Sven is a

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 masculine first name. In

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 ...

the meaning was "young man" or "servant" and the original Old Norse spelling was ''sveinn''. Variants such as '' Svend'' are found in Danish and Norwegian. Another variant, '' Svein'' is used only in the

Low Countries The Low Countries (; ), historically also known as the Netherlands (), is a coastal lowland region in Northwestern Europe forming the lower Drainage basin, basin of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta and consisting today of the three modern "Bene ...

and German-speaking countries, and is cognate with the English surname '' Swain''. In medieval Swedish, ''sven'' or ''sven av vapen'' "sven of arms", is a term for squire. The female equivalent, Svenja, though seemingly Dutch and Scandinavian, is not common anywhere outside of German-speaking countries. Sven can also be spelled with a "w" - Swen - but is pronounced as Sven. The Icelandic version is ''Sveinn'' (); the Faroese version is Sveinur ().

Entertainment and music

* Sven Einar Englund (1916–1999), Finnish composer * Sven Epiney (born 1972), Swiss television, radio host and editor *

Sven Grünberg Sven Grünberg (born 24 November 1956, Tallinn) is an Estonian synthesizer and progressive rock composer and musician best known for his meditation, meditative organ (music), organ and electronic music, electronic works involving the concepts of ...

(born 1956), Estonian synthesizer and progressive rock composer and musician * Sven August Körling (1842–1919), Swedish composer * Sven Lõhmus (born 1972), Estonian composer, producer and lyricist *

Sven Maes Sven Maes (; born 27 January 1973), also known as Svenson, is a Belgian DJ and trance music Record producer, producer. His work, especially in partnership with fellow Belgian Johan Gielen, has produced some of trance music's biggest hits. He has b ...

(born 1973), Belgian producer * Sven Martin, German keyboardist and sound-director * Sven Nordström (1801–1887), Swedish organ builder * Sven Regener (born 1961), German musician and writer * Sven Sachsalber (1987–2020), Italian performance artist * Sven-Bertil Taube (1934–2022), Swedish singer and actor * Sven Väth (born 1964), German electronic music DJ/producer * Sven Wollter (1934–2020), Swedish actor * Sven van Veen (DJ Sven), one half of Dutch Hip Hop duo "MC Miker G & DJ Sven"

Politics

* Sven Alkalaj (born 1948), Bosnian politician * Sven Arrestad (1850–1942), Norwegian temperance campaigner * Sven Aspling (912–2000), Swedish politician * Sven Hulterström (born 1938), Swedish politician * Sven Lehmann (born 1979), German politician * Sven Lindgren (born 1946), Swedish politician * Sven Otto Littorin (born 1966), Swedish politician * Sven Mikser (born 1973), Estonian politician * Sven Ranck (1616–1684), Swedish statesman * Sven Romanus (1906–2005), Swedish civil servant, Minister for Justice * Sven Rydenfelt (1911–2005), Swedish economist and political writer * Sven Spengemann (born 1966), Canadian politician

Sports

* Sven Andrighetto (born 1993), Swiss ice hockey player (playing in NHL) * Sven Axbom (1926–2006), Swedish footballer * Sven Bartschi (born 1992), Swiss ice hockey player (playing in NHL Vancouver Canucks) * Sven Bender (born 1989), German footballer (playing in Borussia Dortmund) * Sven Butenschön (born 1976), German ice hockey player * Sven Magnus Carlsen (born 1990), Norwegian chess Grandmaster * Sven Coster (born 1978), Dutch sailor * Sven Davidson (1928–2008), Swedish tennis player * Sven-Göran Eriksson (1948–2024), Swedish football (soccer) manager * Sven Fischer (born 1971), German biathlete * Sven Habermann (born 1961), German-Canadian football (soccer) player * Sven Hannawald (born 1974), German ski jumper * Sven Kaldre (born 1991), Estonian basketball player * Sven Kramer (born 1986), Dutch speed skater * Sven Loll (born 1964), East German judoka * Sven Lundgren (1896–1960), Swedish athlete * Sven Meinhardt (born 1971), German field hockey player * Sven Mikaelsson (born 1943), Swedish alpine skier * Sven Nylander (born 1962), Swedish hurdler * Sven Nys (born 1976), Belgian cyclist * Sven Ottke (born 1967), German boxer * Sven Riederer (born 1981), Swiss athlete * Sven Rydell (1905–1975), Swedish footballer * Sven Schultze (born 1978), German basketball player * Sven Thorgren (born 1994), Swedish snowboarder * Sven Tumba (1931–2011), Swedish ice hockey player * Sven-Ole Thorsen (born 1944), Danish actor, stuntman and athlete * Sven Vermant (born 1973), Belgian footballer

