Eivor, Eivør or Øyvor is a female given name in the
Nordic countries
The Nordic countries (also known as the Nordics or ''Norden''; lit. 'the North') are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic. It includes the sovereign states of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sw ...
. In Sweden, 4,922 people bear the name. The average age is 78.
The name perhaps originated from either the
Proto-Norse
Proto-Norse (also called Ancient Nordic, Ancient Scandinavian, Ancient Norse, Primitive Norse, Proto-Nordic, Proto-Scandinavian and Proto-North Germanic) was an Indo-European language spoken in Scandinavia that is thought to have evolved as ...
word ''auja'', which is thought to mean "good luck", or from
Old Norse
Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlement ...
''ey-'' or ''øy-'', meaning "island", and secondly from ''-varr'', meaning "careful", or perhaps from the
Proto-Norse
Proto-Norse (also called Ancient Nordic, Ancient Scandinavian, Ancient Norse, Primitive Norse, Proto-Nordic, Proto-Scandinavian and Proto-North Germanic) was an Indo-European language spoken in Scandinavia that is thought to have evolved as ...
word ''*warjaʀ'', meaning "defender".
The Old Norse form of the name was ''Eyvǫr'' or ''Øyvǫr''.
Notable people
Faroese
*
Eivør Pálsdóttir (born 1983), known professionally as Eivør, Faroese singer-songwriter
Norwegians
*
Øyvor Hansson
Øyvor Hansson, née Styren (3 March 1893 – 1975) was a Norwegian politician for Nasjonal Samling.
She co-founded the Nasjonal Samling's Women's Organisation. She started out as secretary under Marie Irgens before serving as leader from 1935 t ...
(1893–1975), Norwegian politician
Swedes
*
Eivor Alm
Eivor Matilda Astergren, née Alm (29 June 1924 – 5 March 2011) was a Swedish cross-country skier who competed in the 1950s. She finished ninth in the 10 km event at the 1952 Winter Olympics in Oslo. She was born in Almunge
Almunge is ...
*
Eivor Landström
Harriet Eivor Emilie Landström (22 March 1919 – 4 August 2004) was a Swedish actress.
Selected filmography
* '' Mother Gets Married'' (1937)
* '' Thunder and Lightning'' (1938)
* ''Life Begins Today'' (1939)
* '' Oh, What a Boy!'' (1939) ...
*
*
Eivor Steen-Olsson
Eivor Steen-Olsson (born 1937) is a Swedish orienteering competitor. She is two times Relay World Champion as a member of the Swedish winning team in 1966 and 1970.
In popular culture
*Eivor Varinsdottir, the protagonist of the 2020 video game ''
Assassin's Creed: Valhalla''.
References
{{given name, cat=feminine given names
Old Norse
Given names