Klaus

maleGermanic

Shares Nikolaus's meaning: commonly interpreted as 'victory of the people'.

Origin: Germanic — A short form of 'Nikolaus', itself from Greek 'Nikolaos'.

Official popularity data is available for 2 regions, from 1945 to 2024. Highest recorded position: #175 in Norway in 1947. See regions.

Klaus: Recorded since 1945, its highest recorded position is #175, and it stood at #3,254 in 2024.

2registrars recorded it
62times a registrar ranked it
80years from first to last
#175highest recorded position
10groupings it qualifies for

KLOWSS/klaʊs/

Compare Klaus Run Name Checker on Klaus

Data Confidence

Evidence: ModerateCompleteness: CompleteEditorial review: 2025-02-01

Confidence in the evidencebehind this name's data — never a rating of the name itself, and never affected by how well it matches your preferences. How this is assessed

Because: backed by officially or academically authoritative sources, last verified a while ago, most expected sections are populated, popularity data covers multiple regions.

Source authority

Averaged from the real per-claim source-authority assessments already computed for this name's meaning/origin/pronunciation/popularity evidence.

Independent corroboration

Averaged from the real per-claim supporting-source counts already computed for this name's evidence.

See full evidence assessment (8 dimensions, 1 not yet tracked)

Source agreement

No recorded source disagreement for this name's meanings or origins.

Recency

Calculated from how long ago this record was last verified (2025-02-01), against a 270-day staleness threshold.

Geographic relevance

Calculated from the number of geographies with official popularity data (2) — broader official coverage means the evidence base is relevant to more of where the name is actually used.

Completeness

Calculated from how many of the expected data sections (variants, similar names, popularity, notable usage, IPA pronunciation) are actually populated for this name.

Direct observation vs. inference

Averaged from the real per-claim direct-observation-vs-inference ratios already computed for this name's evidence.

Identity & variant resolution quality

Cross-source identity and variant resolution requires HEKNO Knowledge, which isn't connected yet.

Name Characteristics

How these are calculated

Descriptive attributes of the name itself — not a confidence measurement, and not an overall quality score. Namewise doesn't approve or disapprove of names.

Pronunciation clarity

Editorial judgement of how consistently this name is pronounced correctly on first read, mapped from an easy/moderate/variable rating to a number. Describes the name — not a measure of evidence confidence.

Spelling simplicity

Calculated directly from the name's spelling: shorter names with fewer irregular letter clusters score higher. A disclosed formula, not an editorial opinion — and not a confidence measurement.

Recorded regional spread

Derived from how many geographies' official statistics record this name. It measures where the name is registered, not how well-known it feels to people living there.

International spread

Derived from the same official statistical coverage, scaled to reflect how widely the name crosses national datasets. Not a measure of how easily it is understood in another language.

Trend stability

Derived from the name's traditional/modern classification and its current popularity trend direction.

Overview

Origin: Germanic
Meaning: Shares Nikolaus's meaning: commonly interpreted as 'victory of the people'.
Pronunciation: KLOWSS
Syllables: 1
Common nicknames: None recorded
Classification: traditional
Gender usage: male
Language family: Germanic

Popularity

Region

Falling

among boys in England and Wales · 1998–2024

View as table

England and Wales · Boys rank by year
Year	Rank
1998	#2901
2015	#3908
2016	#4810
2017	#3996
2018	#3959
2019	#4702
2020	#2404
2021	#2493
2022	#4789
2023	#4107
2024	#3254

VerifiedSource: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales.Confidence: high.

See all England and Wales names · Source: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales

What the data shows

FallingEngland and Wales · Boys

Recorded in official data among boys in Norway in 51 of the 76 years from 1945 to 2020.

In 2020: #460 among boys in Norway, #2404 among boys in England and Wales.

Official data from 2 national registrars across 2 regions, 1945–2024 · Office for National Statistics. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1945
First recorded at #241 among boys in Norway in 1945 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
Norway · Boys
Most recent2024
Most recently recorded at #3254 among boys in England and Wales, in 2024.
England and Wales · Boys

Klaus appears in 2 of the published lists Namewise holds. The longest record is Norway · Boys, which has ranked it in 51 years beginning in 1945, and has registered 688 births with the name.

