Scandinavian Names that Start With I

The luminous Ingrid Bergman's appeal was strong enough to lend universal charisma to this classic Scandinavian name, which has been somewhat neglected in the US. Even today, a child named Ingrid would be assumed to be of Scandinavian ancestry, signaling the name has never been fully integrated into the English lexicon the way other European choices from the same era like Danielle or Kathleen have.

Closer to the original Norse name Ívarr, it is part of a small group of names with similar roots: Ivor, Iver, Ivo, Ives, and Evander, which all make rugged yet gentle feeling choices. Used throughout Scandinavia, Ivar is in the Swedish Top 100 and is also on the rise in the UK, outranking the English variation, Ivor.

Idony was the Norse goddess of spring and eternal youth, and variants of her obscure name could come under consideration with the rest of the fashionable I pack.

Ing was a powerful Norse god whose name inspired several modern variations -- though Inga has become a caricatured Scandinavian choice.

Ingmar is known here almost solely through Swedish director Ingmar Bergman. Ing was the powerful Norse god of fertility and peace, who lent his name to several mortal variations, more notably to English-speakers the female Ingrid.

When the Danish author Karen Blixen chose Isak Dinesen as her male pseudonym, she set a precedent that could well be followed today.