Velle Espeland (6 July 1945 – 10 January 2024) was a Norwegian folklorist.

Born in Sør-Fron on 6 July 1945, Espeland studied folkloristics at the University of Oslo.

[1] Espeland was assigned to Institutt for kulturstudier at the University of Oslo from 1974 to 2003.

He also contributed text to the comic series Smørbukk and Tuss og Troll [nn], and translated the Belgian comic strips Spirou & Fantasio and Marsupilami into Norwegian language.

[1] In 2014 he was awarded the Rff prize from Rådet for folkemusikk og folkedans [no],[2] a subsidiary of Arts Council Norway,[3] for his contributions to Norsk visearkiv.