Klaus across 2 official records

Each registrar publishes its own list, so these figures are read down a row, never across one. A position in one country is not comparable with a position in another, and Namewise never combines them into a single ranking. The birth counts do not compare across rows either, for a different reason: England and Wales registers roughly thirty times as many births a year as Northern Ireland, so a larger total says which registrar recorded it as much as how widely the name was given.

Klaus's first, highest and most recent recorded position in each official list, with the number of births each registrar registered with the name and its largest single year
Published list	First recorded	Highest	Most recent	Years recorded	Births registered	Most in one year
Norway · Boys	#241 (1945)	#175 (1947)	#460 (2020)	51 of 76	688 (1945–2020)	30 (1973)
England and Wales · Boys	#2901 (1998)	#2404 (2020)	#3254 (2024)	11 of 27	50 (1998–2024)	8 (2020)

Klaus by decade in Norway · Boys

Births registered with the name in each decade of this one list, with the number of years the list covers in that decade. Bars are scaled on births a year, which is the figure that compares between decades — a decade the list only partly covers has a smaller total without being a quieter decade. Figures belong to this registrar alone and do not carry to another.

Births registered with Klaus in Norway · Boys, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1940s	87	5 of 10	17
1950s	164	10 of 10	16
1960s	172	10 of 10	17
1970sbusiest	175	10 of 10	18
1980s	47	7 of 10	7
1990s	20	4 of 10	5
2000s	15	3 of 10	5
2010s	4	1 of 10	4
2020s	4	1 of 10	4

Across Norway · Boys, the 1970s were its busiest decade, averaging 18 births a year.

See the names Norwayhas recorded the most births with →

Klaus appears in

Groupings this name qualifies for under their own stated rules, from the same official statistics shown above.

What the record shows

Recorded by 2 registrars between 1945 and 2024, ranked in 60 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #175, first reached in 1947.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 30 births, registered in Norway in 1973.

Its record falls into 10 separate stretches, with a longest absence of 8 years.

A second registrar first ranked it in 1998, and 53 years separate the first registrar to record it from the last.

Every figure here is counted from the seven official registrars Namewise holds. A position is only ever a place within the list that published it, and a record that thins or stops is a fact about what registrars printed — never about how many children received the name.

Klaus was ranked #175 in Norway · Boys in 1947. These are the names immediately either side of it on that published list — a fact about the registrar's own output, not a similarity judgement.

Edvard#171
Fredrik#172
Alfred#173
Hallvard#174
Norvald#176
Runar#177
Svend#178
Børre#179

Where to go next

Records with a comparable body of evidence, so the catalogue can be read outward from this one. Each group states the rule it was selected by.

Next in the catalogue

The records either side of this one alphabetically.

Klara · #54, 76y
Klaudia · #187, 43y
Klay · #415, 20y
Klayton · #764, 23y

A comparable record

Records held by the same 2 registrars, over a similar number of ranked years, whose highest position is closest to this one. A similar body of evidence — never a claim that the names themselves are alike.

Darina · #174, 56y
Eivor · #181, 56y
Blathnaid · #168, 55y
Ulla · #166, 61y

Also first recorded in the 1940s

Records whose earliest ranking in Namewise's registrar data also falls between 1940 and 1949.

Gunnvor · #175, 25y
Tron · #175, 40y
Alvilde · #176, 35y
Hermann · #174, 58y

Klaus and the names beside it

Two names in the same published list are measured on the same scale, in the same year, by the same registrar — so these are positions that genuinely passed each other, not a similarity judgement. Drawn from the 2,577 names with a recorded popularity standing (common, familiar, uncommon), so a name outside that set could have passed Klaus without appearing here.

Klaus moved ahead of

Espen
In 2023 they stood at #4107 and #4107 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2024 that had become #3254 and #5119.
Graham
In 2023 they stood at #4107 and #1533 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2024 that had become #3254 and #5119.
Jade
In 2023 they stood at #4107 and #2813 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2024 that had become #3254 and #5119.
Nils
In 2020 they stood at #4702 and #3411 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2021 that had become #2493 and #3990.

