Leif is a male given name of
Scandinavia
Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...
n origin. It is derived from the Old Norse name ''Leifr'' (
nominative case
In grammar, the nominative case (abbreviated ), subjective case, straight case or upright case is one of the grammatical cases of a noun or other part of speech, which generally marks the subject of a verb or (in Latin and formal variants of Engl ...
), meaning "heir", "descendant".
Use in the Nordic countries
Spelling and prevalence
Across the
Nordic countries
The Nordic countries (also known as the Nordics or ''Norden''; literal translation, lit. 'the North') are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe and the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It includes the sovereign states of Denmar ...
, the most commonly occurring spelling of the name is ''Leif'', however, there are some well-established regional variants:
* – Leiv
* – Lejf
* – Leifur
* – Leivur
In Norway, about 17,000 men have Leif as their first (or only) name. In Sweden, 70,000 men have the name Leif, about 60% of them as a first name. As of 2018, about 15,000 Danish men have Leif as their first name.
Hvor mange hedder... - Danmarks Statistik
/ref> In Finland, as of 2012, 4,628 men have Leif as a first name.
Pronunciation
Because the Scandinavian languages
The North Germanic languages make up one of the three branches of the Germanic languages—a sub-family of the Indo-European languages—along with the West Germanic languages and the extinct East Germanic languages. The language group is also r ...
differ in their pronunciation of the digraphs and , the name Leif may be either pronounced as an approximate rhyme for "safe", or approximately like the English word "life", In Sweden, Finland, Iceland and Western Norway
Western Norway ( nb, Vestlandet, Vest-Norge; nn, Vest-Noreg) is the region along the Atlantic coast of southern Norway. It consists of the counties Rogaland, Vestland, and Møre og Romsdal. The region has no official or political-administrativ ...
, it is an approximate rhyme with "safe". In Denmark, much of Norway, and the southern and western regions of the Faroe Islands, the name is pronounced more like "life", while the only exception to this pattern is in the northern and eastern regions of the Faroe Islands where it is an approximate rhyme with the English word "coif
A coif () is a close fitting cap worn by both men and women that covers the top, back, and sides of the head.
History
Coifs date from the 10th century, but fell out of popularity with men in the 14th century."A New Look for Women." Arts and H ...
". In no Scandinavian region is the name pronounced like the most commonly heard English language pronunciation, "leaf", as that would be a homophone
A homophone () is a word that is pronounced the same (to varying extent) as another word but differs in meaning. A ''homophone'' may also differ in spelling. The two words may be spelled the same, for example ''rose'' (flower) and ''rose'' (p ...
of the unrelated female name Liv/Lif.
People
* Leif Ove Andsnes
Leif Ove Andsnes (; born 7 April 1970) is a Norwegian pianist and chamber musician. Andsnes has made several recordings for Virgin and EMI. In 2012, Leif Ove Andsnes has signed to Sony Classical, and recorded for the label the "Beethoven Journey ...
(born 1970), Norwegian pianist and exponent of Edvard Grieg
Edvard Hagerup Grieg ( , ; 15 June 18434 September 1907) was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is widely considered one of the foremost Romantic era composers, and his music is part of the standard classical repertoire worldwide. His use of ...
* Leif Axmyr (1938–2018), Swedish murderer
* Leif Bergdahl
Leif Bergdahl (born 1941) is a Swedish physician and former member of the now defunct right-wing political party New Democracy (Sweden), New Democracy. He served at the Riksdag, Swedish Parliament.
Biography
Bergdahl was born in 1941. He has a de ...
(born 1941), Swedish physician and politician
* Leif Blomberg
Leif Blomberg (15 February 1941–2 March 1998) was a politician and the head of Swedish Metal Workers' Confederation. He was a member of the Social Democratic Party. He held several government posts.
Biography
Blomberg was born in Enköping on 1 ...
(1941–1998), Swedish trade unionist and politician
* Leif Davidsen
Leif Davidsen (born 25 July 1950 in Otterup) is a Danish author and journalist.
Career
Educated as a journalist, in 1977 he started working in Spain as a freelance journalist for Danmarks Radio. In 1980 he began covering Soviet news with freq ...
(born 1950), Danish crime fiction writer
* Leif Davis (born 1999), English footballer
* Leif Erikson
Leif Erikson, Leiv Eiriksson, or Leif Ericson, ; Modern Icelandic: ; Norwegian: ''Leiv Eiriksson'' also known as Leif the Lucky (), was a Norse explorer who is thought to have been the first European to have set foot on continental North ...
