Tove is a Scandinavian given name that derives from the Old Norse name Tófa or from the Old Norse name Þórfríðr, which combines Thor with "fríðr".
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Origins
Some believe the name to be a shortening of Þorfríðr, whose elements are the deity-name Thor and Old Norse fríðr 'beautiful'. Tófa and Tófi appear to have been relatively popular names in the 10th and 11th centuries and are found in Anglo-Scandinavian court witness lists and later in the Domesday Book in their Latinised form. The personal name became a surname in medieval England, with spellings of Tovi, Tovie (16th century) and Tovey recorded in wills and church documents.
Notable women
Tove of the Obotrites, 10th-century Wendish princess
Tove Alexandersson, Swedish orienteer
Tove Almqvist (born 1996), Swedish football midfielder
Tove Ditlevsen, Danish poet and author
Tove Edfeldt, Swedish actress
Tove Fergo, Danish vicar and politician
Tove Jansson, Finnish artist and author
Tove Lindbo Larsen, Danish politician
Tove Lo, Swedish singer
Tove Midelfart, Norwegian lawyer and businesswoman
Tove Maës, Danish actress
Tove Nilsen, Norwegian writer
Tove Nielsen, Danish politician
Tove Skutnabb-Kangas (1940–2023), Finnish linguist and educator
Tove Styrke, Swedish singer
Birte Tove (1945–2016), Danish actress and nude model
Notable men
Tove (sculptor), 12th-century Scanian sculptor
Fictional characters
a legendary young woman, mistress of the Danish King Waldemar, and subject of a poem by Jens Peter Jacobsen best known for its musical setting as the Gurre-Lieder of Arnold Schoenberg
a fictional, slithy creature created by Lewis Carroll that appears in his poem Jabberwocky