Tove 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 ...

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 f ...

that derives from the Old Norse name Tófa or from the Old Norse name Þórfríðr, which combines ''Thor'' with "fríðr".

Origins

Some believe the name to be a shortening of ''Þorfríðr'', whose elements are the deity-name

Thor Thor (from ) is a prominent list of thunder gods, god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred g ...

and Old Norse ''fríðr'' 'beautiful'. 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 Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

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 Tove of the Obotrites, also called ''Tova'', ''Tofa'' or ''Thora'', (10th century) was a Slavic princess and a Danish Viking Age queen consort, the spouse of King Harald Bluetooth. Tofa, her name carved in runes as ᛏᚢᚠᛅ'','' was the ...

, 10th-century Wendish princess *

Tove Alexandersson Tove Alexandersson (born 7 September 1992) is a Sweden, Swedish Foot orienteering, foot orienteer, ski orienteering, ski orienteer, skyrunner, trail running, trail runner, ski mountaineering, ski mountaineer and SkySnow, skysnow runner. Alexande ...

, Swedish orienteer *

Tove Ditlevsen Tove Irma Margit Ditlevsen (; 14 December 1917 – 7 March 1976) was a Danish poet and author. With published works in a variety of genres, she was one of Denmark's best-known authors by the time of her death. Early life and career Tove ...

, Danish poet and author *

Tove Edfeldt Tove Edfeldt (born 24 November 1983) is a Swedish actress. She studied at the Swedish National Academy of Mime and Acting between 2004 and 2008. Filmography *1986 – '' The Children of Noisy Village'' *1987 – '' More About the Children of Noi ...

, Swedish actress * Tove Fergo, Danish vicar and politician *

Tove Jansson Tove Marika Jansson (; 9 August 1914 – 27 June 2001) was a Swedish-speaking Finnish author, novelist, painter, illustrator and comic strip author. Brought up by artistic parents, Jansson studied art from 1930 to 1938 in Helsinki, Stockholm, ...

, Finnish artist and author *

Tove Lindbo Larsen Tove Kirsten Lindbo Larsen (25 December 1928 – 29 September 2018) was a Danish Social Democrats politician who served as Minister for Ecclesiastical Affairs and Minister for Greenland from early 1981 to late 1982 in the government of Anker Jør ...

, Danish politician *

Tove Lo Ebba Tove Elsa Nilsson (born 29 October 1987), known professionally as Tove Lo (), is a Swedish singer and songwriter. She is known for her raw, grunge-influenced take on pop music. Referring to her autobiographical lyrics, ''Out (magazine), O ...

, Swedish singer * Tove Midelfart, Norwegian lawyer and businesswoman *

Tove Maës Tove Maës (30 April 1921 – 31 December 2010) was a Danish actress of stage, television and film best known for her starring roles in the series of " Morten Korch" films, in particular '' The Red Horses''. Maës was a three-time recipient of ...

, Danish actress *

Tove Nilsen Tove Nilsen (born 25 October 1952) is a Norwegian novelist, children's writer and literary critic. Biography Nilsen made her literary debut in 1974 with the novel ''Aldri la dem kle deg forsvarsløst naken''. Her adolescence novel from a do ...

, Norwegian writer * Tove Nielsen, Danish politician *

Tove Skutnabb-Kangas Tove Anita Skutnabb-Kangas (6 July 1940 – 29 May 2023) was a Finnish linguist and educator. She is known for coining the term linguicism to refer to discrimination based on language. Life Skutnabb-Kangas was born in Helsinki, Finland, and ...

(1940-2023), Finnish linguist and educator *

Tove Styrke Tove Anna Linnéa Östman Styrke (; born 19 November 1992) is a Swedish singer and songwriter. She gained popularity as a contestant on '' Swedish Idol 2009'', finishing in third place. After the show, she started a solo career in electropop. Sh ...

, Swedish singer *

Birte Tove Birte Tove (née Birte Tove Sørensen; 1945–2016), was a Danish actress and nude model. She is best known for her work in the 1970s Bedside-films (), an erotic film series produced by A/S Palladium. Her films were popular internationally, and ...

(1945–2016), Danish actress and nude model

Notable men

Tove (sculptor) Tove was a sculptor and stonemason active in Scania during the Middle Ages. The artist made and signed the baptismal font of Gumlösa Church with the words ''Tove gierhi'' ("Tove made me"). Gumlösa Church was inaugurated in 1191. Tove also made t ...

, 12th-century Scanian sculptor *

Tove Christensen Tove Christensen (born February 2, 1973) is a Canadian- American film producer and actor. He is the older brother of actor Hayden Christensen. Early life Christensen was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, the son of Alie, an American speechw ...

, Canadian actor and producer

Fictional characters

* a legendary young woman, mistress of the Danish King

Waldemar Waldemar, Valdemar, Valdimar, or Woldemar is an Old High German given name. It consists of the elements ''wald-'' "power", "brightness" and ''-mar'' "fame". The name is considered the equivalent of the Latvian name Valdemārs, the Estonian name ...

, and subject of a poem by Jens Peter Jacobsen best known for its musical setting as the

Gurre-Lieder ' (''Songs of Gurre Castle, Gurre'') is a tripartite oratorio followed by a Melodrama, melodramatic epilogue for five vocal soloists, narrator, three choruses, and grand orchestra. The work, which is based on an early song cycle for soprano, te ...

of Arnold Schoenberg * a fictional, slithy creature created by

Lewis Carroll Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet, mathematician, photographer and reluctant Anglicanism, Anglican deacon. His most notable works are ''Alice ...

that appears in his poem

Jabberwocky "Jabberwocky" is a Nonsense verse, nonsense poem written by Lewis Carroll about the killing of a creature named "the Jabberwock". It was included in his 1871 novel ''Through the Looking-Glass'', the sequel to ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland' ...

References

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

Origins

Notable women

Notable men

Fictional characters

See also

References