Given name & surname
Tor
“one who is peaceful”
Tor has a related form in Tord. One Dutch interpretation is “one who is peaceful.”
Original Old NorseÞórr
Meaning & origin
What it means
Tor has a related form in Tord. One Dutch interpretation is “one who is peaceful.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Old Norse.
How it developed
From Old Norse Þórr, from Proto-Germanic *Þunraz.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1949. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. Tor is a variant of Thor. The history of Thor gives this family its wider story. In mythological stories, Thor is associated with the god of thunder.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Tor through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 886
- 886 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1965
- 30 babies
- 2025
- 12
- #7,148 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −29%
- Easing
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 12 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 7,148 among boys’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison. Its largest published annual count for boys was 30 in 1965. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 987 as a first name in 2020; 447 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Tor’s family of names
In Swedish usage, Tor has a short form in THURE. In Swedish usage, Tor shares a linguistic root with the English form Thor. In Norwegian usage, Tor has a related form in Tore.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Tor has relatives in 10 languages. Lines run from its Old Norse roots to each of them.
Old Norsewhere Tor comes from · 1 name
Nicknames & forms 5
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 8
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Tor
- Tor Hogne AarøyNorwegian association football playerborn 1977
- Tor EndresenNorwegian singer, composer and musicianborn 1959
- Jonas SjöstedtSwedish politicianborn 1964
- Tor Arne Hetlandcross-country skierborn 1974
- Tor Åge BringsværdNorwegian author (1939–2025)
- Tor AulinSwedish violinist, conductor and composer (1866–1914)
- Tor BergeronSwedish meteorologist (1891-1977)
- Tor Lundgymnast (1888–1972)
- Tor UlvenNorwegian poet (1953–1995)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
Similar names
If you love Tor, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Sigurd
“the protector of victory”
>99% boys
Stein
“as solid as a stone” · “stone”
>99% boys
Gunnar
“a bold warrior”
>99% boys
Turo
Turo is a masculine given name from Danish, ultimately from Swedish. It is used in Finnish, Tagalog, and Cebuano.
83% boys · 17% girls
Jord
86% boys · 14% girls
Bror
“brother”
>99% boys
Thyge
Thyge is a masculine given name from Old Norse. It is used in Danish.
>99% boys
Frode
“a wise man”
99% boys · 1% girls