Freya
Meaning of Freya
Freya comes from Freyja, an Old Norse name meaning 'lady'. In Norse mythology Freyja is the goddess of love, beauty and fertility. The name is pronounced FRAY-uh (/ˈfreɪə/) in English and FRY-ah (/ˈfraɪ̯a/) in German.
Notable namesakes include Dame Freya Stark, the British explorer who wrote widely about her travels in the Middle East, and the English actress Freya Allan, best known as Princess Cirilla in the Netflix series The Witcher.
In the U.S., Freya was a rare name for decades. As recently as 2013 it ranked 910th, but it then climbed every year to a peak of 129th in 2022, when 2,183 girls were given the name. It has slipped each year since, ranking 176th in 2025.
Pronunciation
English
- Pronunced as FRAY-uh (/ˈfreɪə/)
German
- Pronunced as FREY-ah (/ˈfraɪ̯a/)
U.S. Popularity Chart
States Popularity Chart
Notable People Named Freya
| Dame Freya Stark, a British and Italian explorer and travel writer, authored over two dozen books on the Middle East and Afghanistan and was among the first non Arab travelers in the southern Arabian Desert. |
| Freya von Moltke was a German American lawyer who, with her husband Helmuth James von Moltke, took part in the anti Nazi Kreisau Circle during World War II. |
| English singer songwriter Freya Ridings rose to fame with Lost Without You and later found international success with Castles from her 2019 self titled debut. |
| Freya Mavor is a Scottish actress best known for Skins and the HBO drama Industry. |
| Freya Waley-Cohen is a British American composer based in London. |
| Freya Hoffmeister is a German business owner and record setting sea kayaker who became the first woman to solo circumnavigate Australia and the first person to solo circumnavigate South America. |
| Freya Mathews is an Australian environmental philosopher known for work on ecological metaphysics and panpsychism, with interests in ecological civilization, indigenous sustainability, critiques of modern metaphysics, and wildlife ethics and rewilding. |
| Freya Allan is an English actress best known for playing Princess Cirilla in the Netflix series The Witcher, earning two Saturn Award nominations, and for her role as Mae in the 2024 film Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, with credits including Gunpowder Milkshake and the AMC series Into the Badlands. |
| Freya Tingley is an Australian actress known for playing Wendy Darling on Once Upon a Time, Christina Wendall on the Netflix series Hemlock Grove, and Francine Valli in Jersey Boys directed by Clint Eastwood. |
| Freya North is a British author active since 1996 and a chick lit pioneer known for acclaimed bestsellers about strong women and bold adventures. |
| Freya Gregory is a Scottish forward for Newcastle United, previously with Birmingham City and Aston Villa and on loan at Leicester City, Reading and Southampton. |
| Australian born singer songwriter and guitarist Freya Lynelle Wilcox formed Freya Wilcox and the Howl in the United States with CJ Dunaieff and Craig Shay. |
| Freya Wilson is a British child actor. |
| Freya Nicole Christie is a British tennis player who specializes in doubles and has won 23 ITF Women's Circuit doubles titles. |
| Freya Adams is an actress writer and producer best known for her role in the film Advantageous and also President and COO of OREAD Entertainment developing film TV and video game projects. |
