r/norsk • u/belsaf678 • Jul 28 '25
Resource(s) ← looking for Is Alden a Norwegian name?
Wondering if Alden is perceived as a Norwegian name or if it is popular in Norway?
7
u/kalmakka Jul 28 '25
Apparently there are 84 people with Alden as a last name and 7 with it as a first name. So maybe it is a rare Norwegian name? Or it could be that it's just immigrants. It is extremely rare, though.
1
u/Crazy-Cremola Jul 28 '25
Alden is a place, an island, https://www.google.com/maps/place/Alden/@61.3017905,4.8703417,42685m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m6!3m5!1s0x4617fcbb6e271947:0x253e463c3f697619!8m2!3d61.3261772!4d4.7815125!16s%2Fm%2F0zg63h3?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MDcyMy4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D And there is a farm there, and place names/farm names are common surnames in Norway. Only one farm though, so I'm impressed that 87 people have it as a surname now.
2
4
2
2
u/Plenty-Advance892 Jul 28 '25
No.
If you plan on naming your kid that, it will certainly be unique.
2
u/AquamarineMachine Native speaker Jul 28 '25
Nope. Without any research, and with possibility for being insensitive, it sounds like it's a "white girl" mom trying to be original. Alde is also a cider producer though, for what it's worth. In norwegian, the name alden sounds like it's the definite form of some unknown noun ald or alde, which to my knowledge doesn't exist.
3
u/F_E_O3 Jul 28 '25
In norwegian, the name alden sounds like it's the definite form of some unknown noun ald or alde, which to my knowledge doesn't exist.
It does. https://naob.no/ordbok/alde
2
u/AquamarineMachine Native speaker Jul 28 '25
Well, I learned something today. That explains the cidery, I guess. I really should start checking the dictionary before I click post...
1
u/F_E_O3 Jul 28 '25
In Nynorskordboka and Norsk Ordbok (dialect/Nynorsk) you also have ei alde=wave (if you choose to use this in Bokmål, you could turn it masculine and use the definite form alden, but not sure if that's done at all. So pretty theoretical). And alden = dialectal adjective for the ocean having big waves (last one not in Nynorskordboka)
1
u/Goldenprince111 Beginner (bokmål) Jul 28 '25
I have an acquaintance in the U.S. and he and his father are both named Alden. I searched it, and it is derived from old English. The old English name is apparently Ealdwine, which means close friend. You can definitely see the Germanic roots with Eald (old) and wine (friend).
1
u/royalfarris Native Speaker Jul 28 '25
The version Alvin is much more common. There are 755 men with the first name Alvin in norway.
15
u/FuliginEst Jul 28 '25
Alden is an island on the west coast of Norway: https://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alden
"Alden" as a first name is not common at all, no. There are several people (possibly originating from Alden) with Alden as a sirname.