Leif Explained

Leif
Pronunciation: or [1]
Gender:Male
Meaning:Heir, descendant
Origin:Scandinavian
Related Names:Elof, Olaf

Leif is a male given name of Scandinavian origin. It is derived from the Old Norse name Leifr (nominative case), meaning "heir", "descendant".

Use in the Nordic countries

Spelling and prevalence

Across the Nordic countries, the most commonly occurring spelling of the name is Leif, however, there are some well-established regional variants:

In Norway, about 17,000 men have Leif as their first (or only) name.[6] In Sweden, as of 2021, 62,147 men have the name Leif as a first name.[7] As of 2018, about 15,000 Danish men have Leif as their first name.[8] In Finland, as of 2012, 4,628 men have Leif as a first name.[9] In the U.S., as of 2015, 6,415 men have Leif as a first name.

Pronunciation

Because the Scandinavian languages differ in their pronunciation of the digraphs (ei) and (ej), the name Leif may be either pronounced as an approximate rhyme for "safe", or approximately like the English word "life", In Sweden, Finland, Iceland and Western Norway, it is an approximate rhyme with "safe". In Denmark, much of Norway, and the southern and western regions of the Faroe Islands, the name is pronounced more like "life", while the only exception to this pattern is in the northern and eastern regions of the Faroe Islands where it is an approximate rhyme with the English word "coif". In no Scandinavian region is the name pronounced like the commonly heard English language pronunciation, "leaf", as that would be a homophone of the unrelated female name Liv/Lif.

People

Notes and References

  1. Web site: leif . Dictionary.reference.com .
  2. Web site: Name Statistics . Statistics Norway .
  3. Web site: How many have the name . Statistics Denmark . 15 March 2012 .
  4. Web site: Names of males by age 1 January 2005 . Statistics Iceland . 15 March 2012 . November 2005 .
  5. Web site: Population and Elections . Statistics Faroe Islands . 15 March 2012 . August 2011 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120226025337/http://www.hagstova.fo/portal/page/portal/HAGSTOVAN/Statistics_%20Faroe_Islands/Statistics/Population%20and%20elections . 26 February 2012 .
  6. Web site: Leif . NorskeNavn.no . 26 July 2015 .
  7. https://scb.se/en/finding-statistics/statistics-by-subject-area/population/general-statistics/name-statistics/pong/tables-and-graphs/all-registered-persons-in-sweden---given-names-and-names-normally-used-top-10-and-top-100-lists-not-being-updated/given-names-men-2021-top-100/
  8. https://www.dst.dk/da/Statistik/emner/befolkning-og-valg/navne/HvorMange} Hvor mange hedder... - Danmarks Statistik
  9. Web site: Population Register Centre Name Service . Population Information System of Finland .

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