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Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

Original poster

Danish/European/Scandi girls names

65 replies

thepatchworkcat · 08/02/2018 17:39

Looking for suggestions of girls’ names as above please!
I have some tenuous connection to Denmark and Germany and like the names but would need something that works in the UK too.

I like
Annika/Anneka/Anneke
Annalise
But DH is not keen

Further suggestions welcome!

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LoveInTokyo · 22/02/2018 18:24

I know a Danish Ida (pronounced Eeda) which I think is very pretty. I also know a Danish Sofia with an F.

Anna is a classic which works well in almost any language.

halfwitpicker · 22/02/2018 01:33

Had a mate called Hedwig, she always shortened her name to Hedy.

I love Petra and also Astrid.

Smurf123 · 21/02/2018 21:48

We thought of Sophia for a girl... In our case though we have decided if we have a girl we would use the English spelling of the name just wanted it to sound the same when said in Danish... I'd avoid anything with a j at the beginning... As my husband hates when people here try to say they Danish version of his name.. He goes by the English pronunciation here but obviously his family call him the Danish version when we are over in Denmark.
Pronunciation being the same is important for us as I know I don't say his cousins name right (no matter how hard I try!!) and it really gets to me.. She is called Lærke.
I also liked
Hanne (Hannah)
Anne (Anna)
Emilie (Emilia)

GreatDane10 · 20/02/2018 15:00

I'm Danish - and there are several of the names above I've never heard. Mali, Tiril and Cayla for instance are definitely not Danish. In general, for names with an ''e" and and "a" version, the "e" version is the most traditional Danish - Marie, Christine, Anne, Julie, etc. Names that are very popular at the moment are short and with "a" endings: Alma, Frida, Liva, Nora. I think they all work well with anglophones also (I have a Nora which works in Danish, English and French which is what we needed)

ifigoup · 19/02/2018 14:37

Elke
Ellika
Kaisla
Eini
Tuuli
Miia
Aili
Minna
Sofia
Iida
Tove
Emilie
Nora

Jojobibs2102 · 19/02/2018 14:35

I love the German name Sabine there was a girl at my school called that and her mum was German x

redexpat · 10/02/2018 22:29

Zampa Grin Love it.

TatianaLarina · 10/02/2018 16:32

Christa

Zampa · 10/02/2018 14:36

(The pronunciation, that is).

Zampa · 10/02/2018 14:35

I describe Tove as if someone from Yorkshire was asking for the vacuum cleaner ...

beasternunny · 10/02/2018 14:34

From child's class register we have:

Alberte
Ethel (Eeeee Taal)
Ida (Eeeee Dah)
Ingrid (In Grill)
Josefine
Matilde
Nanna
Silke
Sofie
Elna
Emma
Filippa
Natalie
Liva

MikeUniformMike · 10/02/2018 14:21

Moomintrolls

redexpat · 10/02/2018 14:18

Tove in danish is more like toe (as in your toes) vuh.

MikeUniformMike · 10/02/2018 13:55

Is Tove pronounced Tuh-vuh? Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Enko · 10/02/2018 13:48

Dd1 and 3 have Danish middlenames. Odly people seem to cope better with dd3 mn that really hasnt got a English equivalent (Sørine) than dd1s mn (Margrethe) people want to either make it Margaret or they completely tongue twist it. With dd3 its past their usual experience so they ask and get it right (pronounced like Sssrr Rhi neh) Sometimes I wish we had given her this for her first name as I do love it but with a letter that doesn't exist in the English alphabet this would be hard (her 1st name is Irish so we did make it hard for her Grin)

WhereIsBlueRabbit · 10/02/2018 09:31

Astrid
Linnea
Ingela
Sigrid

AnnaMagnani · 10/02/2018 09:17

TBH if you don't speak Danish, you aren't going to get Danish pronounciation. Even names like Sara sounds really different said by a Dane.

I have:

my name said wrong
my name said right English style
my name said by a Dane - poetry Grin

I answer to all 3.

DH on the other hand says Danish sounds like a disease of the throat.

Zampa · 10/02/2018 06:17

We've used Tove and Leonore in our two DDs names.

There are pronunciation issues with Tove so decided to use as a middle name but I sometimes wish I hadn't bottled it!

VileyRose · 10/02/2018 06:09

Lumi?

southboundagain · 10/02/2018 00:48

Some German ones, likely some of these are old-fashioned so you'd need to check current popularity if that might bother you/relatives (though judging by what's happened in the UK some of them might be back by now!):
Anne
Anneliese
Dorothea
Julia
Lieselotte
Lina
Luise
Herta
Marta
Sabine

sycamore54321 · 10/02/2018 00:35

I adore Mette but the pronunciation isn't obvious. The Ts are more like a D and there's a short "eh" sound at the end. A bit like you say Meadow but get cut off before you finish the final syllable. It's gorgeous but probably a bit annoying to have to spell or correct all the time?

Smoliver · 10/02/2018 00:05

Just remembered a few more:

Erika
Ebba
Asta
Astrid
Stella
Amalia
Nova

Enko · 09/02/2018 22:44

Danish born here you do NOT pronounce the e ending as an A They have all of the names with an "A" ending too just often more unusual..

Depending on the name obviously (like in the UK) mostly the e ending is more like a " eH" sound or a bit like errrH if that makes sense?

The description of how to say Signe is wonderful :)

My danish friends/relatives with girls have girls called

Sofie
Anne (Anneh pronounciation)
Maja
Sara
Filuca
Emma
Frederikke
Therese

Johanne
Cecilie
Emma
Janni
Rebecca
Katrina
Pernille
Hannah-Jean *though she doesnt really count as is half Danish half English

capercaillie · 09/02/2018 22:27

Vibeke - can b shortened to Becky etc
Anne
Johanna
Sybille

Smoliver · 09/02/2018 21:53

Some European/Scandi names that I like:

Evelina
Ingrid
Freja
Ada
Ida
Tuva
Liv
Alma
Amelie
Bridgette
Linnea
Leonie

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