Håkan is a common

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a fa ...

. It has a common origin with the Norwegian

Haakon (modern Norwegian Håkon, Danish

Hakon Hakon is the Danish spelling of the Norwegian name Håkon or Haakon. The name is also related to the Danish form Hagen (given name) and Hagen (surname).''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'' ed. Patrick Hanks, Kate Hardcastle, Flavia Hodges - 2006 ...

) in the

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...

''Hákon''. The meaning of the name is disputed but a possible meaning is "high son" from

''há-'' (

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 a ...

''hauha-'') (high) and ''konr'' (kin). On Swedish

runestone A runestone is typically a raised stone with a runic inscription, but the term can also be applied to inscriptions on boulders and on bedrock. The tradition began in the 4th century and lasted into the 12th century, but most of the runestones da ...

s the name is usually written ''Hakun'' and in medieval documents usually ''Haquon'' or in the Latinised versions ''Haqvin''/''Haqvinus''. From the 16th century and onwards the name is usually written Håkan. Although in some western regions the name can be found as Håkon and Håka as late as in the 18th century. In

Old East Slavic Old East Slavic (traditionally also Old Russian; be, старажытнаруская мова; russian: древнерусский язык; uk, давньоруська мова) was a language used during the 9th–15th centuries by East ...

the name was written Yakun (

Cyrillic , bg, кирилица , mk, кирилица , russian: кириллица , sr, ћирилица, uk, кирилиця , fam1 = Egyptian hieroglyphs , fam2 = Proto-Sinaitic , fam3 = Phoenician , fam4 = G ...

: Якун). For example, the

Primary Chronicle The ''Tale of Bygone Years'' ( orv, Повѣсть времѧньныхъ лѣтъ, translit=Pověstĭ vremęnĭnyxŭ lětŭ; ; ; ; ), often known in English as the ''Rus' Primary Chronicle'', the ''Russian Primary Chronicle'', or simply the ...

mentions the Varangian leader

Yakun Yakun or Jakun, deriving from Old Norse ''Hákon'', was a Varangians, Varangian (Viking) leader who is mentioned in the ''Primary Chronicle'' and in the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, Cave monastery in Kyiv. The chronicle tells that he arrived in Kievan Rus' ...

that arrived in

Kievan Rus' Kievan Rusʹ, also known as Kyivan Rusʹ ( orv, , Rusĭ, or , , ; Old Norse: ''Garðaríki''), was a state in Eastern and Northern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical Atlas of ...

in the year 1024 and fought in the

Battle of Listven The Battle of Listven (1024) was part of the succession struggle following the death of Vladimir the Great (Volodymyr) in 1015. It was fought between Mstislav of Chernigov and Kievan forces supporting Yaroslav the Wise; Mstislav defeated Yaroslav. ...

. The name never became popular as a Slavic name but at least two high rank

Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( rus, links=no, Великий Новгород, t=Great Newtown, p=vʲɪˈlʲikʲɪj ˈnovɡərət), also known as just Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the ol ...

officials had the name: the posadnik Yakun Andreevich (

: Якун Андреевич) (mentioned 1167) and the tysyatsky Yakun Namnezhich (

: Якун Намнежич) (mentioned 1214). An old English name form ''Hacon'' has survived in

English placenames The toponymy of England derives from a variety of linguistic origins. Many English toponyms have been corrupted and broken down over the years, due to language changes which have caused the original meanings to be lost. In some cases, words used ...

Haconby Haconby is a village and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2001 census was 448 increasing to 532 at the 2011 census. It is situated on the western edge of the Lincol ...

which literally means ''Hacon's Village'', originating through Norse settlers in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Some famous people by this name are *

Håkan Algotsson Håkan Ulf Göran Algotsson (born August 5, 1966, in Tyringe, Sweden) is a retired Swedish ice hockey goaltender. Algotsson began his career with his hometown Tyringe SoSS in 1983. In 1988, Algotsson joined Västra Frölunda and would spend t ...

