In the past few years, fertility rates in Norway have been fluctuating. Prior to present day, 2020 marked the lowest registered rate at 1.48 children per woman. A proposed explanation for this decrease was that more women in Norway were postponing their first birth. However, this statistic turned around in 2021 when it increased to 1.55. This was particularly interesting to researchers as the fertility rate had been on a decreasing trend for nearly a decade. Not only did the rate increase in Norway, it also rose in Finland, Iceland, and Sweden. Some have called it the pandemic baby boom.
Researcher Sánchez Gassen stated, “It seems as if Nordic couples who have been forced to put their careers on hold, have been on furlough or made redundant, saw an opportunity to have children and perhaps boost their family income with parental leave benefits.” The increasing fertility rate was short- lived as 2022 showed another decrease. In fact, 2022 marks the lowest fertility rate measured in Norway at 1.41 children per woman. Women aged 25 to 34 saw a particularly large decline in fertility rate.
Although fertility rates have seen a decreasing trend in Norway as of late, traditional Norwegian baby names may just be returning strong. Statistics Norway (Statistisk Sentralbyrå/SSB) indicated that the most popular 2022 baby names for girls were: Nora, Emma, Olivia, Ella, Sofie, Lea, Frida, Iben and Sara. For boys, the most popular names were: Jakob, Noah, Emil, Lukas, Isak, William, Filip, Aksel and Teodor. Jakob was quite favorable in the 19th century. Ivar Utne from the University of Bergen believes that old Nordic names are making a comeback. He referenced names that were commonly used 100 years ago such as Astrid, Olav, Einar, and Sigurd. It is also believed that Norwegian children are receiving more unique names which Anders Sønstebø, from Statistics Norway, believes alludes to the trend “where the individual gets more space.”
As more women in Norway have started having children at a later age, it will be interesting to follow name trends to see if there is any correlation between the two.