Gender: Feminine
Origin: Old Norse
Meaning: “goddess.”
(DEE-sah)

The name is derived from the Old Norse, dís, meaning, “goddess.” This element appears in a variety of other Nordic female names, and in Swedish, Disa is sometimes treated as a short form of Hjördis, or even the Latin, Desideria.

The name appears in a Swedish saga from the Middle Ages, written by Olaus Magnus in 1555. The story recounts the exploits of a young woman by the name of Disa who is able to outwit the god, Freyr. The same story was elaborated by Swedish playwright, Johannes Messenius, in 1611, when he wrote the drama entitled Disa, which is considered one of the first plays to be written in the Swedish language.

It is also the name of a flower indigenous to South Africa, which was named for the above character.

Its designated name-day in Sweden is February 3rd.

Other forms include:

• Dis (Danish/Norwegian/Swedish)
• Dísa (Icelandic)
• Dís (Icelandic/Faroese)
• Dise (Norwegian)