Dagny

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Dagny

Gender: Feminine
Language/Origin: Scandinavian
Etymology:
Dagny is a Scandinavian name, from the Old Norse and means “Day New” form “dag” and “ny” (new).

History:
Dagny is a traditional Scandinavian name. According to The Academy of St. Gabriel it was a name from Norse legends. According to the 1880 Census, there were no Scandinavian immigrants named Dagny, and only one woman named Dagna (whose parents were Norwegian).

It seems to have been revived in Scandinavia in the mid to late 1880s, perhaps because of Henrik Ibsen’s 1857 play The Vikings of Helgeland or more likely as a result of Dagny, a Scandinavian women’s magazine founded in 1886.

In any case, it was at its most common in Scandinavia in the early to mid 20th century.

In the United States, educated people know are most familiar with the name Dagny through the works of Ayn Rand.

Pronunciation: dag-nee.

Alternates: Dagna, Dagne.
Latvian: Dagnija.

Famous Bearers:
Artists and Authors:
Dagny Juel-Przybyszewska (1867-1901)
Norwegian writer.

Fictional Characters:
Dagny (1857)
A character in Henrik Ibsen’s play The Vikings at Helgeland.
Dagny Taggart (1957)
The main character in Ayn Rand’s novel Atlas Shrugged.

Sports Stars:
Dagny Mellgren (1978-)
Norwegian soccer player.

Popularity:
Percentage from the 1990 U.S. Census:
0.001 % named Dagny

Popularity of Dagny:
Popularity (for newborns):
In the United States...
1880-1900: N/A
1901: 918th most popular.
1902-1909: N/A

In Norway...
1995: 442nd most popular.
1996: 436th most popular.
1997: N/A
1998: 355th most popular.
1999: N/A
2000: 337th most popular.
2001: N/A
2002: 440th most popular.
2003: 439th most popular.
2004: N/A

Selected Sources:
A Dictionary of First Names, Hanks and Hodges, 1990
The Academy of St. Gabriel, (www.s-gabriel.org) - Has plenty of statistics and articles on medieval names and medieval practices.

Statistics Norway (www.ssb.no) - For popularity stats 1995-2004
Statistics Iceland (www.statice.is)

The Social Security Administration Actuarial Note 139 - For popularity stats 1880-Present
The 1880 U.S. Census- For popularity stats 1850-1880