Tove is a Scandinavian given name that derives from the Old Norse name Tófa or from the Old Norse name Þórfríðr, which combines Thor with "fríðr".
Origins Some believe the name to be a shortening of Þorfríðr, whose elements are the deity-name Thor and Old Norse fríðr 'beautiful'.names-meanings.net: Tove, Tofa behindthename.com: Tove, ThorfrithrTeresa Norman, "Tova." A World of Baby Names. New York: Penguin, 2003. 504. (Note that "Tove" is listed as a cognate.) Tófa and Tófi appear to have been relatively popular names in the 10th and 11th centuries and are found in Anglo-Scandinavian court witness lists and later in the Domesday Book in their Latinised form. The personal name became a surname in medieval England, with spellings of Tovi, Tovie (16th century) and Tovey recorded in wills and church documents.
Notable women Tove of the Obotrites, 10th-century Wendish princess Tove Alexandersson, Swedish orienteer
Tove Ditlevsen, Danish poet and author Tove Edfeldt, Swedish actress Tove Fergo, Danish vicar and politician Tove Jansson, Finnish artist and author Tove Lindbo Larsen, Danish politician Tove Lo, Swedish singer Tove Midelfart, Norwegian lawyer and businesswoman Tove Maës, Danish actress Tove Nilsen, Norwegian writer Tove Nielsen, Danish politician Tove Skutnabb-Kangas (1940–2023), Finnish linguist and educator Tove Styrke, Swedish singer Birte Tove (1945–2016), Danish actress and nude model
Notable men Tove (sculptor), 12th-century Scanian sculptor
Fictional characters a legendary young woman, mistress of the Danish King Waldemar, and subject of a poem by Jens Peter Jacobsen best known for its musical setting as the Gurre-Lieder of Arnold Schoenberg a fictional, slithy creature created by Lewis Carroll that appears in his poem Jabberwocky
See also High Tove, a mountain in the English Lake District River Tove, tributary of the Great Ouse in England TOVE Project, an ontology for modelling enterprises Tove (film), a 2020 biopic about Tove Jansson
Tova (disambiguation)
References