( 970 – 1020), Norse explorer regarded as having discovered North America before Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus
* lij, Cristoffa C(or)ombo
* es, link=no, Cristóbal Colón
* pt, Cristóvão Colombo
* ca, Cristòfor (or )
* la, Christophorus Columbus. (; born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) was a ...
* Leif Garrett
Leif Garrett (born Leif Per Nervik; November 8, 1961) is an American singer, actor, and television personality. He worked as a child actor, then in the 1970s became famous as a teen idol in music. He later received much publicity for his drug ...
(born 1961), Norwegian-American singer and actor
* Leif Hård
Leif Hård (born 1944) is a Swedish politician and former member of the Riksdag, the national legislature. A member of the Social Democratic Party, he represented Södermanland County
Södermanland County ( sv, Södermanlands län) is a coun ...
(born 1944), Swedish politician
* Leif Hoste
Leif Hoste (born 17 July 1977) is a retired Belgian professional road racing cyclist, who last rode for UCI Professional Continental Team team . Born in Kortrijk, Hoste's career highlights included winning two stages and the overall title at the ...
(born 1977), Belgian road cyclist
* Leif Juster
Leif Juster (born Leif Normann Nilsen) (14 February 1910 – 25 November 1995) was a Norwegian comedian, singer and actor, arguably the most popular of his generation in Norway. Juster started out as a variety show performer, and for a period he ...
(1910–1995), Norwegian comedian, actor and singer.
* Leif Larsen
Leif Andreas Larsen DSO, DSC, CGM, DSM and Bar (9 January 1906 – 12 October 1990), popularly known as "Shetlands Larsen", was a highly decorated Norwegian sailor. He was arguably the most famous of the men who operated the Shetland bus esca ...
(1906-1990) Norwegian sailor and the most highly decorated allied naval officer of World War II
* Leif Linde
Leif Linde (born 1955) is a Swedish politician who was the secretary general of the Swedish Social Democratic Party between 1994 and 1996. He has been board chairman of the Swedish Co-operative Union since April 2020.
Biography
Linde was born in ...
(born 1955), Swedish politician
* Leif Nysmed
Leif Georg Nysmed (born 1970) is a Swedish politician and member of the Riksdag, the national legislature. A member of the Social Democratic Party, he has represented Stockholm County since September 2014.
Nysmed is the son of Jan Nyberg and Ann ...
(born 1970), Swedish politician
* Leif Olsen
Leif Olsen (15 August 1927 – 2 February 2012) was a Norwegian football striker.
Born Leif Hugo Olsson, he assumed the name Leif Olsen while playing for Vålerenga. After the Second World War, when he fled to Sweden in 1943 and enrolled in the ...
(1927–2012), Norwegian footballer
* Leif Panduro Leif Thormod Panduro (18 April 1923 – 16 January 1977) was a Danish writer, novelist, short story writer, and dramatist.
Life
A dentist by profession, he began in his thirties to write stories about people who can't conform to society's rules ...
(1923–1977), Danish novelist and dramatist
* Leif G. W. Persson
Leif Gustav Willy Persson (born 12 March 1945) is a Swedish criminologist and novelist. Persson has four children, one of whom, Malin Persson Giolito, is also a crime writer.
Early life
Leif Gustav Willy Persson was born on 12 March 1945 in Stoc ...
(born 1945), Swedish criminologist, whistle-blower and novelist
* Leif Segerstam
Leif Selim Segerstam ( , ; born 2 March 1944) is a Finnish conductor, composer, violinist, violist and pianist, especially known for writing 350 symphonies as of August 2022, along with other works in his extensive oeuvre.
Segerstam has condu ...
(born 1944), Finnish conductor and composer
* Leif Shiras
George Livingston "Leif" Shiras (born August 21, 1959) is an American former professional tennis
Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( ...
(born 1959), American tennis player
* Leif Tronstad
Leif Hans Larsen Tronstad DSO, OBE (27 March 1903 – 11 March 1945) was a Norwegian inorganic chemist, intelligence officer and military organizer. He graduated from the Norwegian Institute of Technology in 1927 and was a prolific research ...
(1903–1945), Norwegian scientist, intelligence officer and military organizer
* Leif Vollebekk, Canadian singer-songwriter
* Le1f (born Khalif Diouf in 1989), American rapper and producer from New York
* Leif Arrhenius Swedish track athlete
See also
*
*
References
{{given name, nocat
Scandinavian masculine given names
Swedish masculine given names
Norwegian masculine given names
Danish masculine given names
Icelandic masculine given names