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- Origin: Old Norse
- Meaning: “Thor’s stone.”
- Gender: masculine
Both names are derived from the Old Norse male name, Þórsteinn, literally meaning “Thor’s stone.” The name is attested as early as the 5th-century in Medieval Scandinavia and appears in the Norse saga, Draumr Þorsteins Síðu-Hallssonar.
It was transported to England by Anglo-Saxon & Norse settlers, the Anglo-Saxon form being Thurstan, and remained prevalent even after the conquest of the Normans, who themselves also used the name due to their original Norse heritage. Thurstan was borne by an 11th-century Bishop of York. Thurstan is the progenitor of the English surnames Thurston and Dustin.
Torsten appeared in Germany’s Top 100 Most Popular Male Names between 1960 and 1978, and peaked at #6 between 1964-68. While Torstein was in and out of the Norwegian Top 100 Male Names between 1947-1991, peaking at #84 in 1948. It’s original Old Norse form of Þórsteinn ranked in at #46 in Iceland’s Top 100 Male Names in 2012.
Forms include:
- Turstin (Anglo-Norman, French)
- Thurstan (English)
- Tórstein (Faroese)
- Torstein, Thorstein (Faroese, Norwegian)
- Toro, Torro (Finnish, Scandinavian)
- Torste,Torsti (Finnish)
- Toutain (French, archaic)
- Torsten (German, Scandinavian)
- Thorsten (German, Scandinavian)
- Torstene, Torsteni (Greenlandic)
- Þórsteinn (Icelandic, Old Norse)
- Turstino (Italian, Spanish)
- Turstanus, Tursteinus, Turstinus (Late Latin)
- Twyste (Middle Low German)
- Tostein (Norwegian)
- Dorste (Sami)
- Toste (Scandinavian)
- Tosten, Thosten (Swedish, archaic)
Sources