Freya
Feminine given name of Norse mythology meaning "noble lady".
Name Census estimates that about 17,787 living Americans carry the first name Freya. It sits at #159 in the overall ranking, outside the top 50 but still well-represented. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Freya today is around 8 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Freya births was 2022 (2,182 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Freya. 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
- • Freya is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 8 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
18K
~ 1 in 19,270 Americans
Peak year
2022
2,182 babies that year
Average age
8
years old
2024 SSA rank
#159
Tracked since 1931
Popularity
Freya: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Freya from the 1930s through to the 2020s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 9,598 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Freya 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 Freya during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Freyas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 51 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Freya, while District of Columbia, Delaware, Wyoming recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 324 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Freya
The name Freya has its origins in Old Norse mythology and language. It is derived from the Old Norse word "freyja", which means "lady" or "mistress". The name is associated with the powerful Norse goddess Freyja, the goddess of love, beauty, fertility, war, and death.
Freya was one of the most revered and celebrated deities in the Viking pantheon. She was often depicted as a beautiful woman with golden hair, riding a chariot pulled by two cats. Freya was also known for her cloak of falcon feathers, which allowed her to take the form of a falcon and fly.
The name Freya first appeared in the Poetic Edda, an ancient collection of Old Norse poems dating back to the 13th century. These poems provide valuable insights into Norse mythology and the worship of Freya and other gods. The name is also mentioned in the Prose Edda, a work written by the Icelandic scholar Snorri Sturluson in the 13th century.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Freya was Freya Stark, a British explorer and travel writer who lived from 1893 to 1993. She was known for her travels in the Middle East and her books about her adventures.
Another notable Freya was Freya von Moltke, a German resistance fighter during World War II. She was born in 1911 and was part of the Kreisau Circle, a group that opposed the Nazi regime. She was arrested and executed by the Nazis in 1945.
In more recent times, Freya was the name of a prominent Australian author and academic, Freya Mathews, who was born in 1945. She wrote extensively on environmental philosophy and the relationship between humans and nature.
Freya Ridings is a contemporary British singer-songwriter born in 1994. She has gained popularity for her soulful voice and emotive lyrics, and her debut album "Freya Ridings" was released in 2019.
Freya Stavanger was a Norwegian figure skater who competed in the 1994 and 1998 Winter Olympics. She was born in 1976 and is considered one of Norway's most successful figure skaters.
The name Freya has maintained its popularity throughout the centuries, reflecting the enduring influence of Norse mythology and the admiration for the goddess herself. Its association with love, beauty, and strength has made it a beloved choice for parents around the world.
People
Freya + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Freya as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with F
Other first names starting with F with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Freya: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Freya?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 17,787 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Freya 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 19,270 US residents.
Is Freya a common name?
We classify Freya as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 18,062 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Freya most popular?
The single biggest year for Freya was 2022, when 2,182 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Freya is about 8 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Freya a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Freya 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.
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.