Torbjørn

See also: Torbjörn

Faroese

Etymology

From Old Norse Þórbjǫrn.

Proper noun

Torbjørn m

1. a male given name

Usage notes

Patronymics

• Torbjørn's son: Torbjarnarson or Torbjørnsson
• Torbjørn's daughter: Torbjarnardóttir or Torbjørnsdóttir

Declension

	singular
	indefinite
nominative	Torbjørn
accusative	Torbjørn
dative	Torbjørn, Torbirni
genitive	Torbjarnar, Torbjørns

Norwegian Bokmål

Alternative forms

• Thorbjørn (alternative spelling)

Etymology

Inherited from Old Norse Þorbjǫrn. The Old Norse name consists of Þórr (“Thor”) + bjǫrn (“bear”), literally “Thor-bear”.

The first element Þórr is from Proto-Germanic *Þunraz (“Thor, god of thunder”), a personification of *þunraz (“thunder”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)tenh₂- (“to thunder”). The second element bjǫrn is from Proto-Germanic *bernuz (“bear”); its deeper Indo-European origin is uncertain.

Compare Norwegian Nynorsk Torbjørn, Danish Torbjørn and Torben, Swedish Torbjörn, Icelandic Þorbjörn and Faroese Torbjørn (“male given names”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /²torːˌbjøːrn/, [ˈtôɾːˌbjøːɳ]
• Rhymes: -orːbjøːɳ
• Homophone: Thorbjørn
• Hyphenation: Tor‧bjørn

Proper noun

Torbjørn

1. a male given name from Old Norse

   Torbjørn kommer på besøk i morgen. ― Torbjørn is coming to visit tomorrow.

Usage notes

• Torbjørn has its Norwegian name day on 5 June, shared with Torben and Torbjørg.
• The name was at its most popular in Norway in the 1930s. Since 1900, the form Torbjørn has been used more than three times as often as Thorbjørn.

Derived terms

• Torbjørnsen (“patronymic surname”)

Statistics

• According to Statistics Norway, 6,331 men in Norway had Torbjørn as their sole or first given name as of 1 January 2026.

References

• Gulbrand Alhaug (28 May 2024), “Torbjørn – mannsnamn”, in Store norske leksikon‎^[2] (overall work in Norwegian Nynorsk), archived from the original on 14 December 2024
• “Torbjørn”, in Nordic Names‎^[3], 31 August 2026 (last accessed)