Liv
- Gender
- Girl
- Say it
- LIV
- Origin
- Old Norse
- UK rank, 2025
- #1,868 for girls
- US rank, 2025
- #895 for girls
Liv is a girls' name of Old Norse origin, meaning “protection”. In 2025 it ranked 1,868th for girls in the UK (16 babies) and 895th for girls in the US (296 babies).
What does Liv mean?
Old Norse: from Old Norse Hlíf
“protection”
From the Old Norse Hlíf, protection, now linked with liv, the Scandinavian word for life; also short for Olivia.
More on Wiktionary.
Is Liv a girl's or a boy's name?
Liv is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 16 girls in the UK and 296 girls in the US. Too few boys were given it to be listed.
How popular is Liv in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- 1,868th among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 16 about 1 in 17,000 girls
- Five-year trend
- Falling down 46% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 16 girls in the UK were named Liv, making it the 1,868th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 1,033rd. Its busiest year was 2011, with 35 girls.
Half of all the girls named Liv in the UK since 1996 were born between 2010 and 2020, the years shaded on the chart below.
Among girls in 2025, it was 2,276th in England and Wales and 632nd in Scotland.
Liv in the UK, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 16 | #1,868 |
| 2024 | 12 | #2,323 |
| 2023 | 22 | #1,497 |
| 2022 | 31 | #1,150 |
| 2021 | 22 | #1,491 |
| 2020 | 35 | #1,033 |
| 2019 | 25 | #1,368 |
| 2018 | 32 | #1,148 |
| 2017 | 22 | #1,541 |
| 2016 | 27 | #1,324 |
| 2015 | 34 | #1,108 |
| 2014 | 32 | #1,149 |
| 2013 | 19 | #1,662 |
| 2012 | 25 | #1,384 |
| 2011 | 35 | #1,069 |
| 2010 | 19 | #1,635 |
| 2009 | 17 | #1,691 |
| 2008 | 24 | #1,293 |
| 2007 | 17 | #1,614 |
| 2006 | 10 | #2,263 |
| 2005 | 13 | #1,807 |
| 2004 | 11 | #1,949 |
| 2003 | 7 | #2,574 |
| 2002 | 8 | #2,231 |
| 2001 | 0 | – |
| 2000 | 3 | #4,074 |
| 1999 | 0 | – |
| 1998 | 0 | – |
| 1997 | 0 | – |
| 1996 | 3 | #3,935 |
How popular is Liv in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- 895th among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 296 about 1 in 5,400 girls
- Five-year trend
- Steady down 22% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 296 girls in the US were named Liv, making it the 895th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 666th. Its busiest year was 2017, with 437 girls. It first appears in the records in 1956.
2025 had fewer girls named Liv than any year since 2013.
Half of all the girls named Liv in the US since 1880 were born between 2012 and 2021, the years shaded on the chart below.
Liv in the US, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 296 | #895 |
| 2024 | 309 | #873 |
| 2023 | 405 | #702 |
| 2022 | 401 | #729 |
| 2021 | 424 | #685 |
| 2020 | 432 | #666 |
| 2019 | 434 | #668 |
| 2018 | 429 | #681 |
| 2017 | 437 | #672 |
| 2016 | 414 | #697 |
| 2015 | 396 | #717 |
| 2014 | 357 | #783 |
| 2013 | 274 | #926 |
| 2012 | 237 | #1,060 |
| 2011 | 270 | #951 |
| 2010 | 195 | #1,234 |
| 2009 | 174 | #1,366 |
| 2008 | 129 | #1,717 |
| 2007 | 103 | #1,988 |
| 2006 | 84 | #2,267 |
| 2005 | 97 | #1,968 |
| 2004 | 112 | #1,725 |
| 2003 | 81 | #2,141 |
| 2002 | 44 | #3,192 |
| 2001 | 30 | #4,103 |
| 2000 | 36 | #3,586 |
| 1999 | 15 | #6,478 |
| 1998 | 17 | #5,794 |
| 1997 | 8 | #9,797 |
| 1996 | 8 | #9,576 |
| 1995 | 8 | #9,548 |
| 1994 | 8 | #9,580 |
| 1993 | 0 | – |
| 1992 | 7 | #10,471 |
| 1991 | 7 | #10,263 |
| 1990 | 6 | #11,403 |
| 1989 | 0 | – |
| 1988 | 0 | – |
| 1987 | 6 | #9,820 |
| 1986 | 0 | – |
| 1985 | 8 | #7,560 |
| 1984 | 7 | #8,149 |
| 1983 | 9 | #6,703 |
| 1982 | 19 | #4,024 |
| 1981 | 12 | #5,570 |
| 1980 | 12 | #5,543 |
| 1979 | 21 | #3,667 |
| 1978 | 18 | #3,924 |
| 1977 | 15 | #4,424 |
| 1976 | 15 | #4,152 |
| 1975 | 20 | #3,403 |
| 1974 | 22 | #3,110 |
| 1973 | 13 | #4,361 |
| 1972 | 5 | #8,290 |
| 1971 | 0 | – |
| 1970 | 0 | – |
| 1969 | 5 | #7,469 |
| 1968 | 0 | – |
| 1967 | 0 | – |
| 1966 | 0 | – |
| 1965 | 0 | – |
| 1964 | 0 | – |
| 1963 | 0 | – |
| 1962 | 0 | – |
| 1961 | 0 | – |
| 1960 | 0 | – |
| 1959 | 0 | – |
| 1958 | 5 | #6,102 |
| 1957 | 0 | – |
| 1956 | 5 | #5,951 |
Names like Liv
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Freya, Lyra, Lyla, Harper, Willow, Lily, Arya, River, Luna, Isla, Zara, Mila
Names related to Liv
More Old Norse names
Ronnie, Ralph, Eric, Astrid, Colby, Rafe, Odin, Ralphie, Erik, Freyja, Erick, Bo, Ronald, Bjorn, Erica, Raife
Sources
Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Liv: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/liv, updated 20 October 2026.