Freya: meaning and UK use

What does Freya mean?

Freya is the English form of Freyja, the name of a Norse goddess. Freyja and Freja are related spellings used in different languages.

Language or name family covered

Old Norse

Meaning or derivation

Lady

Our browsing group

girl; modern, international

Browsing groups describe our editorial shortlist, not rules about who may use a name. A name can cross languages and genders.

Sources for this entry — reviewed 2026-10-07:

• Behind the Name — Freya

Pronunciation and related forms

FRAY-uh (English)

English respellings are approximate; IPA is labelled where used. Follow the pronunciation a person or family chooses, and check it with a speaker of the intended language if that connection matters to you.

Related forms recorded in the reference: Freyja, Freja. These may be full forms, diminutives or forms in another language; they are not necessarily pronounced alike or counted together in statistics.

How popular is Freya?

In 2025, 1,802 baby girls in England and Wales were registered as Freya, making it the 6th most popular girls’ name. That is up 1 place on 2024, when it ranked 7th. Ten years earlier, in 2015, it ranked 21st, so it has climbed 15 places in a decade. Its best year in the ONS series was 2023, at 5th. These figures cover England and Wales, not the whole UK.

2025 rank (girls)

6th

2025 registrations

1,802

Best rank in this series

5th (2023)

Every year from 1996 to 2025

Freya: rank and number of baby girls by year (ONS)

Year	Rank	Babies
2025	6	1,802
2024	7	1,929
2023	5	2,086
2022	7	2,162
2021	6	2,187
2020	12	1,982
2019	10	2,264
2018	18	1,921
2017	20	2,021
2016	19	2,079
2015	21	2,090
2014	21	2,164
2013	20	2,266
2012	19	2,557
2011	19	2,619
2010	19	2,574
2009	21	2,228
2008	27	2,111
2007	26	1,949
2006	24	2,067
2005	31	1,794
2004	33	1,605
2003	42	1,211
2002	49	1,049
2001	52	967
2000	75	686
1999	92	589
1998	93	563
1997	113	450
1996	118	394

The sum of published counts in this 1996–2025 girls series is 52,366. This is a lower bound where years are suppressed, not the number of living people with the name. A best rank is the best position within this series; it does not establish an all-time record.

Selected hyphenated registrations starting with Freya in 2025: Freya-Rose: 15 (girls). This selection includes up to four matching forms with at least ten registrations, not every compound name.

Sources: ONS release, 2025; girls' dataset; boys' dataset. Our 20 top-ten positions were checked against Table 1 in the 2025 workbooks. The history chart and spelling comparisons come from the separate ONS 1996–2025 workbook, checked 7 October 2026. Spelling variants are separate entries. Scotland and Northern Ireland have separate statistics.

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Names to compare with Freya

These suggestions share a browsing group and one or more of our style tags or source-context labels. They are taste comparisons, not etymological relatives or a popularity ranking.

• Amarainternational, modern · Grace
• Ariamodern, international · Song or melody; literally air
• Diyainternational, modern · Lamp or light
• Mayainternational, modern · Meaning depends on the language
• Miamodern, international · A short form of Maria
• Orlainternational, modern · An anglicised form of Órlaith

Read the UK naming guide for the difference between inspiration lists and official statistics, or return to the full name finder.

Registering or changing the name

Once you decide on Freya, confirm the registration process for your UK nation with the register office. If you later want to change a registered name, the route depends on the circumstances and may require consent from people with parental responsibility.

Start with GOV.UK birth registration or GOV.UK guidance on changing a child’s name. Our registration guide and child name-change guide explain where to find the relevant official process.