A name. A world of connections.

Smilla

Kalaallisut roots

feminineLatin script

Hear the name

Swedish

Origin: Kalaallisut
3 language contexts: Swedish Danish Finnish
Follow the evidence: 6 cited sources Source-reported

01 / Meaning & origin

About Smilla

Smilla is a feminine given name documented in Swedish, Danish and Finnish. English Wiktionary traces it to Kalaallisut.

Kalaallisut origin

Source-reported

From the name of a character in Peter Høeg's book (1992) translated as Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow. Explained in the book as short form of Smillaaraq, coined by adding initial S to a Greenlandic name Millaaraq.

Sources for this account (4)

Wiktionary: SmillaCC-BY-SA-4.0 · retrieved 2026-10-15
Greek Wiktionary: SmillaCC-BY-SA-4.0 · retrieved 2026-10-15
Polish Wiktionary: SmillaCC-BY-SA-4.0 · retrieved 2026-10-14
Turkish Wiktionary: SmillaCC-BY-SA-4.0 · retrieved 2026-10-14

02 / Across borders

Where Smilla is used

Explore published naming statistics and documented language connections around the world.

The name atlas

Across borders

countries in our sources

Select a country to follow Smilla’s connections around the world.

6 countries with published statistics. Language records show cultural connections; they do not measure how common a name is.

Selected country

France

Published statistics

France (France métropolitaine et départements-régions d'outre-mer; avant 2012 France hors Mayotte), 2019: 5 girls (rank 7412).

Explore France

4 of 7 countries

03 / By the numbers

Popularity over time

Follow the spelling through the years, one published dataset at a time.

Switzerland

2000–2025 Spelling: Smilla

Region and dataset

Recorded category girls

Latest · 2025: 4; births; Rank #1,168
Peak year: 2007; 14 births

Hover to explore a year. Use arrow keys when a chart point has focus.

Source: Federal Statistical Office · Switzerland — published first names of newborns, 2000–2025

Published integer counts retained without rounding.

Per million is unavailable: this source has no matching published total.

Show the data table

Smilla in Switzerland, girls: births and rank by year
Year	Births	Rank	Status
2000	5	652	observed
2001	2	892	observed
2002	5	677	observed
2003	6	626	observed
2004	9	539	observed
2005	7	622	observed
2006	8	606	observed
2007	14	429	observed
2008	8	620	observed
2009	10	566	observed
2010	12	520	observed
2011	9	631	observed
2012	9	636	observed
2013	7	767	observed
2014	12	557	observed
2015	5	984	observed
2016	5	1,002	observed
2017	14	515	observed
2018	5	1,033	observed
2019	5	1,020	observed
2020	4	1,180	observed
2021	10	686	observed
2022	8	751	observed
2023	5	991	observed
2024	2	1,540	observed
2025	4	1,168	observed

About this dataset and its counting rules

Statistics count the spelling “Smilla” as recorded by the publisher. When a spelling has several independent origins, the counts are not split between them. Counts measure births. Gaps are years without a published value, not zeros.

Rates per million are unavailable for this series because no compatible denominator has been imported.

Universe: Annual first given names of newborns, BEVNAT live-birth statistics, national geography 8100 only. Infostar civil-register data. Regional rows are not added to national totals.
Rounding: Published integer counts retained without rounding.
Suppression: Only names and cells published in the FSO flows are covered. Literal zero cells are not emitted; absence in NameStoria must not be treated as a complete national zero-frequency claim.
Ranking: FSO RANK observations retained unchanged; zero rank/count pairs omitted.

Retrieved 2026-10-15 · opendata.swiss OPEN-BY (commercial and non-commercial reuse with source attribution)

Read our methodology

04 / Through time

History

No historical attestations or sourced notable bearers are recorded yet. Historical databases are being evaluated for reuse permission; nothing is listed until a record can be cited.

A little story to keep

A name worth keeping.

Take the story of Smilla with you. Create a personal name passport with its meaning, roots and connections.

06 / Behind the facts

Sources for this page

Review status: Source-reported — no editorial review recorded yet. Last data change 2026-10-15.

Name origins & languageDictionaries, name records and related forms5

Wikidata Q1668395CC0-1.0 · retrieved 2026-10-15
Wiktionary: SmillaCC-BY-SA-4.0 · retrieved 2026-10-15
Greek Wiktionary: SmillaCC-BY-SA-4.0 · retrieved 2026-10-15
Polish Wiktionary: SmillaCC-BY-SA-4.0 · retrieved 2026-10-14
Turkish Wiktionary: SmillaCC-BY-SA-4.0 · retrieved 2026-10-14

Pronunciation recordingsAudio credits and individual recording licences1

Wikimedia Commons: File:LL-Q9027 (swe)-Moonhouse-Smilla.wavCC0-1.0 · retrieved 2026-10-15

Statistics and surveysPublishers, dataset licences and retrieval dates6

Switzerland — published first names of newborns, 2000–2025
Federal Statistical Office (FSO), Switzerland · opendata.swiss OPEN-BY (commercial and non-commercial reuse with source attribution) · retrieved 2026-10-15
Statistik Austria — Vornamen (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1): first names of live births, Austria, 1984-2025 (national counts from district rows)
Statistik Austria (Bundesanstalt Statistik Österreich) · CC-BY-4.0 · retrieved 2026-10-15
Berlin — published first-given-name registration counts, 2017–2023
BerlinOnline GmbH, based on Berlin LABO civil-registry data · CC-BY-3.0-DE · retrieved 2026-10-15
Fichier des prénoms — édition 2026 (naissances 1900 à 2025), fichier national
Insee (Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques) · LO-2.0 · retrieved 2026-10-14
Sweden — grouped top 100 newborn calling names, 1998–2022
Statistics Sweden (SCB) · CC0-1.0 · retrieved 2026-10-15
Finland — first given names of living Finnish citizens in Finland or abroad, 2026-08-03
Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV), Finland · CC-BY-4.0 · retrieved 2026-10-15

Wiktionary text: CC BY-SA 4.0. Wikidata: CC0. Commons recordings retain their individual file licences. Complete attribution is available in each group above and alongside each chart.

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About Smilla

Smilla is a feminine given name documented in Swedish, Danish and Finnish. English Wiktionary traces it to Kalaallisut.

Kalaallisut origin

Source-reported

Sources for this account (4)

Wiktionary: SmillaCC-BY-SA-4.0 · retrieved 2026-10-15
Greek Wiktionary: SmillaCC-BY-SA-4.0 · retrieved 2026-10-15
Polish Wiktionary: SmillaCC-BY-SA-4.0 · retrieved 2026-10-14
Turkish Wiktionary: SmillaCC-BY-SA-4.0 · retrieved 2026-10-14

Where Smilla is used

Explore published naming statistics and documented language connections around the world.

The name atlas

Across borders

countries in our sources

Select a country to follow Smilla’s connections around the world.

6 countries with published statistics. Language records show cultural connections; they do not measure how common a name is.

Selected country

France

Published statistics

France (France métropolitaine et départements-régions d'outre-mer; avant 2012 France hors Mayotte), 2019: 5 girls (rank 7412).

Explore France

4 of 7 countries

Popularity over time

Follow the spelling through the years, one published dataset at a time.

Switzerland

2000–2025 Spelling: Smilla

Region and dataset

Recorded category girls

Latest · 2025: 4; births; Rank #1,168
Peak year: 2007; 14 births

Hover to explore a year. Use arrow keys when a chart point has focus.

Source: Federal Statistical Office · Switzerland — published first names of newborns, 2000–2025

Published integer counts retained without rounding.

Per million is unavailable: this source has no matching published total.

Show the data table

Smilla in Switzerland, girls: births and rank by year
Year	Births	Rank	Status
2000	5	652	observed
2001	2	892	observed
2002	5	677	observed
2003	6	626	observed
2004	9	539	observed
2005	7	622	observed
2006	8	606	observed
2007	14	429	observed
2008	8	620	observed
2009	10	566	observed
2010	12	520	observed
2011	9	631	observed
2012	9	636	observed
2013	7	767	observed
2014	12	557	observed
2015	5	984	observed
2016	5	1,002	observed
2017	14	515	observed
2018	5	1,033	observed
2019	5	1,020	observed
2020	4	1,180	observed
2021	10	686	observed
2022	8	751	observed
2023	5	991	observed
2024	2	1,540	observed
2025	4	1,168	observed

About this dataset and its counting rules

Rates per million are unavailable for this series because no compatible denominator has been imported.

Universe: Annual first given names of newborns, BEVNAT live-birth statistics, national geography 8100 only. Infostar civil-register data. Regional rows are not added to national totals.
Rounding: Published integer counts retained without rounding.
Suppression: Only names and cells published in the FSO flows are covered. Literal zero cells are not emitted; absence in NameStoria must not be treated as a complete national zero-frequency claim.
Ranking: FSO RANK observations retained unchanged; zero rank/count pairs omitted.

Retrieved 2026-10-15 · opendata.swiss OPEN-BY (commercial and non-commercial reuse with source attribution)

Read our methodology

Sources for this page

Review status: Source-reported — no editorial review recorded yet. Last data change 2026-10-15.

Name origins & languageDictionaries, name records and related forms5

Wikidata Q1668395CC0-1.0 · retrieved 2026-10-15
Wiktionary: SmillaCC-BY-SA-4.0 · retrieved 2026-10-15
Greek Wiktionary: SmillaCC-BY-SA-4.0 · retrieved 2026-10-15
Polish Wiktionary: SmillaCC-BY-SA-4.0 · retrieved 2026-10-14
Turkish Wiktionary: SmillaCC-BY-SA-4.0 · retrieved 2026-10-14

Pronunciation recordingsAudio credits and individual recording licences1

Wikimedia Commons: File:LL-Q9027 (swe)-Moonhouse-Smilla.wavCC0-1.0 · retrieved 2026-10-15

Statistics and surveysPublishers, dataset licences and retrieval dates6

Switzerland — published first names of newborns, 2000–2025
Federal Statistical Office (FSO), Switzerland · opendata.swiss OPEN-BY (commercial and non-commercial reuse with source attribution) · retrieved 2026-10-15
Statistik Austria — Vornamen (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1): first names of live births, Austria, 1984-2025 (national counts from district rows)
Statistik Austria (Bundesanstalt Statistik Österreich) · CC-BY-4.0 · retrieved 2026-10-15
Berlin — published first-given-name registration counts, 2017–2023
BerlinOnline GmbH, based on Berlin LABO civil-registry data · CC-BY-3.0-DE · retrieved 2026-10-15
Fichier des prénoms — édition 2026 (naissances 1900 à 2025), fichier national
Insee (Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques) · LO-2.0 · retrieved 2026-10-14
Sweden — grouped top 100 newborn calling names, 1998–2022
Statistics Sweden (SCB) · CC0-1.0 · retrieved 2026-10-15
Finland — first given names of living Finnish citizens in Finland or abroad, 2026-08-03
Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV), Finland · CC-BY-4.0 · retrieved 2026-10-15

Wiktionary text: CC BY-SA 4.0. Wikidata: CC0. Commons recordings retain their individual file licences. Complete attribution is available in each group above and alongside each chart.

Smilla

About Smilla

Kalaallisut origin

Where Smilla is used

Across borders

France

Popularity over time

Switzerland

History

Smiley

Smylla

A name worth keeping.

Sources for this page

Smilla

About Smilla

Kalaallisut origin

Where Smilla is used

Across borders

France

Popularity over time

Switzerland

History

Smiley

Smylla

A name worth keeping.

Sources for this page

A story to pass on.

About Smilla

Kalaallisut origin

Where Smilla is used

Across borders

France

Popularity over time

Switzerland

History

Related names

Different forms. Shared stories.

Meet the family

Related names in the catalogue

Smiley

Smylla

A name worth keeping.

Sources for this page

A story to pass on.

About Smilla

Kalaallisut origin

Where Smilla is used

Across borders

France

Popularity over time

Switzerland

History

Related names

Different forms. Shared stories.

Meet the family

Related names in the catalogue

Smiley

Smylla

A name worth keeping.

Sources for this page