, ice hockey player *

Håkan Andersson (motorcyclist) Håkan Andersson (born June 29, 1945) is a Swedish former professional motocross racer. He competed in the Motocross World Championships from 1966 to 1979. Andersson won the F.I.M. 250cc Motocross World Championship in 1973. Born in Uddevalla, ...

, Swedish motocross rider *

Håkan Andersson (ice hockey) Håkan Andersson (born 19 February 1965 in Stockholm, Sweden) is a Swedish amateur hockey scout who currently serves as the Director of European Scouting for the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League (NHL). Formerly a fishing guide, ...

, ice hockey executive *

Håkan Bergman Carl-Håkan Bergman (born 1954) is a Swedish politician and former member of the Riksdag, the national legislature. A member of the Social Democratic Party, he represented Örebro County Örebro County ( sv, Örebro län) is a county or '' län ...

(born 1954), Swedish politician *

Håkan Carlqvist Håkan Carlqvist (15 January 1954 – 6 July 2017) was a Swedish professional motocross racer. He competed in the Motocross World Championships from 1974 to 1988. Carlqvist was a two-time world champion who was known for his fierce competiti ...

(1954–2017), motocross rider *

Håkan Dahlby Håkan Dahlby (born 15 September 1965) is a Swedish double trap shooter, the winner of the 2003, 2004, and 2012 European Championships. He won a silver medal at the 2012 Olympics after having the best final round of all finalists and moving from f ...

, double trap shooter *

Håkan Eriksson (orienteer) Håkan Eriksson (born 20 August 1961) is a Swedish orienteering competitor. He received a silver medal in the ''relay'' at the 1989 World Orienteering Championships in Skövde, and received a bronze medal in 1999. He received a silver medal in ...

, orienteering competitor *

Håkan Eriksson (ice hockey) Håkan Lars Elias Eriksson (born January 24, 1956) is a retired Swedish ice hockey player. Eriksson began playing hockey in Bjurfors IF but was acquired by Skellefteå AIK in 1974. He became Swedish champions with Skellefteå in 1978, and was a pa ...

, ice hockey player *

Håkan Fredriksson Håkan Fredriksson (born December 18, 1970) is a Swedish producer and musician. He has been credited to work with bands/artists such as Within Temptation, Da Buzz, Fredrik Kempe and A*Teens. In 2006, Håkan was part of forming the rock band ...

, producer and musician *

Håkan Hagegård Nils Olov Håkan Hagegård (born 25 November 1945)

, baritone * Håkan Hardenberger, trumpeter *

Håkan Hellström Håkan Georg Hellström (; born 2 April 1974) is a Swedish musician. He made his breakthrough in Sweden in 2000 with the song "Känn ingen sorg för mig Göteborg" and the album with the same name. He has released nine studio albums to date wit ...

, musical artist *

Håkan Isacson Håkan Isacson (1943–2002) was a Swedish intelligence agent who became known as the whistleblower of the IB affair, a political scandal in Sweden in the 1970s. Isacson was a former employee at IB, a secret Swedish domestic intelligence organizati ...

, Swedish intelligence agent *

Håkan Jeppsson Håkan Lennart Jeppsson (6 May 1961 – 6 December 2018) was a Swedish businessman who was the chairman of the Swedish Association football club Malmö FF, a post he held from 2010 until his death in 2018. Jeppsson received his education at Lund ...

, Swedish football executive *

Håkan Juholt Håkan Juholt (born 16 September 1962) is a Swedes, Swedish politician who was Swedish Social Democratic Party, Leader of the Social Democrats from 2011 to 2012. He was List of members of the Swedish Riksdag, 2006-2010, member of the Parliament ...

, politician *

Håkan Jörgensen Håkan Jörgensen, author and freelance journalist, was born 1969 and grew up in Asmundtorp outside Landskrona, Sweden.Håkan Jör ...

, author and freelance journalist *

Håkan Karlsson Jonas Klas Håkan Karlsson (born 19 January 1970) is a former freestyle swimmer from Sweden. He competed for his native country at the 1992 Summer Olympics in the men's 100-metre freestyle. He was affiliated with the Karlskrona SS Karlskron ...

