Awesome Swedish Names

Oscar is one of the most stylish Old Man Names of our era. While it's softened slightly in popularity over the past 20 years, that may be considered a very good thing.

Peder? You mean Peter? You'll have to do a lot of spelling and explaining of this one.

A strong Greek name with pan-European charm, Petra is a relatively recent feminization of Peter, though it relates back to an incredible ancient city in Jordan that was rediscovered in the early nineteenth century.

Petronella, and its shorter sister Petra, are both feminizations of Peter. While Petronella is a name with deep history, it's extremely rare. It was given to no baby girls on record in the US last year.

Soft name in the Mia-Nia-Tia family, Pia is heard in both European and Hindi languages.

Rika is most common as a Japanese name, when it means "beautiful village" in one kanji combination. It is also seen as a nickname and given name in Scandinavia, Lithuania, and the Netherlands, where Rika originated as a nickname for names such as Fredrika and Henrika.

Robert was the Number 1 boys' name in the US in both 1925 and 1950, and in fact was in the Top 25 for more than a century, giving it true classic status. Strong if not quite stylish, Robert remains in the Top 100 for baby boys as a family favorite.

After a 60 year slide down the popularity ladder, Robin made a turnaround in 2020 and began climbing back into favor for baby girls. One reason may be its new status as one of the most evenly-divided gender neutral names.

Like Papa name Rudolf, Rolf never quite emigrated from the Bavarian Alps. You might want to move on to Rollo or Wolf.

Pippi Longstocking author Astrid Lindgren invented the name Ronja for her book Ronja, the Robber's Daughter. She was inspired by the lake Juronjaure, located in Norrbotten, Sweden.

You've got the red-nosed reindeer to transcend, but there are other distinguished personages named Rudolph, Rudolf, and Rudy.

Sander is a more conventional form of Zander or Xander, heard frequently on its own in Europe. It is now a Top 20 name in Norway, and is also popular in Denmark, Belgium and the Netherlands. 

2012's Hurricane Sandy blew away whatever style currency Sandra retained from its 1960s Sandra Dee heyday. While in recent years it's been associated with Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, as a baby name Sandra is sinking beneath the waves.

If you're ready to move beyond Anna and Hannah, consider this traditional Scandinavian short form of Susanna, historically very popular in its native lands.

Sebastian is an ancient martyr's name turned literary, and Little Mermaid hero—think Sebastian the Crab—that's more popular than ever, as a classic-yet-unconventional compatriot for fellow British favorites T Theodore and Oliver.

This elongated form of Sibyl is dainty and delicate -- dare we even say demure? It's got deep history, a powerful namesake, and it's extremely rare -- zero baby girls were named Sibylla or Sybilla in the US last year.