How to say it
FREY · a
/ˈfreɪ.ə/
Feminine
Freya
Lady, mistress
What it means
Old Norse Freyja, 'lady' or 'mistress.' Norse goddess of love, beauty, fertility, war, and death. Her chariot was pulled by cats. Friday is named for her (Frigg's day or Freya's day, depending on interpretation).
Freya is the modernized spelling of Old Norse Freyja, 'lady, mistress.' She's one of the most-mentioned figures in Norse mythology — goddess of love, beauty, fertility, war, and the dead (she received half the slain warriors in her hall Fólkvangr, with the other half going to Odin's Valhalla). Her chariot was pulled by two cats. Friday in English may be named for her (Old English Frīgedæg, possibly from Frigg or from Freya — the two goddesses were sometimes conflated). The English Freya was rare until the 1990s; it's surged across the UK and Australia and entered the US top 300 in 2017. Single syllable + the cat connection make it a particular kind of charming.
Popularity over time
peaked at #129 in 2022, currently #176 in 2025.
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, names given to at least 5 babies in a year, 1880–present. See where the names are moving
Heads-up notes
- Pronunciation
FRAY-uh in standard US English; the Old Norse Freyja is closer to FRAY-yah. Both work.
Who's worn it
Historical figures, characters, and public faces who share the name. The cultural surface, for whatever weight you want to give it.
- Freya (Norse myth) Goddess of love, beauty, fertility, war, and the dead
Spelling variants
- Freyja
- Freja
Names with the same feeling
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