Pål vs Stefan
Pål and Stefancompared on official birth-registration statistics and Namewise's recorded data. This page states what each name's record shows — it never picks a winner or scores one name against the other.
Head to head
Ranks are only compared within one published list and one year. Two ranks from different years, from a boys' and a girls' list, or from different registrars are not comparable, so they are not placed side by side.
Norway · Boys
In 2025, Pål was ranked #385 and Stefan #272 among boys in Norway.
Pål and Stefan over time
Pål and Stefan appear together in 1 published list, across 76 years of shared records. Pål held the stronger position in more years in 1 of them, Stefan in 0.
The order between them changed and held in one of those lists — a change in that published list, never a claim that one name displaced the other.
Pål reached its own highest recorded position earlier in 1 of those lists, and Stefan in none. Each position is a place inside its own list, so this compares when they peaked and never how high.
Counted list by list. Two names in the same published list are measured on the same scale in the same year, so those comparisons are real — but positions from different lists are not, so nothing here is combined into an overall standing.
How this pair is related
The relationship kinds these two qualify for, each under its own stated rule. Every one is drawn from a list they both appear in.
- Repeatedly exchanged positions
Pål and Stefan changed places 5 times in Norway · Boys between 1947 and 2025, ending at #385 and #272.
- Longest-running competitions
Pål and Stefan were both ranked in Norway · Boys for 76 years, from 1947 to 2025, ending at #385 and #272.
List by list
Norway · Boys76 shared years, 1947–2025
Pål held the stronger position in 55 of those years, Stefan in 21.
Highest recorded here: Pål #23 in 1971, Stefan #98 in 1990.
The order changed in 2012: Stefan moved ahead. In 2011 they stood at #225 and #235; by 2012 that had become #521 and #318.
Most recent shared year, 2025: Pål #385, Stefan #272.
Two names moving past each other in a ranking is a fact about the ranking. Namewise does not claim one name displaced the other, that families chose between them, or that either influenced the other — none of that is in this data.
Side by side
| Field | Pål | Stefan |
|---|---|---|
| Record type | Official statistical record (evidence-only) | Official statistical record (evidence-only) |
| Gender usage | male | male |
| Meaning | Not yet recorded | Not yet recorded |
| Origin | Not yet recorded | Not yet recorded |
| Pronunciation | Not yet recorded | |
| Syllables | 1 | 2 |
| Common variants / nicknames | Not yet recorded | Not yet recorded |
| Recorded regional usage | NO | GB-ENW, GB-NIR, GB-SCT, IE, NO, NZ |
| Most recent popularity observation | Norway · Boys #385 (2025) | Norway · Boys #272 (2025) |
| Pronunciation clarity (demonstration score) | Not yet recorded | Not yet recorded |
| Spelling simplicity (demonstration score) | 95/100 | 88/100 |
| International familiarity (demonstration score) | 40/100 | 100/100 |
| Data Confidence | medium | medium |
What the data shows
- Pål has 1 syllable, compared with 2 for Stefan.
- Both names have recorded usage in NO.
How each name got here
Pål
Popularity journey
First recorded1945
First recorded at #99 among boys in Norway in 1945 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
Norway · Boys
Highest recorded1945–2025
Highest recorded position: #23 among boys in Norway, in 1971 (recorded 1945–2025).
Norway · Boys
Most recent2025
Most recently recorded at #385 among boys in Norway, in 2025.
Norway · Boys
Stefan
Popularity journey
First recorded1947
First recorded at #343 among boys in Norway in 1947 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
Norway · Boys
Highest recorded1947–2025
Highest recorded position: #98 among boys in Norway, in 1990 (recorded 1947–2025).
Norway · Boys
Most recent2025
Most recently recorded at #422 among boys in England and Wales, in 2025.
England and Wales · Boys