Sven (in Danish and Norwegian, also Svend, in Norwegian Svein) is a Scandinavian first name which is also used in the Low Countries and German-speaking countries, and is cognate with the English name Swain. The name itself is Old Norse for "young man" or "servant". The original spelling in Old Norse was sveinn.^[1]

Many northern European rulers have carried the name including Sweyn Forkbeard (Sven Gabelbart, died 1017). An old legend relates the pagan king Blot-Sven ordered the execution of the Anglo-Saxon monk Saint Eskil.

In medieval Swedish, sven or sven av vapen "sven of arms", is a term for squire. The female equivalent, Svenja, though seemingly Dutch and Scandinavian, is not common anywhere outside of German-speaking countries. Sven can also be spelled with W, Swen, but is pronounced as Sven.

The Icelandic version is Sveinn (Icelandic pronunciation: [ˈsveitn̥]); the Faroese version is Sveinur (Faroese pronunciation: [ˈsvaiːnʊɹ]).