Borghild
Of Scandinavian origin, meaning "fortress protection" or "protected within the fortress".
Name Census estimates that about 4 living Americans carry the first name Borghild. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Borghild today is around 118 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Borghild births was 1915 (33 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Borghild. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Borghild is about 118 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Borghilds were born before 1918.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Borghild. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
4
~ 1 in 85,688,585 Americans
Peak year
1915
33 babies that year
Average age
118
years old
1930 SSA rank
#3,092
Tracked since 1895
Popularity
Borghild: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Borghild from the 1890s through to the 1930s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1910s, with 205 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1910s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Borghild by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Borghild during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Borghilds live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. Minnesota, North Dakota, Wisconsin recorded the most babies named Borghild, while Washington, Wisconsin, North Dakota recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 26 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Borghild
The name Borghild originates from Old Norse, a North Germanic language spoken in Scandinavia during the Viking Age. It is a compound name derived from the elements "borg" meaning "fortress" or "protection" and "hildr" meaning "battle."
The earliest known record of the name Borghild dates back to the 9th century and can be found in several Icelandic sagas and texts from the medieval period. One notable reference is in the Poetic Edda, a collection of Old Norse poems compiled in the 13th century, where a character named Borghild is mentioned.
In the Icelandic Landnámabók, a medieval manuscript describing the settlement of Iceland, there is a record of a woman named Borghild Olafsdottir who settled in the region of Breiðafjörður in the late 9th century. She is said to have been one of the first permanent settlers in the area.
Another early example of the name Borghild is found in the Gesta Danorum, a 12th-century work by the Danish historian Saxo Grammaticus. Here, a woman named Borghild is mentioned as the wife of the legendary Danish king Frode III.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals named Borghild. One example is Borghild Dahl, a Norwegian writer and feminist who lived from 1890 to 1976. She was known for her novels and short stories that explored themes of gender and societal norms.
Another famous Borghild was Borghild Kraabøl, a Norwegian gymnast who competed in the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki. She won a silver medal as part of the Norwegian women's gymnastics team.
In the field of archaeology, Borghild Svendsdotter Hornbeck (1917-2013) was a Norwegian archaeologist who made significant contributions to the study of Viking Age settlements and artifacts in Norway.
Additionally, Borghild Roalkvam (1896-1985) was a Norwegian educator and women's rights activist who played a crucial role in establishing education opportunities for women in Norway in the early 20th century.
While there are certainly more examples, these five individuals represent some of the notable figures throughout history who bore the name Borghild, highlighting its rich cultural and linguistic roots in Scandinavia.
People
Borghild + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Borghild as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with B
Other first names starting with B with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Borghild: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Borghild?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 4 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Borghild going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 85,688,585 US residents.
Is Borghild a common name?
We classify Borghild as "Very Rare". It ranks above 6.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 361 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Borghild most popular?
The single biggest year for Borghild was 1915, when 33 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Borghild is about 118 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Borghild in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Borghild a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Borghild in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Borghild still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Borghild in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Borghild can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many Americans are named Borghild?
You can see how many people share the name Borghild on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.