Solveig (, ) is a female

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 ...

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 ...

origin. It is most common in

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

, and

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

, and it is also somewhat common in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Etymology

The name consists of two parts, where both parts have different theorized origins. * Sol- ** Old Norse ''salr'' "house, hall, home" ** Old Norse ''sól'' "sun" ** Old Norse ''sölr'' "sun-coloured, yellow" * -veig ** Old Norse ''veig'' "strength" ** Old Norse ''víg'' "battle" ** Old Norse ''vígja'' "to butt" ** Old Norse ''väg'' "way"

Versions

Generally speaking, the most common version is Solveig. However, alternative versions are used in

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

, and on the

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...

, and to some extent in

. ;Norwegian, Swedish, and Danish: * Solveig * Sólveig * Solvej * Solvei * Solveij * Solveg ;Icelandic: * Solveig * Sólveig ;Latvian and Lithuanian: * Solveiga ;German and French: * Solveig

In fiction

Solveig is a central character in the play ''

Peer Gynt ''Peer Gynt'' (, ) is a five- act play in verse by the Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen published in 1876. Written in Norwegian, it is one of the most widely performed Norwegian plays. Ibsen believed ''Per Gynt'', the Norwegian fairy tale on wh ...

'' by

Henrik Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright and theatre director. As one of the founders of modernism in theatre, Ibsen is often referred to as "the father of realism" and one of the most influential playw ...

. She sings the famous "

Solveig's Song ''Peer Gynt'', Op. 23, is the incidental music to Henrik Ibsen's 1867 play of the same name, written by the Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg in 1875. It premiered along with the play on 24 February 1876 in Christiania (now Oslo). Grieg l ...

" in

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 ...

's musical suite of the same name. Ibsen uses sun imagery in association to the character (scene 10, act 5), indicating that Ibsen may have favored the idea that the name is etymologically associated with the sun. There is also a female central character in the Argentine novelist

Leopoldo Marechal Leopoldo Marechal (June 11, 1900 – June 26, 1970) was one of the most important Argentine writers of the twentieth century. Biographical notes Born in Buenos Aires into a family of French and Spanish descent, Marechal became a primary sch ...

's ''

Adán Buenosayres ''Adam Buenosayres'' () is a 1948 novel by the Argentine writer Leopoldo Marechal. The story takes place in Buenos Aires in the 1920s, and follows a vanguard writer who goes through a metaphysical struggle during three days. The book is a humorous ...

'' named Solveig Amundsen. Furthermore, Solveig is the main character and narrator of

Matthew J. Kirby Matthew J. Kirby is an American author of several middle grade children's books. His debut novel, '' The Clockwork Three'', is a children's historical fantasy set in a fictional American city in the late 19th century. It was inspired by a newspa ...

's ''

Icefall An icefall is a portion of certain glaciers characterized by relatively rapid flow and chaotic crevassed surface, caused in part by gravity. The term ''icefall'' is formed by analogy with the word ''waterfall'', which is a similar phenomenon of t ...

''. Solveig is also one of the protagonists in

Battlefield V ''Battlefield V'' is a first-person shooter game developed by DICE and published by Electronic Arts. It is the eleventh main installment in the ''Battlefield'' series and the successor to 2016's ''Battlefield 1'', and was released for Microsoft ...

, in the episode called ''"Nordlys"''.

Notable people called Solveig

* Miklabæjar-Solveig, an Icelandic woman who lived in the late 18th century and is the subject of local folklore

Given name

Sólveig Anspach Sólveig Anspach (8 December 1960 – 7 August 2015) was an Icelandic-French film director and screenwriter. Born to a German-Romanian father Gerhard Anspach and an Icelandic mother Högna Sigurðardóttir, she spent most of her life livin ...

, an Icelandic-French film director *

Solveig Christov Solveig Beda Christov ( née Fredriksen; 29 October 1918 – 16 May 1984) was a Norwegian novelist, writer of short stories, and playwright. Early and personal life Solveig Fredriksen was born in Drammen as a daughter of electrician Fredrik ...

, a Norwegian novelist, writer of short stories and playwright *

Solveig Dommartin Solveig Dommartin (16 May 1961 – 11 January 2007) was a French actress. Her acting career began in the theatre with Compagnie Timothee Laine and with the Theater Labor Warschau. She had her first experiences with film as an assistant of Jacque ...

, a French actress *

Solveig Egman-Andersson Laila Solveig Egman-Andersson (born 6 January 1942) is a retired Swedish artistic gymnast who competed at the 1960, 1964 and 1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Ga ...

