| Signe | Ylva | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | New victory | she-wolf |
| Origin | Norse | norse |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | SIG-nuh | IHL-vah |
| Syllables | 2 | 2 |
| First appeared | 1884 | 0 |
| Peak year | 1915 (67) | 2017 (7) |
| In 2025 | 8 | 0 |
| Trend | Steady | Steady |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Signe | Ylva |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 93 | 23 |
| 2010s | 195 | 12 |
| 2000s | 186 | 0 |
| 1990s | 152 | 0 |
| 1980s | 110 | 0 |
| 1970s | 133 | 0 |
| 1960s | 189 | 0 |
| 1950s | 292 | 0 |
| 1940s | 283 | 0 |
| 1930s | 117 | 0 |
| 1920s | 269 | 0 |
| 1910s | 454 | 0 |
| 1900s | 254 | 0 |
| 1890s | 228 | 0 |
| 1880s | 48 | 0 |
Signe joins the Old Norse for “new” and “victory.”
From the Old Norse 'ylgr', the feminine of 'ulfr' ('wolf'), meaning 'she-wolf'. Formed on the same pattern as other Norse female-animal nouns; the masculine equivalent is Ulf.
Signe is more popular than Ylva today: about 8 US babies were given the name Signe in 2025, compared with 0 named Ylva.
Signe means New victory (Norse origin), while Ylva means she-wolf (norse origin).
In US records, Signe first appears in 1884 and Ylva in 0, so Ylva has the longer recorded history.