Tove
- Gender
- Girl
- Say it
- TOO-veh
- Origin
- Old Norse
- UK rank, 2025
- #4,276 for girls
- US rank, 2025
- #6,545 for girls
Tove is a girls' name of Old Norse origin. In 2025 it ranked 4,276th for girls in the UK (5 babies) and 6,545th for girls in the US (17 babies).
What does Tove mean?
Old Norse: from Tofa, a short form of names beginning with Thor-
Tove Jansson, the Finnish-Swedish author and artist, created the Moomins.
Is Tove a girl's or a boy's name?
Tove is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 5 girls in the UK and 17 girls in the US. Too few boys were given it to be listed.
How popular is Tove in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- #4,276among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 5about 1 in 56,000 girls
- Five-year trend
- Steadydown 6% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 5 girls in the UK were named Tove, making it the 4,276th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 3,274th. Its busiest year was 2018, with 10 girls.
Half of all the girls named Tove in the UK since 1996 were born between 2016 and 2022, the years shaded on the chart below.
Among girls in 2025, it was 4,200th in England and Wales.
Tove in the UK, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 5 | #4,276 |
| 2024 | 4 | #4,907 |
| 2023 | 8 | #3,098 |
| 2022 | 7 | #3,347 |
| 2021 | 6 | #3,697 |
| 2020 | 7 | #3,274 |
| 2019 | 1 | #7,346 |
| 2018 | 10 | #2,631 |
| 2017 | 3 | #5,998 |
| 2016 | 5 | #4,290 |
| 2015 | 1 | #7,629 |
| 2014 | 5 | #4,187 |
| 2013 | 0 | – |
| 2012 | 1 | #7,881 |
| 2011 | 0 | – |
| 2010 | 0 | – |
| 2009 | 0 | – |
| 2008 | 3 | #5,772 |
| 2007 | 0 | – |
| 2006 | 0 | – |
| 2005 | 1 | #6,340 |
| 2004 | 0 | – |
| 2003 | 0 | – |
| 2002 | 0 | – |
| 2001 | 3 | #4,156 |
| 2000 | 0 | – |
| 1999 | 0 | – |
| 1998 | 1 | #5,152 |
How popular is Tove in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- #6,545among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 17about 1 in 95,000 girls
- Five-year trend
- Risingup 38% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 17 girls in the US were named Tove, making it the 6,545th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 8,401st. Its busiest year was 2023, with 20 girls. It first appears in the records in 1930.
Half of all the girls named Tove in the US since 1880 were born between 1978 and 2022, the years shaded on the chart below.
Tove in the US, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 17 | #6,545 |
| 2024 | 14 | #7,590 |
| 2023 | 20 | #5,955 |
| 2022 | 19 | #6,224 |
| 2021 | 16 | #6,962 |
| 2020 | 12 | #8,401 |
| 2019 | 11 | #9,106 |
| 2018 | 14 | #7,758 |
| 2017 | 9 | #10,685 |
| 2016 | 10 | #10,109 |
| 2015 | 8 | #11,830 |
| 2014 | 0 | – |
| 2013 | 0 | – |
| 2012 | 0 | – |
| 2011 | 0 | – |
| 2010 | 6 | #14,953 |
| 2009 | 0 | – |
| 2008 | 0 | – |
| 2007 | 6 | #15,485 |
| 2006 | 0 | – |
| 2005 | 6 | #14,495 |
| 2004 | 5 | #16,092 |
| 2003 | 0 | – |
| 2002 | 0 | – |
| 2001 | 0 | – |
| 2000 | 0 | – |
| 1999 | 0 | – |
| 1998 | 0 | – |
| 1997 | 0 | – |
| 1996 | 5 | #13,511 |
| 1995 | 0 | – |
| 1994 | 0 | – |
| 1993 | 0 | – |
| 1992 | 0 | – |
| 1991 | 0 | – |
| 1990 | 0 | – |
| 1989 | 0 | – |
| 1988 | 0 | – |
| 1987 | 0 | – |
| 1986 | 6 | #9,540 |
| 1985 | 5 | #10,672 |
| 1984 | 5 | #10,417 |
| 1983 | 0 | – |
| 1982 | 6 | #9,235 |
| 1981 | 5 | #10,409 |
| 1980 | 0 | – |
| 1979 | 0 | – |
| 1978 | 7 | #7,647 |
| 1977 | 0 | – |
| 1976 | 0 | – |
| 1975 | 6 | #7,982 |
| 1974 | 0 | – |
| 1973 | 0 | – |
| 1972 | 0 | – |
| 1971 | 7 | #6,617 |
| 1970 | 9 | #5,412 |
| 1969 | 0 | – |
| 1968 | 5 | #7,014 |
| 1967 | 0 | – |
| 1966 | 0 | – |
| 1965 | 6 | #5,816 |
| 1964 | 0 | – |
| 1963 | 9 | #4,538 |
| 1962 | 0 | – |
| 1961 | 8 | #4,881 |
| 1960 | 0 | – |
| 1959 | 5 | #6,244 |
| 1958 | 0 | – |
| 1957 | 0 | – |
| 1956 | 0 | – |
| 1955 | 7 | #4,739 |
| 1954 | 0 | – |
| 1953 | 0 | – |
| 1952 | 0 | – |
| 1951 | 0 | – |
| 1950 | 0 | – |
| 1949 | 0 | – |
| 1948 | 0 | – |
| 1947 | 0 | – |
| 1946 | 0 | – |
| 1945 | 0 | – |
| 1944 | 0 | – |
| 1943 | 0 | – |
| 1942 | 0 | – |
| 1941 | 0 | – |
| 1940 | 0 | – |
| 1939 | 0 | – |
| 1938 | 0 | – |
| 1937 | 0 | – |
| 1936 | 0 | – |
| 1935 | 0 | – |
| 1934 | 0 | – |
| 1933 | 0 | – |
| 1932 | 0 | – |
| 1931 | 0 | – |
| 1930 | 5 | #4,548 |
Names like Tove
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Esme Freya Primrose Thea Maeve Phoebe Indie Aoife Maisie Ivy-Rose Harper Isla
Names related to Tove
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, “Tove: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/tove, updated 20 October 2026.