Tove is a Scandinavian

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 ...

that derives from the Old Norse name Tófa. The name is usually given to girls but occasionally to boys. It is also an alternative English spelling of the Hebrew name more commonly spelled Tovah or Tova.

Origins

Some believe the name to be a shortening of Thorfrithr, "beautiful Thor" or "peace of Thor", though the carvings on the Sønder Vissing Runestone show the name to have come from the

rune Runes are the letter (alphabet), letters in a set of related alphabets known as runic alphabets native to the Germanic peoples. Runes were used to write various Germanic languages (with some exceptions) before they adopted the Latin alphabet, a ...

for Tyr, the ancient Norse and Germanic god of sky, justice and war. While the two middle characters suggest cattle/Aurochs, and cattle/wealth/ Frey respectively, the last of the four runic characters also denotes gender. Tófa and Tófi appear to have been relatively popular names in the 10th and 11th centuries and are found in Anglo-Scandinavian court witness lists and later in the Domesday Book in their Latinised form. The personal name became a surname in medieval England, with spellings of Tovi, Tovie (16th century) and Tovey recorded in wills and church documents.

Notable women

* Tove of the Obotrites, 10th-century Wendish princess *

Tove Alexandersson Tove Alexandersson (born 7 September 1992) is a Swedish orienteer, ski orienteer, skyrunner and ski mountaineer. She has won a total of 17 gold medals at the World Orienteering Championships and 10 gold medals at the World Ski Orienteering Ch ...

, Swedish orienteer * Tove Ditlevsen, Danish poet and author * Tove Edfeldt, Swedish actress *

Tove Fergo Tove Fergo (24 September 1946 – 4 October 2015) was a Danish vicar and politician representing the liberal party '' Venstre''. She was a member of the Danish parliament (Folketinget) from 21 September 1994 until 8 February 2005 when she was not re ...

, Danish vicar and politician * Tove Jansson, Finnish artist and author * Tove Lindbo Larsen, Danish politician * Tove Lo, Swedish singer * Tove Maës, Danish actress * Tove Nilsen, Norwegian writer * Tove Nielsen (politician), Danish politician * Tove Styrke, Swedish singer

Notable men

* Tove (sculptor), 12th-century Scania sculptor * Tove Christensen, Canadian actor and producer

Fictional characters

* a legendary young woman, mistress of the Danish King Waldemar, and subject of a poem by Jens Peter Jacobsen best known for its musical setting as the Gurre-Lieder of Arnold Schoenberg * a fictional, slithy creature created by Lewis Carroll that appears in his poem Jabberwocky

References

{{given name Scandinavian feminine given names Swedish feminine given names Danish feminine given names Norwegian feminine given names

Origins

Notable women

Notable men

Fictional characters

See also

References