Gunnar

maleStatistical record

What official birth registration shows about Gunnar: which national registrars published it, in which years, and how its recorded position changed.

No researched meaning, origin or pronunciation yet — what that means.

Gunnar: Recorded every year since 1945, its highest recorded position is #10, and it stood at #250 in 2025.

2registrars recorded it
95times a registrar ranked it
81years from first to last
#10highest recorded position
21groupings it qualifies for
57names it appears alongside

What stands out in Gunnar's record

Ranked every year since 1945, without a single year missing. Names by continuity of record
Held a top-100 place for 30 years running. Names by top-100 run
Moved 209 places between two consecutive years — its largest recorded change. Names by largest single-year move
Shares a published list with another name across 81 years. Longest shared records

Region

Rising

among boys in England and Wales · 2009–2024

View as table

England and Wales · Boys rank by year
Year	Rank
2009	#3744
2010	#4678
2013	#3822
2014	#4632
2015	#3373
2016	#2556
2017	#3040
2018	#1786
2019	#2728
2020	#1935
2021	#1860
2022	#1879
2023	#1906
2024	#2443

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

RisingEngland and Wales · Boys

Recorded in official data among boys in Norway in every year from 1945 to 2025.

In 2024: #398 among boys in Norway, #2443 among boys in England and Wales.

Official data from 2 national registrars across 2 regions, 1945–2025 · Office for National Statistics. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1945
First recorded at #13 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: #10 among boys in Norway, in 1946 (recorded 1945–2025).
Norway · Boys
Most recent2025
Most recently recorded at #250 among boys in Norway, in 2025.
Norway · Boys

Gunnar appears in 2 of the published lists Namewise holds. The longest record is Norway · Boys, which has ranked it in 81 years beginning in 1945, and has registered 10,842 births with the name.

Gunnar 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.

Gunnar'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	#13 (1945)	#10 (1946)	#250 (2025)	81 of 81	10,842 (1945–2025)	617 (1946)
England and Wales · Boys	#3744 (2009)	#1786 (2018)	#2443 (2024)	14 of 16	109 (2009–2024)	13 (2018)

Gunnar 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 Gunnar in Norway · Boys, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1940sbusiest	2,691	5 of 10	538
1950s	3,778	10 of 10	378
1960s	2,229	10 of 10	223
1970s	1,046	10 of 10	105
1980s	494	10 of 10	49
1990s	261	10 of 10	26
2000s	155	10 of 10	16
2010s	120	10 of 10	12
2020s	68	6 of 10	11

Across Norway · Boys, the 1940s were its busiest decade — the 5 years of it this list covers, averaging 538 births a year.

Its sharpest single-year move came between 1945 and 1946, when recorded births rose by 141, from 476 to 617.

See the names Norwayhas recorded the most births with →

Gunnar appears in

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

Popularity data

Official popularity data is available for 2 regions, from 1945 to 2025. Highest recorded position: #10 in Norway in 1947.

