Ragna
An Old Norse feminine name derived from "counsel" or "advice".
Name Census estimates that about 2 living Americans carry the first name Ragna. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Ragna today is around 133 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ragna births was 1915 (18 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ragna. 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 Ragna is about 133 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Ragnas were born before 1903.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Ragna. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
2
~ 1 in 171,377,169 Americans
Peak year
1915
18 babies that year
Average age
133
years old
1927 SSA rank
#5,459
Tracked since 1885
Popularity
Ragna: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ragna from the 1880s through to the 1920s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1910s, with 83 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
Ragna 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 Ragna during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ragnas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Ragna
The name Ragna has its roots in Old Norse and is derived from the noun "regin," which means "divine power" or "the gods." It was a popular name among the Norse and Germanic peoples during the Viking Age, roughly spanning from the late 8th century to the late 11th century.
The earliest recorded use of the name Ragna can be traced back to the Poetic Edda, a collection of Old Norse anonymous poems compiled in the 13th century. One of the poems, known as the "Völuspá" (The Prophecy of the Seeress), mentions a figure named Ragna Rökkr, who is believed to be a personification of the night or darkness.
In Norse mythology, Ragna was also the name of one of the Valkyries, the female figures who escorted fallen warriors to Valhalla, the great hall of the slain in Asgard. This association with the Valkyries and the concept of bravery in battle likely contributed to the name's popularity among the Norse people.
One of the earliest known historical figures with the name Ragna was Ragna Ingesdotter, a Swedish noblewoman who lived in the late 12th century. She was married to Folke Jarl, a powerful Swedish earl and one of the regents of Sweden during the minority of King Eric XI.
Another notable Ragna in history was Ragna Nikolajeva (1854-1941), a Latvian artist and painter known for her landscapes and portraits. She studied at the Imperial Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg and was one of the first professional female artists in Latvia.
In the realm of literature, Ragna was the name of a character in the novel "The Wonderful Adventures of Nils" by the Swedish author Selma Lagerlöf (1858-1940). The book, published in 1906, is a beloved children's classic and follows the adventures of a mischievous boy named Nils who is transformed into a tiny creature and travels across Sweden with a flock of wild geese.
In more recent times, Ragna Kleppe (1928-2021) was a Norwegian politician and the first female Prime Minister of Norway, serving from 1973 to 1976. She was a member of the Labour Party and played a significant role in promoting gender equality and women's rights in Norway.
Lastly, Ragna Schirmer (born 1938) is a Norwegian artist and sculptor known for her abstract and modernist works. She has had numerous solo exhibitions both in Norway and internationally and is considered one of the leading figures in Norwegian contemporary art.
People
Ragna + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ragna as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with R
Other first names starting with R with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Ragna: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ragna?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ragna 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 171,377,169 US residents.
Is Ragna a common name?
We classify Ragna as "Very Rare". It ranks above 4.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 201 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ragna most popular?
The single biggest year for Ragna was 1915, when 18 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ragna is about 133 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 Ragna in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ragna a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ragna 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 Ragna still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ragna 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 Ragna 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 people are named Ragna?
Find out how many Americans are named Ragna on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.