another country is to feel a sense of belonging, either by feeling part of the wider community or carving out your own path. 

Published: 22 April 2024 16:16 CEST
Five places to find a sense of community in Norway 

While plenty of factors, such as work-life balance, access to nature, and the country’s great potential for child raising, make it attractive, foreigners in Norway find it a difficult place to settle. 

In previous surveys among foreign residents, internationals in Norway have said that the culture and difficulty making friends made Norway a hard place to settle. 

Finding a sense of community and belonging can help people feel settled and at home. 

Even if you need to fit in more places, there will likely be somewhere in Norway where you can embed yourself into a community. 

Start with your neighbourhood or local area  

This may not be possible everywhere, and not everyone is guaranteed a great relationship with their neighbours. 

However, life in the big cities in Norway could be set up for strong micro-communities. This is because many apartment blocks are arranged into housing associations. 

These business-like entities allow the residents to get involved with the running of the community. You could contribute by joining the board, or you may wish to get involved with dugnad (voluntary work) in the spring and autumn. 

There may also be seasonal parties and meetups organised by the neighbours.

READ ALSO: Seven ways you will accidentally annoy your Norwegian neighbours

Volunteering 

Giving back to your local community can definitely make it feel like you are an important building block. 

Norway has around 100,000 volunteer organisations that offer several opportunities to get involved and help others. 

From coaching kids’ sports teams to helping other immigrants integrate, there are hundreds of ways to go about volunteering. 

There are a number of places where you can find some volunteering work, such as Frivillighet Norge, Norges Frivilligsentraler, and Frivillig.no. 

READ ALSO: How can I find volunteer work in Norway?

Sports, old and new 

One of the best ways to feel involved in something is to be part of a team. Thankfully, there are plenty of ways to get involved with sports in Norway. 

If you live in the big cities, there are plenty of ways to pick up a new sport, keep a lifelong passion going, or pick up the baton after a few years off. 

Oslo, for example, has facilities for sports of all types, from rock climbing to cricket. There are also plenty of chances to get involved in a number of sports just beginning to take off in Norway, such as padel, pickleball, or racketlon. 

There’s much more than just racquet sports too, it’s simply a case of looking for something that suits your fancy. If there is a sport from where you are from that you miss, you likely aren’t the only one, so be sure to check if there is an equivalent close to you. 

Many of these sports will have an associated club, meaning there will be several social opportunities to gather. 

Not all sports require you to be an athlete, either. There are plenty that require a degree of skill, but are also inclusive, such as the game cornhole. 

Hobbies 

It’s not just being part of a sports team that can help you get close to others over a shared interest. 

There are also plenty of opportunities to get to know people and feel a part of something while enjoying your hobbies. If it’s gardening, consider an allotment, cars or bikes, and you could join a motor club. 

If you speak a language other than English, you could consider a language café. From there, you could consider sharing your language with others in a community full of people interested in other languages and cultures. 

Foreign resident groups 

Sometimes, the community you might be missing has more to do with where you have left than it has to do with where you are. 

In that regard, it might be nice to surround yourself with people from a similar part of the world. Thanks to social media, there are groups for pretty much everyone in Norway, as well as groups for new residents or foreign residents, more generally. 

These groups will typically act as support networks where people can ask questions, rant, arrange meetups and generally support one another. 

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