It has been a time honored caveat that Scandinavians used a patronymic naming system. Yes and No. I have both Norwegian and Swedish surnames in my family file.
My Swedish Peterson/Neilson line appears to have followed the standard naming convention. When I found the marriage record of Leopold Peterson and Caroline Neilson the parents names were listed as Peter and Anne for Leopold and Nils and Karna for Caroline. Peter who? Last names would have been helpful, but at least I know the naming pattern that was used.
My Norwegian Hansen/Danielsen ancestors however, freely changed from the patronymic to using the last name of the father. My grandfather, Adolph Hansen, was christened under the name Adolph Johannesen. His father was variously recorded as Johannes Hansen and Adolph Hansen. My great-grandmother, Dorette Christiansdatter, was also named as Dorette Danielsdatter and her brother became Oskar Daniels. Their father was Daniel Christians.
Since this is Surname Saturday, I won't begin to talk about the first name changes. At least they kept their ages consistent.
Scandanavian names can be tricky, especially when some in the family are in the army and thus traditionally take on a completely separate set of surnames, which are very inconsistently used.
ReplyDeleteFor two decades I could not identify my Swedish family before they arrived in America. The names are so generic and similar that the lack of knowledge of a child's true first name made it impossible to dientify the proper Nils Andersson and wife Mary, arriving during the peak immigration wave in 1869.
However, once I could identify the proper couple, I was able to authoritatively trace parts of the family back to King Canute the Great of Denmark (and England).
Don't you just love the recordkeeping of those Scandanavians?
I do love the Scandinavian records. Once you find the right parents, you can go back and back and back. They even keep track of who moved where and when.
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