Gender Feminine
Pronounced Pron. FRAY-ə(English) FRAY-a(German)  [key·IPA]

Meaning & History

From Old Norse Freyja meaning "lady". This is the name of a goddess associated with love, beauty, war and death in Norse mythology. She claims half of the heroes who are slain in battle and brings them to her realm of Fólkvangr. Along with her brother Freyr and father Njord, she is one of the Vanir (as opposed to the Æsir). Some scholars connect her with the goddess Frigg.

This is not the usual spelling in any of the Scandinavian languages (in Sweden and Denmark it is Freja and in Norway it is Frøja) but it is the common spelling of the goddess's name in English. In the 2000s it became popular in Britain.

Related Names

VariantsFreyja, Frea(Norse Mythology)
Masculine FormsFrey, Freyr(Norse Mythology)
Other Languages & CulturesFreja(Danish) Freyja(Icelandic) Frøya(Norwegian) Freja(Swedish)
User SubmissionFreya

Popularity

People think this name is

classic   youthful   formal   upper class   natural   wholesome   strong   refined   strange   simple   serious  

Images

Depiction of the goddess Freya by Johannes Gehrts (1901)Depiction of the goddess Freya by Johannes Gehrts (1901)

Categories

Entry updated December 7, 2022