Boy · Old Norse
Ivar
Say it: EE-var
Meaning
From Old Norse Ívarr, usually explained as ýr 'yew, bow' and herr 'army, warrior', though this is not certain.
Uncertainseveral explanations, none settled.
Borne by Viking leaders in England and Ireland, where it became Íomhar.
Its wave through time
Rare in the records
In the United States
- 876 babies given this name since 1896
- At its height in 2019, about 1 in 20,800 boys
- 79 babies in 2020
Through the ages
- The Viking and Anglo-Saxon Age700 to 1100
- The High and Late Middle Ages1100 to 1450
- Victorian and Belle Époque1837 to 1914
- The Modern Age1880 to today
Used by
The family of the name
Other spellings: Iver
| Old Norse | Ívarr |
|---|---|
| Icelandic | Ívar |
| Irish | Íomhar |
Famous bearers
- Ivar the Boneless, Viking leader in England
Names worth a look
Where this comes from
- The Icelandic sagas and other Old Norse literature
- Anglo-Saxon charters, chronicles and church records
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.
Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.