Gunnar's recorded popularity observations by year, region and administrative category, including rank, registered births, source confidence and when each region's data was last reviewed.
Year	Region	Category	Rank	Births registered	Confidence	Status
2024	England and Wales	male	#2443	9	High	Verified
2023	England and Wales	male	#1906	12	High	Verified
2022	England and Wales	male	#1879	12	High	Verified
2021	England and Wales	male	#1860	12	High	Verified
2020	England and Wales	male	#1935	11	High	Verified
2019	England and Wales	male	#2728	7	High	Verified
2018	England and Wales	male	#1786	13	High	Verified
2017	England and Wales	male	#3040	6	High	Verified
2016	England and Wales	male	#2556	8	High	Verified
2015	England and Wales	male	#3373	5	High	Verified
2014	England and Wales	male	#4632	3	High	Verified
2013	England and Wales	male	#3822	4	High	Verified
2010	England and Wales	male	#4678	3	High	Verified
2009	England and Wales	male	#3744	4	High	Verified
2025	Norway	male	#250	16	High	Verified
2024	Norway	male	#398	7	High	Verified
2023	Norway	male	#345	10	High	Verified
2022	Norway	male	#364	8	High	Verified
2021	Norway	male	#283	13	High	Verified
2020	Norway	male	#262	14	High	Verified
2019	Norway	male	#283	15	High	Verified
2018	Norway	male	#270	16	High	Verified
2017	Norway	male	#292	15	High	Verified
2016	Norway	male	#384	9	High	Verified
2015	Norway	male	#298	15	High	Verified
2014	Norway	male	#345	11	High	Verified
2013	Norway	male	#495	5	High	Verified
2012	Norway	male	#286	16	High	Verified
2011	Norway	male	#360	10	High	Verified
2010	Norway	male	#416	8	High	Verified
2009	Norway	male	#397	9	High	Verified
2008	Norway	male	#271	17	High	Verified
2007	Norway	male	#285	15	High	Verified
2006	Norway	male	#271	16	High	Verified
2005	Norway	male	#305	12	High	Verified
2004	Norway	male	#440	6	High	Verified
2003	Norway	male	#242	19	High	Verified
2002	Norway	male	#246	17	High	Verified
2001	Norway	male	#254	18	High	Verified
2000	Norway	male	#205	26	High	Verified
1999	Norway	male	#200	28	High	Verified
1998	Norway	male	#207	25	High	Verified
1997	Norway	male	#221	23	High	Verified
1996	Norway	male	#243	21	High	Verified
1995	Norway	male	#216	26	High	Verified
1994	Norway	male	#258	19	High	Verified
1993	Norway	male	#234	25	High	Verified
1992	Norway	male	#197	32	High	Verified
1991	Norway	male	#190	35	High	Verified
1990	Norway	male	#210	27	High	Verified
1989	Norway	male	#186	35	High	Verified
1988	Norway	male	#184	35	High	Verified
1987	Norway	male	#172	37	High	Verified
1986	Norway	male	#142	55	High	Verified
1985	Norway	male	#185	36	High	Verified
1984	Norway	male	#137	52	High	Verified
1983	Norway	male	#129	60	High	Verified
1982	Norway	male	#135	58	High	Verified
1981	Norway	male	#114	68	High	Verified
1980	Norway	male	#134	58	High	Verified
1979	Norway	male	#114	71	High	Verified
1978	Norway	male	#108	74	High	Verified
1977	Norway	male	#114	64	High	Verified
1976	Norway	male	#84	99	High	Verified
1975	Norway	male	#103	83	High	Verified
1974	Norway	male	#70	118	High	Verified
1973	Norway	male	#74	113	High	Verified
1972	Norway	male	#63	138	High	Verified
1971	Norway	male	#62	140	High	Verified
1970	Norway	male	#62	146	High	Verified
1969	Norway	male	#54	176	High	Verified
1968	Norway	male	#49	201	High	Verified
1967	Norway	male	#43	228	High	Verified
1966	Norway	male	#47	200	High	Verified
1965	Norway	male	#41	233	High	Verified
1964	Norway	male	#41	235	High	Verified
1963	Norway	male	#39	234	High	Verified
1962	Norway	male	#39	221	High	Verified
1961	Norway	male	#35	255	High	Verified
1960	Norway	male	#34	246	High	Verified
1959	Norway	male	#30	281	High	Verified
1958	Norway	male	#25	298	High	Verified
1957	Norway	male	#23	344	High	Verified
1956	Norway	male	#25	346	High	Verified
1955	Norway	male	#24	340	High	Verified
1954	Norway	male	#21	359	High	Verified
1953	Norway	male	#14	458	High	Verified
1952	Norway	male	#14	435	High	Verified
1951	Norway	male	#13	421	High	Verified
1950	Norway	male	#11	496	High	Verified
1949	Norway	male	#11	498	High	Verified
1948	Norway	male	#11	542	High	Verified
1947	Norway	male	#10	558	High	Verified
1946	Norway	male	#10	617	High	Verified
1945	Norway	male	#13	476	High	Verified

England and Wales hub — collected by Office for National Statistics
Norway hub — collected by Statistics Norway (SSB)

See methodology and data sources for how popularity data is collected and what "confidence" means.

What the record shows

Recorded by 2 registrars between 1945 and 2025, ranked in 81 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #10, first reached in 1946.

It held a top-100 place in 31 years, 30 of them consecutive.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 617 births, registered in Norway in 1946.

1 registrar ranked it inside their own top 10.

A second registrar first ranked it in 2009, and 64 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.

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.

Gunhild · #75, 78y
Gunn · #15, 60y
Gunnbjørg · #203, 23y
Gunnhild · #166, 61y

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.

Tor · #10, 81y
Eirik · #11, 81y
Hanne · #9, 80y
Kristoffer · #11, 80y

Also first recorded in the 1940s

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

Aud · #10, 59y
Barbara · #10, 79y
Elsie · #10, 47y
Hans · #10, 81y

Comparisons involving Gunnar

Existing comparison pages where Gunnar and another name were ranked in the same published list, in the same years, on the same scale. Each has its own evidence; none of them says the names are alike.

Longest shared records

Names ranked alongside Gunnar in the same published list across at least 25 years.

Aksel vs Gunnar
Aksel and Gunnar were both ranked in Norway · Boys for 81 years, from 1945 to 2025, ending at #25 and #250.
Aksel · Gunnar · 81 shared years, 1945–2025 · Longest-running competitions
See the 2025 Norway ranking
Anders vs Gunnar
Anders and Gunnar were both ranked in Norway · Boys for 81 years, from 1945 to 2025, ending at #293 and #250.
Anders · Gunnar · 81 shared years, 1945–2025 · Longest-running competitions
See the 2025 Norway ranking
Andreas vs Gunnar
Andreas and Gunnar were both ranked in Norway · Boys for 81 years, from 1945 to 2025, ending at #96 and #250.
Andreas · Gunnar · 81 shared years, 1945–2025 · Longest-running competitions
See the 2025 Norway ranking

Compared inside Norway lists

Pairs involving Gunnar measured in Norway's own published lists — the registrar that recorded Gunnar at its highest position.

