# Magnus (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/magnus/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys |
| Origin | Latin |
| Meaning | “great”, “charlemagne” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈmæɡnəs/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | Malec |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 6,172 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 6,172 / 0 (0% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 1,888, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

Borrowed from Latin magnus (“great”), taken from the title of Carolus Magnus "Charlemagne" by an eleventh century king of Norway, and brought to Scotland in medieval times.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 154 | 1,164 |
| 2012 | 162 | 1,133 |
| 2013 | 209 | 959 |
| 2014 | 215 | 978 |
| 2015 | 263 | 856 |
| 2016 | 296 | 796 |
| 2017 | 335 | 719 |
| 2018 | 295 | 781 |
| 2019 | 299 | 781 |
| 2020 | 290 | 801 |
| 2021 | 354 | 730 |
| 2022 | 327 | 774 |
| 2023 | 338 | 763 |
| 2024 | 343 | 747 |
| 2025 | 337 | 765 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 44 | 718 |
| 2012 | 56 | 625 |
| 2013 | 63 | 565 |
| 2014 | 80 | 489 |
| 2015 | 103 | 406 |
| 2016 | 89 | 457 |
| 2017 | 111 | 397 |
| 2018 | 102 | 414 |
| 2019 | 107 | 403 |
| 2020 | 108 | 392 |
| 2021 | 128 | 348 |
| 2022 | 129 | 335 |
| 2023 | 118 | 357 |
| 2024 | 122 | 358 |
| 2025 | 91 | 432 |

## In other languages

- Chinese: 馬格努斯 /马格努斯
- Danish: Magnus, Mogens
- Estonian: Magnus
- Finnish: Mauno, Maunu
- Icelandic: Magnús
- Norwegian: Magnus
- Swedish: Magnus, Måns

## People named Magnus

- Magnus, Duke of Holstein, Danish prince, Prince-bishop of Ösel, King of Livonia (1540–1583)
- Magnus Felix Ennodius, Bishop of Pavia
- Magnus Landin Jacobsen, Danish handball player
- Magnus Cort Nielsen, Danish cyclist, born 1993
- Magnus, duke of Saxony (1072-1106)
- Magnus Erlendsson, Earl of Orkney, Earl of Orkney from 1106 to c. 1117
- Magnus Lindberg, Finnish composer and pianist
- Magnus Brunner, Austrian politician, finance minister
- Magnus Saugstrup, Danish handball player
- Magnus I, Duke of Mecklenburg, Duke of Mecklenburg (1383–1384)
- Magnus Kirt, Estonian athletics competitor (born 1990)
- Magnus II, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, German noble

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.