Given name
Ragna
“one who provides counsel in battle”·“an all-knowing being”·“one who gives beautiful advice”
In Scandinavian use, Ragna is a short form of Ragnhild. Interpretations include “one who provides counsel in battle” and “an all-knowing being”. These belong to different or overlapping naming contexts. Ragna is a variant of Ragnfrid. One interpretation is “one who gives beautiful advice.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
In Scandinavian use, Ragna is a short form of Ragnhild. Interpretations include “one who provides counsel in battle” and “an all-knowing being”. These belong to different or overlapping naming contexts. Ragna is a variant of Ragnfrid. One interpretation is “one who gives beautiful advice.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Old Norse.
How it developed
Ragna is a short form of Ragnhild.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1885. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Ragna through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 201
- 0 boys · 201 girls
- Most popular year
- 1915
- 18 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for girls is 5 in 1927. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for girls was 18 in 1915.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Ragna’s family of names
Ragna is a short form of Ragnhild. Ragna has a related form in Ragnfrid.
The ring: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 2
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
See also 2
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Ragna
- Ragna NielsenNorwegian educator (1845–1924)
- Ragna Ingólfsdóttirbadminton playerborn 1983
- Ragna ÁrnadóttirIcelandic politicianborn 1966
- Ragna WettergreenNorwegian actress (1864–1958)
- Ragna NikolasdatterNorwegian queen1101–1161
- Ragna Thiis StangNorwegian historian (1909–1978)
- Ragna GrubbDanish architect (1903-1961)
- Ragna SchirmerGerman pianistborn 1972
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Ragna, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Alvilda
Alvilda is a feminine given name from Old Norse. It is used in Danish.
>99% girls
Nanna
“a woman graced with God's favor”
>99% girls
Alfhild
“elf” · “battle, strife”
>99% girls
Gudrun
“a battlemaiden”
>99% girls
Siiri
Siiri is a feminine given name from Swedish, ultimately from Old Norse. It is used in Finnish and Estonian.
>99% girls
Thora
“thunder”
>99% girls
Iona
“woman from the island”
1% boys · 99% girls
Olga
“one who is blessed and successful”
>99% girls