Arne vs Gunnar
Arne and Gunnar were both ranked in Norway · Boys for 81 years, from 1945 to 2025, ending at #222 and #250.
Arne · Gunnar · 81 shared years, 1945–2025 · Longest-running competitions
See the 2025 Norway ranking
Bjørn vs Gunnar
Bjørn and Gunnar were both ranked in Norway · Boys for 81 years, from 1945 to 2025, ending at #56 and #250.
Bjørn · Gunnar · 81 shared years, 1945–2025 · Longest-running competitions
See the 2025 Norway ranking
Christian vs Gunnar
Christian and Gunnar were both ranked in Norway · Boys for 81 years, from 1945 to 2025, ending at #131 and #250.
Christian · Gunnar · 81 shared years, 1945–2025 · Longest-running competitions
See the 2025 Norway ranking

Norway overview→

Gunnar was ranked #10 in Norway · Boys in 1946. 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.

Gunnar 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 2,573 names with a recorded popularity standing (common, familiar, uncommon), so a name outside that set could have passed Gunnar without appearing here.

Gunnar moved ahead of

Madison Compare
In 2017 they stood at #4632 and #4632 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2018 that had become #1786 and #4749.
Graham Compare
In 2023 they stood at #1906 and #1533 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2024 that had become #2443 and #5119.
Nicola Compare
In 2015 they stood at #3822 and #3822 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2016 that had become #2556 and #4810.
Nils Compare
In 2015 they stood at #3373 and #2319 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2016 that had become #2556 and #4810.

Moved ahead of Gunnar

Rune Compare
In 2021 they stood at #1860 and #2125 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2022 that had become #1879 and #1609.
Charlie Compare
In 2012 they stood at #286 and #304 in Norway · Boys; by 2013 that had become #495 and #257.
Noel Compare
In 2012 they stood at #286 and #294 in Norway · Boys; by 2013 that had become #495 and #264.
Arthur Compare
In 2003 they stood at #242 and #272 in Norway · Boys; by 2004 that had become #440 and #239.

Moved the opposite way to Gunnar

Aksel Compare
Between 1945 and 2025 in Norway · Boys, Gunnar went from #13 to #250 while Aksel went from #174 to #25.
Alfred Compare
Between 1945 and 2025 in Norway · Boys, Gunnar went from #13 to #250 while Alfred went from #127 to #26.
Arthur Compare
Between 1945 and 2025 in Norway · Boys, Gunnar went from #13 to #250 while Arthur went from #153 to #83.
Daniel Compare
Between 1945 and 2025 in Norway · Boys, Gunnar went from #13 to #250 while Daniel went from #280 to #66.

Moved the same way as Gunnar

Anders Compare
Between 1945 and 2025 in Norway · Boys, Gunnar went from #13 to #250 and Anders from #55 to #293.
Arild Compare
Between 1945 and 2025 in Norway · Boys, Gunnar went from #13 to #250 and Arild from #32 to #489.
Arne Compare
Between 1945 and 2025 in Norway · Boys, Gunnar went from #13 to #250 and Arne from #6 to #222.
Bjørn Compare
Between 1945 and 2025 in Norway · Boys, Gunnar went from #13 to #250 and Bjørn from #3 to #56.

What's not yet available

Meaning
Origin
Pronunciation
Nicknames and spelling variants

Absence from this list does not mean the name isn't genuinely meaningful or widely used — only that Namewise hasn't sourced and reviewed that content yet. Absence from a specific year or geography above does not prove zero use there either; official statistics only publish names above a minimum threshold.

Official popularity data is available for 2 regions, from 1945 to 2025. Highest recorded position: #10 in Norway in 1947. Source data last verified 2026-07-21.

Gunnar

Gunnar at a glance

What stands out in Gunnar's record

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Gunnar across 2 official records

Gunnar by decade in Norway · Boys

Gunnar appears in

Popularity data

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1940s

Comparisons involving Gunnar

Longest shared records

Compared inside Norway lists

Names published alongside Gunnar

Gunnar and the names beside it

Gunnar moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Gunnar

Moved the opposite way to Gunnar

Moved the same way as Gunnar

Gunnar at a glance

What stands out in Gunnar's record

Gunnar across 2 official records

Gunnar by decade in Norway · Boys

Gunnar appears in

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1940s

Comparisons involving Gunnar

Longest shared records

Compared inside Norway lists

Names published alongside Gunnar

Gunnar and the names beside it

Gunnar moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Gunnar

Moved the opposite way to Gunnar

Moved the same way as Gunnar