Magnus

Where Magnus comes from

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.
— Wiktionary's entry for Magnus
  • Latin
  • 2 syllables
Along the way
  1. 1868
    Magnus Hirschfeld born
    German physician and sexologist
  2. 1890
    First appearance
    #994 among boys, 5 babies — the first year at least five got the name.
  3. 1990
    Magnus Carlsen born
    Norwegian chess player
  4. 2017
    Peak, #719
    335 babies named Magnus — more than any year before or since.
In the dictionary
  • A male given name from Latin of mostly Scottish and Scandinavian usage.
Namesakes
  • Magnus Carlsen · Norwegian chess player, born 1990
  • Magnus Hirschfeld · German physician and sexologist, 1868–1935
  • Magnus the Good · King of Norway and Denmark, 1024–1047
  • Magnus Barefoot · King of Norway, 1073–1103
  • Magnus IV of Sweden · King of Sweden and Norway, 1316–1374

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.