Ingrid

About Ingrid

Ingrid is a Scandinavian name with an Old Norse origin, usually interpreted as “Ing is beautiful.” Its compact modern form preserves a much older compound name. Actress Ingrid Bergman is its best-known cinematic association, while children's author Ingrid Law connects it with a different kind of storytelling.

Meaning and Scandinavian roots

Ingrid comes from Old Norse Ingríðr. The first element is Ing, the name of a Germanic god; the second is fríðr, meaning “beautiful” or “beloved.” Together they form the traditional interpretation “Ing is beautiful.” The divine name is part of the compound itself.

The name belongs to a wider Scandinavian family that includes Inger and the short form Inga. Finnish Inkeri is another related form, with a different rhythm and ending. These connections help explain why Ingrid is familiar across several northern European languages without requiring the same spelling or pronunciation everywhere.

In Swedish, Ingrid is roughly ING-rid, with stress on the first syllable and no separate hard g after the ng sound. The written consonant cluster and the final d give the name a firm outline, while its two syllables keep it compact. Inga is an established shorter relative rather than a newly invented nickname.

Ingrid Bergman's film legacy

Swedish actress Ingrid Bergman carried the name into international cinema. Casablanca, released in 1942, is among her most enduring films. Her career also included work with Alfred Hitchcock and, later, Italian director Roberto Rossellini, giving her screen history a reach across several national cinemas.

Bergman won three Academy Awards: leading-actress honors for Gaslight and Anastasia, and a supporting-actress award for Murder on the Orient Express. Those wins span different stages of her career rather than a single period of success. They also distinguish her Oscar record from the many familiar films for which she did not win.

Ingrid Law and Savvy

American writer Ingrid Law wrote Savvy, a children's novel recognized with a Newbery Honor in 2009. Its heroine, Mibs Beaumont, belongs to a family whose members discover extraordinary abilities at thirteen. Mibs's birthday becomes entangled with an urgent journey after her father is injured.

The story turns a family road adventure into an exploration of growing up and learning how to handle an unexpected gift. It provides Ingrid with a literary connection rooted in imaginative children's fiction, alongside Bergman's long-established connection with film.

American popularity

In the United States, Ingrid reached its highest annual count and best rank in 1967, with 578 girls and #380. It remained in use long after that peak: 257 girls received the name in 2000 and 354 in 2010.

The 2025 SSA series records 209 girls named Ingrid, ranking #1,121. Its American history is therefore one of sustained, relatively modest use rather than a recent debut.

How popular is Ingrid?

In 2025, Ingrid ranked #1,121 among girls in the United States, with 209 recorded uses. The U.S. birth records first list this spelling for girls in 1897; its largest annual count was 578 in 1967. Rankings count each spelling separately. They describe national use, so local familiarity can differ. The popularity chart shows whether the name has remained common, returned after a quieter period, or risen recently.