Other

* Sven Allard (1896–1975), Swedish diplomat * Sven Backlund (1917–1997), Swedish diplomat * Sven Dahlvig, Swedish philatelist * Sven Hassel (1917–2012), Danish-born soldier and writer * Sven Hedin (1865–1952), Swedish explorer and geographer * Sven O. Høiby (1936–2007), father of Mette-Marit, Crown Princess of Norway *

Sven Jaschan Sven Jaschan (born 29 April 1986) is a former black-hat, black-hat hacker turned white-hat and a security expert/consultant and creator of the Netsky (computer worm), NetSky worms, and Sasser (computer worm), Sasser computer worms. History Jas ...

(born 1986), German computer programmer * Sven Lidman (clergyman) (1786-1845), Swedish priest and Orientalist * Sven Markelius (1889–1972), Swedish architect * Sven Nykvist (1922–2006), Swedish cinematographer * Sven Salander (1894–1965), Swedish Army lieutenant general

Fictional characters

* Sven Hjerson, fictional Finnish detective * " Svën Höek", an episode of ''

The Ren & Stimpy Show ''The Ren & Stimpy Show'', commonly referred to as simply ''Ren & Stimpy'', is an American animated Comedy film, comedy television series created by John Kricfalusi for Nickelodeon. The series follows the misadventures of Ren Höek, an emotion ...

'' * Sven Holgersson, from the Voltron franchise * Sven the Berserk, in the 1989 film '' Erik the Viking'', played by Tim McInnerny * Sven, the silent scorer sometimes appearing on the BBC radio show '' I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue'' * "Sven from Swiss Cottage", a character used by

Peter Cook Peter Edward Cook (17 November 1937 – 9 January 1995) was an English comedian, actor, satirist, playwright and screenwriter. He was the leading figure of the British satire boom of the 1960s, and he was associated with the anti-establishmen ...

when participating in radio phone-ins * Sven – Rogue Knight, one of the many heroes featured in the custom ''Warcraft III'' map ''

Defense of the Ancients ''Defense of the Ancients'' (''DotA'') is a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) mod (video gaming), mod for the video game ''Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos'' (2002) and its expansion, ''The Frozen Throne'' (2003). The objective of the game is ...

'', and its sequel ''

Dota 2 ''Dota 2'' is a 2013 multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) video game by Valve Corporation, Valve. The game is a sequel to ''Defense of the Ancients'' (''DotA''), a community-created Mod (video gaming), mod for Blizzard Entertainment's ''War ...

'' * Sven, in the '' Witches of East End'' novel series by Melissa de la Cruz * Sven Dufva, main character in the poem "Sven Dufva" of '' The Tales of Ensign Stål'', written by J. L. Runeberg * Sven Cal Bayang, from '' Mobile Suit Gundam SEED C.E. 73: Stargazer'' * Sven "The Governator", in the movie ''

Cars A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people rather than cargo. There are around one billio ...

'', voiced by

Jess Harnell Jess Harnell (born December 23, 1963) is an American voice actor. His roles include Wakko Warner in ''Animaniacs'', Captain Hero in '' Drawn Together'', Jerry in the first two seasons of '' Totally Spies!'', Ironhide in the first three ''Tr ...

* Sven, from the Georgia Nicolson book series by Louise Rennison * Sven, Kristoff's pet reindeer in the movie ''Frozen'' * Sven, the name of a puffin in '' Happy Feet Two'' * Sven, a Nord character in '' The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim'' * Sven and Ole, a character in a type of joke told by Scandinavian-Americans * Sven Joergenson, Sven Pilson and Sven Johansson, from the series ''

How I Met Your Mother ''How I Met Your Mother'' (often abbreviated as ''HIMYM'') is an American sitcom created by Craig Thomas (screenwriter), Craig Thomas and Carter Bays for CBS. The series, which aired from September 19, 2005, to March 31, 2014, follows main char ...

'' * Sven, the name of PewDiePie's pet wolf in his Minecraft YouTube series

References