, freestyle swimmer * Håkan Lans, inventor *

Håkan Larsson (politician) Håkan Larsson (born 1950) is a Swedish Centre Party politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that ...

, politician * Håkan Loob, ice hockey player * Håkan Magnusson, 14th-century king of Sweden * Håkan Malmrot, swimmer *

Håkan Malmström Håkan Malmström (born 16 July 1977) is a Swedish footballer. He was a defender in the Swedish football club IF Brommapojkarna. He came to Brommapojkarna in the 2004 season, previously he has played for Segeltorps IF and Spårvägens FF Sp ...

, football player *

Håkan Mild Stig Håkan Mild (born 14 June 1971) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a central midfielder. He is best remembered for his time with IFK Göteborg, with which he won four Swedish Championships. A full international betwe ...

, football player *

Håkan Nesser Håkan Nesser (born 21 February 1950) is a Swedish author and teacher who has written a number of successful novels, mostly but not only crime fiction. He has won Best Swedish Crime Novel Award three times, and his novel ''Carambole'' won the pre ...

, author *

Håkan Persson Håkan Persson is a Swedish music journalist, born in Stockholm, 1 June. He has been the host and producer of P3 Rock, a radio show on P3, Sveriges Radio Sveriges Radio AB (, "Sweden's Radio") is Sweden's national publicly funded radio ...

, musical journalist *

Håkan Pettersson (orienteer) Håkan Pettersson is a Swedish orienteering competitor. He received a silver medal in the ''sprint distance'' at the 2002 European Orienteering Championships in Sümeg Sümeg (german: Schimeck) is a town in Veszprém county, Hungary. Sümeg is ...

, orienteering competitor *

Håkan Samuelsson Håkan Samuelsson (born 19 March 1951) is a Swedish businessman who has been chairman of the executive board (CEO) of Volvo Cars Corporation AB since October 2012. Previously, he was CEO of MAN SE from January 2005 to November 2009. Education ...

, Swedish businessman *

Håkan Sandell Håkan Sandell (born 16 February 1962 in Västra Skrävlinge) is a Swedish poet. Life and career Håkan Sandell emerged in the 1980s as a member of ''Malmöligan'', a group of poets based in Malmö, consisting of Sandell, Clemens Altgård, Per ...

, poet *

Håkan Spegel Haquin Spegel (Haqvin) (14 June 1645 – 17 April 1714), born ''Håkan Spegel'' in Ronneby in Blekinge (today in Sweden), was a religious author and hymn writer who held several bishop's seats. Life In 1675, the King Charles XI of Sweden appoi ...

, 17-18th century writer *

Håkan Svensson Alf Tommy Håkan Svensson (born 20 January 1970) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He is best remembered for representing Halmstads BK between 1990 and 2002, with which he won two Allsvenskan titles as well ...

, football player *

Håkan Syrén General (Sweden), General Håkan Erik Gunnar Syrén (born 31 January 1952) is a retired officer of the Swedish Coastal Artillery/Swedish Amphibious Corps and former Chairman of the European Union Military Committee. He was the Supreme Commander of ...

, general *

Håkan Södergren Karl Håkan Södergren (born 14 June 1959 in Rosersberg, Sweden) is a retired professional ice hockey player, often a recurring color commentator in Viasat's ice hockey broadcast productions. Playing career Södergren played for ...

, ice hockey player *

Håkan Westergren Håkan Karl Leonard Westergren (29 April 1899 – 15 October 1981) was a Swedish actor. He was mostly known for playing in Swedish comedy movies during the 1930s and 1940s, but was sometimes seen in some more serious roles. He was married to ...

, actor *Håkan Wirenstrand, keyboardist for

Little Dragon Little Dragon are a Swedish electronic music band from Gothenburg, Sweden, formed in 1996. The band consists of Yukimi Nagano (vocals, percussion), Erik Bodin (drums), Fredrik Wallin (bass) and Håkan Wirenstrand (keyboards). Little Dragon's ...

* Håkan the Red, 11th-century king of Sweden

See also