Magnus

Spellings & scripts●

Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records; ○ marks a model's transliteration. Click a spelling to open its page.

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 15 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Magnus is also recorded as 6 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• English given name86K records spelled Magnus10 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Germany, United States, Sweden, United Kingdom

  Languages: English, German, Dutch

  Also written Magnús, Mágnus, Mãgńūs

• Portuguese given name41K records spelled Magnus19 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Brazil, Peru, Philippines, Argentina

  Languages: Portuguese, Spanish, Arabic

  Also written Magno, Mágno, Magnús, Magño, Mágnus

• a separate given name5.0K records spelled Magnus3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Norway, Sweden, United States, United Kingdom

  Also written Magnüs, Magnús

• French given name4.8K records spelled Magnus4 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in France, Sweden, Norway, United States

  Languages: French, Catalan

  Also written Magnús, Magne

• a separate given name3.1K records spelled Magnus2 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Sweden, United States, Norway, United Kingdom

  Also written Magnús

• Polish given name2.5K records spelled Magnus2 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Poland, Sweden, Benin, Norway

  Also written Magnús

69 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Magnus is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In English, from Latin magnus ‘great’; first attested Magnus de Weitecroft Hy 2 DC (L)

  as a name·A Dictionary of English Surnames

• In German, from Latin Magnus 'great'; also from the saint's name Magnus

  as a name·Deutsche Namenkunde: Unsere Familiennamen nach ihrer Entstehung und Bedeutung

• In German, From the Latin name Magnus; shows nominative -us and shortened/expanded patronymic forms.

  as a name·Deutscher Familiennamenatlas, Band 3: Morphologie der Familiennamen

• In English, A male given name from Latin of mostly Scottish and Scandinavian usage.

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In German, a male given name, popular chiefly in southern Germany

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 96 years between 1890–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Magnus den godeb. 1024NOKing of Norway and Denmark
• Magnus Barefootb. 1073NOKing of Norway
• Magnus IV of Norwayb. 1115NONorwegian monarch
• Magnus VI of Norwayb. 1238NOKing of Norway (1238–1280)
• Magnus IV of Swedenb. 1316SEKing of Sweden and Norway (1316–1374)
• Magnus Hirschfeldb. 1868DEGerman physician and sexologist (1868–1935)
• Wernher von Braunb. 1912USnot in their usual nameGerman and later American aerospace engineer and space architect (1912–1977)
• Hans Magnus Enzensbergerb. 1929DEGerman writer and editor (1929–2022)
• Haakonb. 1973NOnot in their usual nameCrown Prince of Norway
• Magnus Carlsenb. 1990NONorwegian chess player (born 1990)

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 696 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Magnus?

We estimate roughly 122 thousand people bear Magnus (counting its spellings and scripts) across 10 countries in our records.

In which country does Magnus have the most bearers?

We estimate about 74 thousand people bear Magnus in Sweden, more than in any other country in our records, where it is most often spelled magnus.

Where is Magnus most common?

Measured as a share of residents rather than as a count, Magnus is densest in Iceland — about 1 in 128 people — even though Sweden holds more of our records for it.

How common is Magnus compared with other names?

In Sweden, Magnus is the 27th most common given name of 36,824 given names recorded there.

Is Magnus a male or female name?

Magnus is a male name in our records. Opposite-gender entries fall within the cross-gender noise we measure in the source data, so we don't report them as usage.

What does the name Magnus mean?

Recorded meaning: From the Scandinavian male personal name Magnus, from Latin magnus 'great'.