Magnus

Scandinavian from Latin

"greatest"

Magnus Origin and Meaning

The name Magnus is a boy's name of Latin origin meaning "greatest".

Magnus is a Latin name, literally meaning "greatest," that has a Scandinavian feel. It dates back to Charlemagne being called Carolus Magnus, or Charles the Great. Norwegian king Magnus I, named after Charlemagne, introduced it to his culture, and thus Magnus was the name of six early kings of Norway and four of Sweden. It is still a highly popular name in Denmark and Norway.

Magnus, a powerful name with a commanding presence, is one of the newly unearthed ancient artifacts. It was picked for their sons by Will Ferrell (whose wife Viveca Paulin is Swedish), Kristy Swanson, and Elizabeth Banks—likely credited for this name's jump into the Top 1000 for the first time in 2013, as one of the year's fastest-rising names. Its fashionable s ending may keep it in popular use.

Magnus has made appearances as a vampire in Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles and as a character in Roald Dahl's Matilda. And for an extra ego boost, in Charles Dickens's The Pickwick Papers, there's the following dialogue:

"'Magnus is my name. It's rather a good name, I think, sir.'
'A very good name, indeed,' said Mr. Pickwick."

Magnus Rank in US Top 1000

# 767 in the US

Magnus Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 97 on Nameberry

Popularity of the name Magnus

• 767 US 2023
• 97 Nameberry 2025
• 387 Future 2028
• 358 England 2023
• 133 Scotland 2024
• 194 Germany 2016
• 21 Norway 2024
• 21 Denmark 2023
• 33 Iceland 2014

20 Names Similar to Magnus

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Magnus.

• Ambrose
• Augustus
• Alistair
• Remus
• Cedric
• Dorian
• Alastair
• Casper
• Ignatius
• Percival
• Florian
• Lazarus
• Lucius
• Raphael
• Cyrus
• Caspar
• Thaddeus
• Lysander
• Fabian
• Constantine

Famous People Named Magnus

• Magnus Johnson American politician
• Magnus the Good King of Norway and Denmark
• Magnus II King of Norway
• Magnus Barefoot King of Norway
• Magnus IV VI, Kings of Norway
• Magnus I IV, Kings of Sweden
• Magnus Brostrup Landstad Norwegian poet
• (Sven) Magnus Øen Carlsen Norwegian chess champion
• Magnus Hirschfeld German physician
• Magnus Scheving Icelandic actor and TV producer
• Magnús Ver Magnússon Icelandic strongman
• Magnus Norman Swedish tennis player
• Magnus ring name of Nicholas "Nick" Aldis, English pro wrestler
• Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie Swedish statesman and general
• Magnus Hubert Twisleton Wykeham Fiennes English composer
• Magnus Paajarvi Swedish hockey player
• Pompey Magnus aka Pompey the Great Roman consul and general
• Ore Magnus Lawson aka Lil' O American rapper
• Magnus Wollter son of actor Sven Wollter
• Magnus Jackson Diehl son of actor John Diehl and singer Julie Christensen
• Magnus Paulin Ferrell (b. 2004) son of actor Will Ferrell
• Magnus Hart Swanson Eisler (b. 2007) son of actress Kristy Swanson and skater Lloyd Eisler
• Magnus Mitchell Handelman (b. 2012) son of actress Elizabeth Banks
• Magnus Hamilton Miller (b. 2012) son of singer Jennifer Nettles

The name Magnus in Pop Culture

• Magnus "Maggie" character in 2005 movie "Hitch"
• Magnus Bane warlock in Cassandra Clare's shadowhunters chronicles
• Magnus Martinsson character in the Wallander series
• Magnus character in the Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice, Lestat's creator
• "Magnus Powermouse " children's book by Dick King,Smith.
• Dr. Magnus Honey Miss Honey's father and Agatha Trunchbull's brother,in,law in book/movie "Matilda"
• Dr. Helen Magnus character in TV show "Sanctuary" (played by Amanda Tapping)
• Magnus one of the dragon elders in game "Spyro the Dragon"
• Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard book series
• Magnus the Rogue character in the game "Minecraft Story Mode"
• Magnus Pórsson character in the Netflix Original, "Sense8"
• Magnus Christensen character in Danish TV drama "Borgen"
• Magnus Burnsides character in the podcast "The Adventure Zone"
• Jonah Magnus character in the podcast "The Magnus Archives"

International Variations of the name Magnus

• Mánas Scottish Gaelic
• Magnuss Scottish Gaelic
• Mauno Finnish
• Manus Irish
• Maghnus Irish Gaelic
• Måns Swedish
• Mogens Danish