Kjell Högberg

Kjell is a Scandinavian usually male given name. In Denmark, the cognate is Kjeld or Keld. The name comes from the Old Norse word ''kętill'', which means "kettle" and probably also "helmet" or perhaps "cauldron". Examples of old spellings or forms are ''Ketill'' (Old Norse), ''Kjætil'' (Old Swedish) and ''Ketil'' (Old Danish). An equally likely meaning is a source, a hope that the boy will get ample resources to draw upon later in life.

Kjell has a name day on July 11 in Norway and July 8 in Sweden, and in Denmark with the variant ''Kjeld''.

Prevalence

In 2007, there were 59,011 men in Sweden with "Kjell" as their first name, making it the 42nd most common masculine name in Sweden. In Swedish and Norwegian it is pronounced with the voiceless alveolo-palatal sibilant fricative � There were 30,809 men in Norway with "Kjell" as their first name. This makes it the 5th most common masculine name in Norway. In Denmark, 8079 men were called "Kjeld" and 5491 "Keld". In Finland, the number of men called Kjell in 2008 was 1405.

The name began to be widely used in the 1600s when it took over from the older name form ''Kætil'' or ''Ketill'', which were also precursors of the name Kjetil, and a loan from Latin ''catillus'', which is the diminutive of ''catinus'' (= barrel, bowl). ''Kætil/Ketill'' was probably one of the most common male names in Old Norse times. In Landnámabók, it is the male name that occurs most often - even more frequently than the most widely used compositions with ''Tor-''. There are 44 found runic inscriptions from the Viking era that contain the name ''Kætill'', which is why it is the 13th most used male name in this material. Five of the inscriptions are found in Denmark and three in Norway, most others have unknown sites. The name was most often written with runes like ᚲᛖᛏᛁᛚ (''ketil''), ᚲᛁᛏᛁᛚ (''kitil'') or ᚲᚨᛏᛁᛚ (''katil'').

In Denmark the name appears in many village (''torp'') names, so there are nearly 20 places named Kelstrup or Kjelstrup. However, the name does not appear in compositions with ''-lev'', and it can only be explained that it was not used at the time when ''-lev'' names were formed. Consequently, we can date the period when ''Kætil/Ketill'' was used as a name, at the time between the end of the Migration Period and the beginning of the Viking Age. But the reason that the name gained such tremendous prevalence within a few centuries, we do not know.Kristian Hald: ''Personnavne i Danmark – oldtiden'' (s. 63), Dansk historisk fællesforenings håndbøger, København 1974

The name ''Kjell'' is known in Norway from the 1400s. In recent times, the name was widely used in the 1940s and 50s, but is now rarely used for newborn boys.

In Sweden, the name was most popular in the 1940s.

''Kjell'' is today a common name in Norway and Sweden, and ''Kjeld'' or ''Keld'' is common in Denmark.

The following table provides a detailed overview of the popularity of the male name ''Kjell'' and its variants in some of the countries where statistics are available.

Name compositions

''Kjell'' is found in many name compositions, both of the old date, written in one word, or in new ones, which are written in two words.

*Female names: Kjellaug, Kjellrun, Kjellfrid, Audkjell, Kjella, Kjellbjørg
*Male names: Torkel, Arnkjell, Askjell, Finnkjell, Grimkjell, Hallkjell, Kjellbjørn, Kjellfred, Torkjell
:Newer: Kjell Inge, Kjell Magne, Kjell Einar osv.

''Kjell'' is also present in at least one notable Swedish surname: Kjellberg.

People

A–F

* Kjell Almskog (born 1941), Norwegian businessman
* Kjell Askildsen (1929–2021), Norwegian writer
* Kjell Aukrust (1920–2002), Norwegian poet, author and artist
* Kjell Bækkelund (1930–2004), Norwegian classical pianist
* Kjell Bäckman (1934–2019), Swedish speed skater
* Kjell Berg (born 1962), Norwegian curler
*Kjell Bergqvist (born 1953), Swedish actor
* Kjell Bjartveit (1927–2011), Norwegian physician and politician
* Kjell Bohlin (1928–2011), Norwegian politician
* Kjell Bondevik (1901–1983), Norwegian politician and uncle of Kjell Magne
*Kjell Magne Bondevik (born 1947), former Norwegian prime minister and nephew of Kjell
* Kjell Borgen (1939–1996), Norwegian politician
* Kjell Carlström (born 1976), Finnish cyclist
* Kjell Colding (1931–2009), Norwegian diplomat and politician
* Kjell Dahlin (born 1963), Swedish ice hockey player
* Kjell Elvis (born 1968), Norwegian Elvis impersonator
* Kjell Engebretsen (born 1941), Norwegian politician
*Kjell Eriksson (born 1953), Swedish author
* Kjell Espmark (1930–2022), Swedish author
* Kjell-Olof Feldt (1931–2025), Swedish politician
*Kjell Fjalsett (born 1952), Norwegian musician
* Kjell Fjørtoft (1930–2010), Norwegian journalist and writer

G–M

* Kjell Gjerseth (1946–2025), Norwegian novelist and journalist
* Kjell Grede (1936–2017), Swedish film director
* Kjell Grengmark (1935–2022), Swedish curler
* Kjell Håkonsen (1935–2011), Norwegian harness racing coach
* Kjell Hallbing (1934–2004), Norwegian author
* Kjell Heggelund (1932–2017), Norwegian literary researcher and lecturer
*Kjell Helland (born 1940), Norwegian politician
* Kjell Henriksen (1938–1996), Norwegian scientist
* Kjell Höglund (born 1945), Swedish singer
* Kjell Holler (1925–2000), Norwegian politician
* Kjell Holmström (1916–1999), Swedish bobsledder
* Kjell Hovda (born 1945), Norwegian biathlete
* Kjell Isaksson (born 1948), Swedish pole vault world record holder
* Kjell Jennstig (born 1960), Swedish musician
* Kjell Johansson (disambiguation), various people
* Kjell Jonevret (born 1962), Swedish football manager and former player
* Kjell Kaspersen (born 1939), Norwegian footballer
* Kjell Kjær (1942–2025), Norwegian actor, puppeteer, director, and program host
* Kjell Knudsen (1931–2022), Norwegian politician
* Kjell Koserius (1943–2002), Swedish Air Force major general
* Kjell Larsson (1943–2002), Swedish politician
*Kjell Eugenio Laugerud García

HOME


Content is Copyleft
Website design, code, and AI is Copyrighted (c) 2014-2017 by Stephen Payne


Consider donating to Wikimedia



As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases