I is for Ingeborg

Ingeborg - from grandmother to granddaughter

This one comes as a bit of a surprise - Ingeborg appears 43 times in my family file! Now admit it - you don't hear the name Ingeborg much in the United States. However, it is a common name in Norway and Sweden. 15 of my Ingeborgs were Norwegian, 27 were Swedish, and 1 was American (of course, she was born in Minnesota).

Ingeborg is "from the Old Norse name Ingibjorg, which was derived from the name of the Germanic god ING combined with bjorg meaning "help, save, rescue." (from Behind the Name). Ingeborg is found in Denmark, Germany, Norway and Sweden. In Norway, Ingeborg is the 75th most popular girl's name! Variations on Ingeborg include Ingebjorg, Ingeburg, Inga, Inge, and Inka.

As you can see from the cover family view (above), often the mother's name was given to a daughter and/or a granddaughter, and the given name continues down through the family tree. Kerstin's mother Ingeborg is the first occurrence of the name in my family tree and Kerstin gave the name to her first daughter.

What I have noticed so far with my theme of given names for the #AtoZChallenge is that Scandinavian given names come from Norse gods and are often associated with strength, honor or battle, while Irish given names come from the Bible and reflect various Saints' names (must have been that baptism requirement!).

Where do your given names come from and do they meander through your family tree in each generation?

Hope to see you back here tomorrow for the letter J.

I is for Ingeborg