Liv

Liv is a Norse name that shed a letter along the way. In medieval Scandinavia it was Hlíf, built on the Old Norse word hlíf, a shield or protection. The Norwegian encyclopedia Store norske leksikon, Behind the Name and Wiktionary all trace it back to that word. Once the opening H dropped away, the name became identical to liv, the everyday Norwegian, Swedish and Danish word for 'life'. That sense attached itself to the name early on, so both readings are fair, but 'protection' is the original one.

In Norway, Liv is a classic. It peaked in the early 1940s and is still borne by more than 22,000 Norwegian women, according to Store norske leksikon. Its Nordic relatives include Live and Liva, while Iceland keeps the old form Hlíf. In the English-speaking world there is a second, unrelated Liv: Behind the Name lists it as a short form of Olivia, and in that use it is usually said with a short i, as in 'give'.

The Scandinavian pronunciation has a long vowel, 'leev', which suits the name when it is given in its own right rather than as a nickname. With just one syllable, Liv sits nicely in front of a longer middle name such as Liv Eleanor, Liv Josephine or Liv Matilda. For brothers and sisters, other crisp Nordic names keep the set together: Ida, Siv, Finn or Mats.