Ragnar

Ragnar is a masculine first name that has its roots in Old High German and Old Germanic.

What does the name Ragnar mean?

The first name Ragnar roughly means 'the counsel of the gods', 'the decision of fate', or also 'the advisor of the army', 'the army advisor', as well as 'the advisor of the war host'. Its origins lie in the Old Germanic names Raganhar and Raginhari. Ragnar represents the Nordic and Scandinavian form of the name Rainer. The name made its way from the Scandinavian countries to Germany towards the end of the 19th century and is now rarely given. It consists of the Old High German elements ragin, which means 'the counsel', 'the decision', or 'the advisor', and heri, which means 'the army', 'the war host', or 'the warrior'. Numerous variants of the name exist, including Reiner, Reinar, Rainier, and Renier (French), Reinier (Dutch), Rainor, Rane, Ranell, Ragnor, Rainero (Italian), Rainiero (Spanish), Rainerio, Rayner (English), Raynor, Raynar, Rajner (Polish), Rainério (Portuguese), Reinher (English), Ragnarr (Old Norse), Raniero (Italian), Reneer, Neer (Limburgish), Ranieri, Ragner, and Regnar (Danish), Regner, and Regnier.

Where does the name Ragnar come from?

The name Ragnar is the Scandinavian variant of the name Rainer. It has its origins in the Old High German language area. The derivation occurs through the words ragin, which means 'the counsel', 'the decision', or 'the advisor', and heri, which means 'the army', 'the war host', or 'the warrior'.

How do you pronounce Ragnar?

The pronunciation of Ragnar is two syllables and has a powerful sound. It is usually pronounced as 'Rag-nar' [ˈʁaɡnaʁ], starting with an open A sound. The combination '-gn-' gives the name a distinctive substance, while the final r adds emphasis. Ragnar exudes strength and an archaic character – a name that is clearly defined and impressive.

When is the name day of Ragnar?

The name day for Ragnar is celebrated on five different days: February 4, April 11, June 17, August 4, and November 3.

Popularity

In Germany, the name Ragnar enjoys great popularity. Currently, it ranks 474th on the list of the most common male first names. Its best placement was in 2016 when it reached 324th place. In the last ten years, Ragnar has been given as a first name about 1,600 times, placing it 395th in the ten-year statistics. For the period from 2010 to 2024, it ranks 469th.

Nicknames & pet names

Ragga / Ragge / Raggi / Ragni / Raxi

Similar first names

Famous people

• Erik Ragnar Svensson (Swedish botanist)
• Magnus Ragnar Bruzelius (American physician)
• Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson (Icelandic president)
• Ragnar Benson (American author)
• Ragnar Bjarnason (singer from Iceland)
• Ragnar Bjerkreim (composer from Norway)
• Ragnar Frisch (Norwegian economist and Nobel laureate in economics)
• Ragnar Haugen (Norwegian boxer)
• Ragnar Hvidsten (Norwegian football player)
• Ragnar Kamp (American curler)
• Ragnar Kinzelbach (German biologist)
• Ragnar Kjartansson (Icelandic artist)
• Ragnar Klavan (Estonian football player)
• Ragnar Larsen (footballer from Norway)
• Ragnar Lodbrok (legendary Viking and king in Denmark (Old Norse Ragnarr Loðbrók))
• Ragnar Lothbrok (character from the series 'Vikings')
• Ragnar Lundberg (Swedish athlete)
• Ragnar Malm (Swedish cyclist)
• Ragnar Östberg (architect from Sweden)
• Ragnar Ostberg (architect from Sweden)