Moved ahead of Klaus

Rune
In 2018 they stood at #3959 and #4749 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2019 that had become #4702 and #2104.
Steven
In 1982 they stood at #407 and #423 in Norway · Boys; by 1983 that had become #540 and #224.
Scott
In 1991 they stood at #582 and #594 in Norway · Boys; by 1992 that had become #608 and #353.
Noah
In 1995 they stood at #468 and #560 in Norway · Boys; by 1996 that had become #583 and #332.

Moved the opposite way to Klaus

Aksel
Between 1945 and 2020 in Norway · Boys, Klaus went from #241 to #460 while Aksel went from #174 to #16.
Alfred
Between 1945 and 2020 in Norway · Boys, Klaus went from #241 to #460 while Alfred went from #127 to #22.
Andreas
Between 1945 and 2020 in Norway · Boys, Klaus went from #241 to #460 while Andreas went from #140 to #72.
Arthur
Between 1945 and 2020 in Norway · Boys, Klaus went from #241 to #460 while Arthur went from #153 to #74.

Moved the same way as Klaus

Anders
Between 1945 and 2020 in Norway · Boys, Klaus went from #241 to #460 and Anders from #55 to #163.
Arild
Between 1945 and 2020 in Norway · Boys, Klaus went from #241 to #460 and Arild from #32 to #443.
Arne
Between 1945 and 2020 in Norway · Boys, Klaus went from #241 to #460 and Arne from #6 to #250.
Bjørn
Between 1945 and 2020 in Norway · Boys, Klaus went from #241 to #460 and Bjørn from #3 to #113.

Meaning & Origin

Shares Nikolaus's meaning: commonly interpreted as 'victory of the people'.

VerifiedSource: Namewise editorial team, Behind the Name.Confidence: medium.

Germanic

A short form of 'Nikolaus', itself from Greek 'Nikolaos'.

VerifiedSource: Namewise editorial team, Behind the Name.Confidence: medium.

Other names with a researched meaning and origin →

Where Klaus is officially recorded

2 official registrars have recorded Klaus, between 1945 and 2024, in 60 of those 80 years. Each registrar publishes for its own population on its own methodology, so the positions below are each one country's own ranking and are not comparable with one another.

Registrar	Recorded	Years	Its own highest position
Norway	1945–2020	51	#175 in 1947
England and Wales	1998–2024	11	#2404 in 2020

Its high point came 73 years earlier in Norway (1947) than in England and Wales (2020).

No registrar recorded it for 8 years after 2006; it appears again in 2015.

Variants

Nikolaus · regional
Nils · regional

Similar Names

See full comparison →

Magnus8% similar

Both are short, historically rooted continental European names.

Similarity is a demonstration score — see methodology.

Spelling

Spelling simplicity

Calculated directly from the name's spelling — see Name Characteristics above.

No commonly used alternate spellings recorded.

Pronunciation

KLOWSS/klaʊs/

Syllables: 1
Ease: easy

Demonstration dataSource: Namewise editorial team.Confidence: low.

Where Klaus Is Recorded

National statistical agencies have recorded Klaus in these places. This shows where the name is used — not where it comes from, and not that it carries particular cultural significance there.

England and WalesNorway

Notable Usage

No safely-sourced notable usage recorded for this name yet.

Sibling & Surname Compatibility

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Klaus

Klaus at a glance

Overview

Popularity

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Klaus across 2 official records

Klaus by decade in Norway · Boys

Klaus appears in

What the record shows

Names published alongside Klaus

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1940s

Klaus and the names beside it

Klaus moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Klaus

Moved the opposite way to Klaus

Moved the same way as Klaus

Meaning & Origin

Where Klaus is officially recorded

Variants

Similar Names

Spelling

Pronunciation

Where Klaus Is Recorded

Notable Usage

Sibling & Surname Compatibility

Klaus at a glance

Klaus across 2 official records

Klaus by decade in Norway · Boys

Klaus appears in

What the record shows

Names published alongside Klaus

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1940s

Klaus and the names beside it

Klaus moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Klaus

Moved the opposite way to Klaus

Moved the same way as Klaus