Given name & surname · also Old Norse
Ragnar
“a warrior who places judgment”
Ragnar is used as a given name and a surname. One interpretation is “a warrior who places judgment.”
Original Old NorseRagnarr
Meaning & origin
What it means
One interpretation is “a warrior who places judgment.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Old Norse.
How it developed
In Swedish usage, Ragnar developed from the Old Norse form Ragnarr.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1915. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Ragnar through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 787
- 787 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2023
- 97 babies
- 2025
- 52
- #2,561 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +30%
- Rising
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 52 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 2,561 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 30.0% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. In 2025, Pennsylvania had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (7). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 475 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Ragnar’s family of names
In Swedish usage, Ragnar has a diminutive in Ragge. In Norwegian Nynorsk usage, Ragnar shares a linguistic root with the German form Rainer. In Icelandic usage, Ragnar has a conventional equivalent in the French form Rainier.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Ragnar has relatives in 5 languages. Lines run from its Old Norse roots to each of them.
Old Norsewhere Ragnar comes from · 1 name
Nicknames & forms 17
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 5
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 1
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Ragnar
- Ragnar FrischNorwegian economist (1895–1973)
- Ragnar Lodbroklegendary king of Denmark and Sweden850–801
- Ragnar GranitFinnish scientist (1900–1991)
- Ragnar SigurðssonIcelandic football playerborn 1986
- Ragnar KlavanEstonian footballer (born 1985)
- Ragnar NurkseAmerican-Estonian economist (1907-1959)
- Ragnar AcheGerman association football playerborn 1998
- Ragnar ÖstbergSwedish architect (1866–1945)
- Ragnar Lundbergathletics competitor (1924–2011)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
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