Thorsten

Thorsten (Thorstein, Torstein, Torsten) is a Scandinavian given name. The Old Norse 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.

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), Þōrsteinn Eirīkssonr (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 in the 11th century as the name of a medieval archbishop of York (died 1140), of an abbot of Pershore (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 and in German-speaking Europe.

Pre-World War I births

 * Thorsten Guttormsen Fretheim (1808–1874), Norwegian politician
 * Thorsten Nordenfelt (1842–1920), Swedish inventor and industrialist
 * Thorstein Veblen (1857–1929), Norwegian-American sociologist and economist
 * Torsten Nothin (1884–1972), Swedish politician
 * Thorstein John Ohnstad Fretheim (1886–1971), Norwegian politician
 * Thorsten Grönfors (1888–1968), Swedish sailor and tennis player
 * Thorstein Johansen (1888–1963), Norwegian rifle shooter
 * Torsten Tegnér (1888–1977), Swedish athlete and journalist
 * Torstein Kvamme (1893–1985), Norwegian politician for the Christian Democratic Party
 * Thorsten Sellin (1896–1994), American sociologist at the University of Pennsylvania, a penologist and scientific criminologist
 * Torstein Børte (1899–1985), Norwegian politician for the Liberal Party
 * Torstein Selvik (1900–1983), Norwegian politician for the Labour Party
 * Thorsten Svensson (1901–1954), Swedish football (soccer) player
 * Torstein Olav Kuvaas (1908–1996), Norwegian politician for the Liberal Party
 * Thorstein Treholt (1911–1993), Norwegian politician
 * Torsten Wasastjerna (1863–1924), Finnish artist

1914–1945 births
Post-World War II births
 * Thorsten Andersson (1923–2018), Swedish toponymist
 * Torstein Eckhoff (1916–1993), Norwegian civil servant, professor of law at the University of Oslo
 * Torsten Engberg (1934–2018), Swedish Coastal Artillery lieutenant general
 * Þorsteinn Gylfason (1942–2005), Icelandic intellectual
 * Torstein Hansen (1943–2018), Norwegian handball player
 * Torsten Lindh (1941–2020), Swedish Navy rear admiral
 * Torstein Moland (born 1945), Norwegian economists
 * Torstein Raaby (1919–1964), Norwegian telegrapher, resistance fighter and explorer
 * Torstein Slungård (1931–2009), Norwegian politician from the Liberal Party
 * Torstein Tynning (1932–2000), Norwegian politician for the Conservative Party
 * Torstein Dahle (born 1947), Norwegian politician and economist
 * Torstein Rudihagen (born 1952), Norwegian politician for the Labour Party
 * Torstein Flakne (born 1960), the founder of the Norwegian band Stage Dolls
 * Thorsten Flinck (born 1961), Swedish musician
 * Torsten Gütschow (born 1962), German football striker
 * Torstein Aagaard-Nilsen (born 1964), Norwegian composer
 * Torsten Bréchôt (born 1964), East German judoka
 * Torsten Gejl (born 1964), Danish politician
 * Thorsten Kaye (born 1966), American-based actor
 * Thorsten Fink (born 1967), German football coach and former player
 * Thorsten Legat (born 1968), German football coach and a retired player
 * Thorsten Dauth (born 1968), German decathlete
 * Thorsten Schäfer-Gümbel (born 1969), German politician of the SPD
 * Torsten Amft (born 1971), German fashion designer
 * Thorsten Schmugge (born 1971), German footballer
 * Torsten Loibl (born 1972), German basketball coach
 * Torsten Abel (born 1974), German triathlete
 * Thorsten Schmitt (born 1975), German Nordic combined skier
 * Thorsten Leibenath (born 1975), German basketball coach and basketball player
 * Thorsten Wittek (born 1976), German football player
 * Torsten Frings (born 1976), German football midfielder
 * Thorstein Helstad (born 1977), Norwegian footballer
 * Torstein Lofthus (born 1977), Norwegian drummer
 * Thorsten J. Pattberg (born 1977), German philologist and cultural critic
 * Thorsten Quaeschning, German musician of the band Tangerine Dream
 * Thorsten Nehrbauer (born 1978), German footballer
 * Thorsten Hohmann (born 1979), German pool player
 * Thorsten Becker (born 1980), German footballer
 * Thorsten Burkhardt (born 1981), German football player
 * Thorsten Engelmann (born 1981), German rower
 * Thorsten Stuckmann (born 1981), German football player
 * Thorsten Barg (born 1986), German football player
 * Thorsten Kirschbaum (born 1987), German footballer
 * Torstein Horgmo (born 1987), Norwegian pro snowboarder
 * Torstein Andersen Aase (born 1991), Norwegian football striker
 * Thorsten Owusu Gyimah (born 2003), Ghanaian drill rapper known as Yaw Tog
 * Torstein Woodhall (born 1976), Australia, construction, lawyer, realtor