Rune comes from the Old Norse word rún and means "secret" or "secret lore", the same word that gave the runic alphabet its name. It is a common given name in Norway, Denmark and Sweden and has only recently been discovered by American parents drawn to short Nordic names like Soren and Magnus. Rune has risen from number 4521 in 2015 to number 1789 in 2025, its highest rank on record.