, a Swedish artistic gymnast and Olympian *

Solveig Guðmundsdóttir Solveig Guðmundsdóttir (c. 1430 – 1501), was an Icelandic heiress and landlord. She was the daughter and heir of judge Guðmundur Arason ríki and landlord Vatnsfjarðar-Kristín Björnsdóttir, the richest couple on Iceland. She is rememb ...

, an Icelandic heiress and landlady *

Solveig Gulbrandsen Solveig Ingersdatter Gulbrandsen (born 12 January 1981) is a Norwegian footballer currently playing for Kolbotn of the Toppserien. At club level she has previously represented Kolbotn, FC Gold Pride, Vålerenga Fotball Damer and Stabæk. With t ...

, a Norwegian footballer *

Solveig Gunbjørg Jacobsen Solveig Gunbjørg Jacobsen (8 October 1913 – 25 October 1996)Gravminner i Norge.
D ...

Solveig Hedengran Solveig Hedengran (26 April 1910 – 29 April 1956) was a Swedish stage and film actress. She appeared in about 30 films between 1919 and 1956. Selected filmography * '' Synnöve Solbakken'' (1919) * ''German Women - German Faithfulness'' (1 ...

, a Swedish actress *

Solveig Heilo Solveig Heilo (born December 24, 1981), simply known as Sol Heilo, is a Norwegian composer, artist, musician, music producer, arranger, designer and costume designer. She is mostly known for the band Katzenjammer. Sol works in different genres, s ...

, also known as Sol Heilo, a Norwegian composer, artist, musician, music producer, arranger, designer *

Solveig Jülich Solveig Jülich is a Swedish historian of ideas, professor at the department of History of Science and Ideas at Uppsala University. Biography Solveig Jülich holds a Ph.D in technology and social change from Linköping University in 2002, for ...

, a Swedish historian of ideas, professor * Solveig Krey, a Norwegian naval officer *

Solveig Kringlebotn Solveig Kringlebotn () (4 June 1963), better known outside Norway as Solveig Kringelborn, is an internationally known Norwegian operatic soprano.Listen to Norway v1-3 Norsk musikkinformasjon – 1993 "Two of these are CD recordings featuring tw ...

, a Norwegian operatic soprano singer * Solveig Nordlund, a Swedish-Portuguese filmmaker * Solveig Nordström, a Swedish archaeologist who developed her career in Spain *

Sólveig Pétursdóttir Sólveig Guðrún Pétursdóttir (born 11 March 1952) is an Icelandic politician a former speaker of the Althing, the Icelandic parliament, serving between 2005 and 2007. She was a parliament member from 1991, for the Reykjavík (Althing constit ...

, an Icelandic politician a former speaker of the

Althing The Alþingi (''general meeting'' in Icelandic, , anglicised as ' or ') is the supreme national parliament of Iceland. It is one of the oldest surviving parliaments in the world. The Althing was founded in 930 at ("thing fields" or "assembly ...

, the Icelandic parliament *

Solveig Slettahjell Solveig Slettahjell (born 2 April 1971 in Bærum, Norway) is a Norwegian jazz singer, known for her soulful, seductive voice. Career Slettahjell had her record debut with the album ''Slow Motion Orchestra'' (2003), contains jazz standards li ...

, a Norwegian jazz singer *

Solveig Sollie Solveig Sollie (born 19 April 1939) is a Norwegian politician for the Christian People's Party, who served as parliamentary representative for Telemark Telemark is a traditional region, a former county, and a current electoral district i ...

, a Norwegian politician * Solveig Sundborg, a Danish film actress * Solveig Rogstad, a Norwegian biathlete * Solveig Rönn-Christiansson, a Swedish politician *

Solveig Torsvik Solveig Torsvik (born 30 December 1954 in Stange, Norway) is a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party. Torsvik was elected to the Norwegian Parliament from Akershus in 1993, but was not re-elected in 1997. She had previously served in the po ...

, a Norwegian politician

Middle name

Heide Solveig Göttner Heide Solveig Göttner (born 1969 in Munich) is a German fantasy writer. Life Heide Solveig Göttner grew up in Munich. She began writing at a young age. She studied English studies, American studies and political science at the Ludwig-Maximilians ...

, a German fantasy writer

Surname

Martin Solveig Martin Laurent Picandet (; born 22 September 1976), better known by his stage name Martin Solveig (), is a French DJ, singer, songwriter and record producer. He hosts a weekly radio show called ''C'est La Vie'' on radio stations worldwide, incl ...

, a French DJ

References

{{More footnotes, date=April 2009
Nordic Names - Solveig

Behind the Name - Solveig
Germanic given names Norwegian feminine given names