Thorsten (Thorstein, Torstein, Torsten) is a

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a f ...

. The

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

name was ''Þórsteinn''. It is a compound of the theonym ''Þór'' ('' Thor'') and ''steinn'' "stone", which became ''Thor'' and ''sten'' in Old Danish and

Old Swedish Old Swedish ( Modern Swedish: ) is the name for two distinct stages of the Swedish language that were spoken in the Middle Ages: Early Old Swedish (), spoken from about 1225 until about 1375, and Late Old Swedish (), spoken from about 1375 unti ...

. The name is one of a group of Old Norse names containing the theonym ''Thor'', besides other such as ''Þórarin, Þórhall, Þórkell, Þórfinnr, Þórvald, Þórvarðr, Þórolf'', most of which, however, do not survive as modern names given with any frequency. The name is attested in medieval Iceland, e.g. Þorsteinn rauður Ólafsson (c. 850 – 880), Þórsteinn Eiríksson (late 10th century), and in literature such as '' Draumr Þorsteins Síðu-Hallssonar''. The Old English equivalent of the Scandinavian and Norman name is '' Thurstan'', attested after the

Norman conquest of England The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...

in the 11th century as the name of a medieval archbishop of York (died 1140), of an abbot of

Pershore Pershore () is a market town and civil parish in the Wychavon district in Worcestershire, England, on the banks of the River Avon, Warwickshire, River Avon. At the 2011 UK census, census, the population was 7,125. The town is best known for Per ...

(1080s) and of an abbot of Glastonbury (1090s). The English surname Thurston is presumably derived from this given name. The English given name Dustin is derived from a surname which in origin has been derived in turn from the Norman name ''Tustin'', variant form of '' Turstin'', ''Tostain'', '' Toutain'', etc. themselves from Old Norse given name ''Þorsteinn''. As a modern given name, Thorsten and Torsten also see some popularity in the

English-speaking world The English-speaking world comprises the 88 countries and territories in which English language, English is an official, administrative, or cultural language. In the early 2000s, between one and two billion people spoke English, making it the ...

and in German-speaking Europe. People with this name include:

Arts and entertainment

* Torstein Aagaard-Nilsen (born 1964), Norwegian composer * Torsten Amft (born 1971), German fashion designer * Torstein Flakne (born 1960), the founder of the Norwegian band Stage Dolls * Thorsten Flinck (born 1961), Swedish musician * Thorsten Owusu Gyimah (born 2003), Ghanaian drill rapper known as Yaw Tog * Thorsten Kaye (born 1966), American-based actor * Torstein Lofthus (born 1977), Norwegian drummer * Thorsten Quaeschning, German musician of the band Tangerine Dream * Torsten Wasastjerna (1863–1924), Finnish artist

Politics

* Torsten Bell (born 1982), British politician * Torstein Børte (1899–1985), Norwegian politician * Torsten Bréchôt (born 1964), East German judoka * Torstein Dahle (born 1947), Norwegian politician and economist * Thorsten Faas (born 1975), German political scientist * Thorsten Guttormsen Fretheim (1808–1874), Norwegian politician * Thorstein John Ohnstad Fretheim (1886–1971), Norwegian politician * Torsten Gejl (born 1964), Danish politician * Torsten Lindström (born 1974), Swedish politician * Torsten Nothin (1884–1972), Swedish politician * Torstein Olav Kuvaas (1908–1996), Norwegian politician * Torstein Kvamme (1893–1985), Norwegian politician * Torstein Rudihagen (born 1952), Norwegian politician * Thorsten Schäfer-Gümbel (born 1969), German politician of the SPD * Torstein Selvik (1900–1983), Norwegian politician * Torstein Slungård (1931–2009), Norwegian politician * Thorsten Svensson (1901–1954), Swedish footballer * Thorstein Treholt (1911–1993), Norwegian politician * Torstein Tynning (1932–2000), Norwegian politician

Sports

* Torstein Andersen Aase (born 1991), Norwegian footballer * Torsten Abel (born 1974), German triathlete * Thorsten Barg (born 1986), German football player * Thorsten Becker (born 1980), German footballer * Thorsten Burkhardt (born 1981), German footballer * Thorsten Dauth (born 1968), German decathlete * Thorsten Engelmann (born 1981), German rower * Thorsten Fink (born 1967), German football coach and former player * Torsten Frings (born 1976), German footballer * Thorsten Grönfors (1888–1968), Swedish sailor and tennis player * Torsten Gütschow (born 1962), German football striker * Torstein Hansen (1943–2018), Norwegian handball player * Thorstein Helstad (born 1977), Norwegian footballer * Thorsten Hohmann (born 1979), German pool player * Torstein Horgmo (born 1987), Norwegian snowboarder * Thorstein Johansen (1888–1963), Norwegian rifle shooter * Thorsten Kirschbaum (born 1987), German footballer * Thorsten Legat (born 1968), German football coach and retired player * Thorsten Leibenath (born 1975), German basketball coach and basketball player * Torsten Loibl (born 1972), German basketball coach * Thorsten Nehrbauer (born 1978), German footballer * Thorsten Schmitt (born 1975), German Nordic combined skier * Thorsten Schmugge (born 1971), German footballer * Thorsten Stuckmann (born 1981), German football goalkeeper * Torsten Tegnér (1888–1977), Swedish athlete and journalist * Thorsten Wittek (born 1976), German football player

Other fields

* Thorsten Andersson (1923–2018), Swedish toponymist * Torstein Eckhoff (1916–1993), Norwegian civil servant and professor of law * Torsten Engberg (1934–2018), Swedish Coastal Artillery lieutenant general * Þorsteinn Gylfason (1942–2005), Icelandic intellectual * Torsten Lindh (1941–2020), Swedish Navy rear admiral * Torstein Moland (born 1945), Norwegian economist * Thorsten Nordenfelt (1842–1920), Swedish inventor and industrialist * Thorsten J. Pattberg (born 1977), German philologist and cultural critic * Torstein Raaby (1919–1964), Norwegian telegrapher, resistance fighter and explorer * Thorsten Sellin (1896–1994), American sociologist, penologist and scientific criminologist * Thorstein Veblen (1857–1929), Norwegian-American sociologist and economist

References

{{given name Scandinavian masculine given names German masculine given names Masculine given names no:Thorsten nn:Thorsten

Arts and entertainment

Politics

Sports

Other fields

See also

References