Leif is a male given name of
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...
n origin. It is derived from the
Old Norse
Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was 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 ...
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 ...
), 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''; ) are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe, as well as the Arctic Ocean, Arctic and Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic oceans. It includes the sovereign states of Denm ...
, 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, as of 2021, 62,147 men have the name Leif as a first name. As of 2018, about 15,000 Danish men have Leif as their first name.
In Finland, as of 2012, 4,628 men have Leif as a first name.
In the U.S., as of 2015, 6,415 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 al ...
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 (; ) is the Regions of Norway, region along the Atlantic coast of southern Norway. It consists of the Counties of Norway, counties Rogaland, Vestland, and Møre og Romsdal. The region has no official or political-administrative fu ...
, 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 tenth century, but fell out of popularity with men in the fourteenth century."A New Look for Women." Arts ...
". In no Scandinavian region is the name pronounced like the commonly heard English language pronunciation, "leaf", as that would be a
homophone
A homophone () is a word that is pronounced the same as another word but differs in meaning or in spelling. The two words may be spelled the same, for example ''rose'' (flower) and ''rose'' (past tense of "rise"), or spelled differently, a ...
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, he signed with Sony Classical, and recorded for the label the "Beethoven Journey" project, whi ...
(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 leading Romantic music, Romantic era composers, and his music is part of the standard classical repertoire worldwid ...
*
Leif Arrhenius
Leif Hilding Arrhenius (born 15 July 1986) is a professional American-Swedish athlete competing in the shot put and discus throw. He represented Team Sweden at two World and three European Championships. In addition, he is the 2011 U.S. Colle ...
(born 1986), American-Swedish athlete
*
Leif Axmyr (1938–2018), Swedish murderer
*
Leif Bergdahl (born 1941), Swedish physician and politician
*
Leif Blomberg (1941–1998), Swedish trade unionist and politician
*
Leif Bodin
Leif Erik Bodin (born 20 June 1996) is a German lawyer and politician from the Christian Democratic Union of Germany. In the 2025 federal election, he ran in the Nordfriesland – Dithmarschen Nord federal constituency and won with 32.7% of the ...
(born 1996), German politician
*
Leif Davidsen (born 1950), Danish crime fiction writer
*
Leif Davis (born 1999), English footballer
*
Leif Erikson
Leif Erikson, also known as Leif the Lucky (), was a Norsemen, Norse explorer who is thought to have been the first European to set foot on continental Americas, America, approximately half a millennium before Christopher Columbus. According ...
( 970 – 1020), Norse explorer regarded as having discovered North America before
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus (; between 25 August and 31 October 1451 – 20 May 1506) was an Italians, Italian explorer and navigator from the Republic of Genoa who completed Voyages of Christopher Columbus, four Spanish-based voyages across the At ...
*
Leif Garrett
Leif Garrett (born Leif Per Nervik; November 8, 1961) is an American actor, singer, 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 (, ) is a Counties of Sweden, county ...
(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 ...
(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 h ...
(1910–1995), Norwegian comedian, actor and singer.
*
Leif Larsen
Leif Andreas Larsen Distinguished Service Order, DSO, Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom), DSC, Conspicuous Gallantry Medal, CGM, Distinguished Service Medal (United Kingdom), DSM and Bar (9 January 1906 – 12 October 1990), popularly ...
(1906–1990) Norwegian sailor and the most highly decorated allied naval officer of World War II
*
Leif Leifland
Leif Leifland (30 December 1925 – 3 April 2015) was a Swedish diplomat who served as State Secretary for Foreign Affairs from 1977 to 1982 and as Ambassador of Sweden to the United Kingdom from 1982 to 1991. Leifland joined the Ministry for ...
(1925–2015), Swedish diplomat
*
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 legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nat ...
(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 t ...
(1927–2012), Norwegian footballer
*
Leif Panduro (1923–1977), Danish novelist and dramatist
*
Leif G. W. Persson (born 1945), Swedish criminologist, whistle-blower and novelist
*
Leif Segerstam
Leif Selim Segerstam ( , 2 March 1944 – 9 October 2024) was a Finnish conductor, composer, violinist, violist, and pianist, especially known for writing over 300 symphonies, along with other works.
From 1963 onward Segerstam conducted a vari ...
(1944–2024), Finnish conductor and composer
*
Leif Shiras
George Livingston "Leif" Shiras (born August 21, 1959) is an American former professional tennis player and current tennis commentator.
Personal life
George Livingston Shiras was born in August 21, 1959 in Norwalk, Connecticut and raised in Row ...
(born 1959), American tennis player
*
Leif Silbersky (1938–2024), Swedish lawyer and author
*
Leif Tronstad
Leif Hans Larsen Tronstad (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 researcher and wri ...
(1903–1945), Norwegian scientist, intelligence officer and military organizer
*
Leif Vollebekk, Canadian singer-songwriter
See also
*
*
References
{{given name, nocat
Scandinavian masculine given names
Swedish masculine given names
Norwegian masculine given names
Masculine given names
Danish masculine given names
Icelandic masculine given names