Given name
Reidar
“a warrior or soldier”
Reidar is used as a given name. One Scandinavian interpretation is “a warrior or soldier.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Scandinavian interpretation is “a warrior or soldier.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Scandinavian.
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
Reidar through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 16
- 16 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1915
- 6 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 boys is 5 in 1994. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for boys was 6 in 1915. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 144 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.
Reidar’s family of names
In Norwegian Nynorsk usage, Reidar shares a linguistic root with the Icelandic form Hreiðar. Reidar has a related form in Reider. Reidar has a related form in Reidir.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Reidar has relatives in 3 languages. Lines run from its Old Norse roots to each of them.
3 related names in 3 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 6
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 3
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Reidar
- Reidar KvammenNorwegian association football player and manager (1914-1998)
- Reidar AndersenNorwegian ski jumper (1911–1991)
- Reidar LiaklevNorwegian speed skater (1917–2006)
- Reidar Nyborgcross-country skier1923–1990
- Reidar Ødegaardcross-country skier (1901-1972)
- Reidar HolterNorwegian rower (1892–1953)
- Reidar SørensenNorwegian actorborn 1956
- Reidar BorgersenNorwegian speed skater and cyclistborn 1980
- Reidar HorghagenNorwegian musicianborn 1971
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Reidar, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Einar
“a leading warrior”
>99% boys
Eilert
“of the hard point”
>99% boys
Verner
“of the defending army”
92% boys · 8% girls
Lennart
“one who is brave”
>99% boys
Ingram
“a raven of peace”
>99% boys
Ivor
“the archer's bow; of the yew wood” · “of cut wood”
>99% boys
Gustave
“of the staff of the gods”
>99% boys
Haldor
“of the thunderous rock”
>99% boys