{"id":483,"date":"2016-02-03T19:05:57","date_gmt":"2016-02-03T18:05:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/martinroe.com\/blog\/?p=483"},"modified":"2019-12-21T02:58:21","modified_gmt":"2019-12-21T01:58:21","slug":"norwegian-naming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/martinroe.com\/blog\/norwegian-naming\/","title":{"rendered":"Norwegian naming"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>When you get into Norwegian genealogy you will very soon find a number of unfamiliar and sometimes strange ways to name a person.<!--more-->In this little article I will give you some information about what to keep in mind when dealing with Norwegian person names. I will focus on how the names are likely to appear in the written sources.<\/p>\n<p>The first thing some of you may have noticed is that your ancestors name in Norway may not be the same as the name they were known by in the USA. It is a fact that many names were changed. Where it was done, who did it and why, is very different from person to person. I am not going into that discussion. I will just mention that some changed their names so that it would be easier to write or pronounce in English. I touch upon this problem in my article <a href=\"https:\/\/martinroe.com\/blog\/the-lost-symbols\/\">\u201cThe lost symbols\u201d<\/a><br \/>\nWhen you have gotten through the \u201cname-change obstacle\u201d you will have to deal with the names the way they were written in Norway.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Everyone had a first name, -a given name such as Hans, Per, Ole, Lena, Anne etc.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>The next part of the name is their \u201cpatronym\u201d. This is their father\u2019s name with the suffix \u2013sen, -son or -s\u00f8n for males and datter or dotter for females. Hansson; son of Hans. Olsdatter; daughter of Ola\/Ole. On very rare occasions you will find a \u201cmatronym\u201d meaning their mother\u2019s name with suffix. This occur sometimes when children are born out-of-wedlock and nobody has accepted the paternity. I have written a bit more about patronyms in my article <a href=\"https:\/\/martinroe.com\/blog\/norwegian-patronyms\/\">Norwegian patronyms<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>The last part of a person\u2019s \u201cidentity information\u201d is not part of his name. It is the address, -an indication of where he lived.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"490\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/martinroe.com\/blog\/norwegian-naming\/mailbox-1056324_640\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/martinroe.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/mailbox-1056324_640.jpg?fit=640%2C426&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"640,426\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;5&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;Canon EOS 1200D&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;43&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;250&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.016666666666667&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"mailbox-1056324_640\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/martinroe.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/mailbox-1056324_640.jpg?fit=640%2C426&amp;ssl=1\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\" wp-image-490 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/martinroe.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/mailbox-1056324_640.jpg?resize=188%2C125&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"mailbox-1056324_640\" width=\"188\" height=\"125\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/martinroe.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/mailbox-1056324_640.jpg?w=640&amp;ssl=1 640w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/martinroe.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/mailbox-1056324_640.jpg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 188px) 100vw, 188px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>I wrote \u201cidentity information\u201d to underline that we are not talking about a surname or a family name. The last part being an address is easily seen in some church records where the minister may have written \u201cHans Hansen <u><b>paa<\/b><\/u> Flate\u201d instead of \u201cHans Hansen Flate\u201d. This means Hans Hansen at the Flate farm.<br \/>\nAs we now see that we are talking about an address it is easier to understand that our ancestors changed \u201ctheir name\u201d a lot. Hans Hanson Flate may a few years later be recorded as Hans Hansen Berg as he moved from the Flate farm to the Berg farm. This can be a challenge for a genealogist, but it is of outmost importance to keep this in mind and make sure that we always are dealing with the right person. I write about the problem of people moving from farm to farm in my article <a href=\"https:\/\/martinroe.com\/blog\/what-is-a-bygdebok-2\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u201cWhat is a bygdebok?<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n<p>If you are lucky, your ancestors owned their farm and had the same address through several generations. There were groups that moved around that can be difficult to trace. These were the cotters (husmenn), lodgers (inderster), paupers (legdslemmer), servants\/farmhands (tjenere\/tjenestejenter\/drenger). Also people who rented their land (leiglendinger\/bygselmenn) \u00a0may have moved around and thus, changed address.<\/p>\n<p>I have lately come across a few persons who used the name of the municiaplity where they originated as a last name.\u00a0This happened in Norway long before the use of surnames was common. I have also seen this happen when the person emigrated.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong><em><div class=\"simplePullQuote right\"><p>There is a common misconception that by looking at how your ancestor wrote his patronym, you can tell which Scandinavian country he came from. This is not correct. The way the patronym was written in Norway tell us absolutely nothing about the origin of the person. To make this very short and simple: <u>In Norwegian genealogy you need to be prepared to find both \u2013sen, -son and \u2013s\u00f8n. This can be written with one or two S\u2019s like Hanson or Hansson.<\/u> The same person may be recorded with different spellings in different records.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Even though the use of surnames was not common among Norwegians until about the year 1800 there were groups that used family names in the same way we use surnames today. This may have been ministers, officers or civil servants who came from Denmark or Germany (e.g. Munch). There may also have been craftsmen who came from abroad and used their \u201cjob title\u201d as a surname (e.g. M\u00fcller \u2013 Miller). There was also a very small group belonging to the Nobility who used a family name.<\/p>\n<p>Throughout the 1800 more and more people started to use what we today call surnames. The practice first appeared in the towns. Often they used their patronym (primary patronym) sometimes they used their father\u2019s patronym (secondary patronym). Sometimes the easiest way to see that a patronym is used as a family-, or surname, is when the wife uses her husband\u2019s patronym and\/or their children use their father&#8217;s patronym. My Great-grandfather Markus Olsen Moldenes in many cases dropped Moldenes after he settled in the town \u00c5lesund in 1865. His wife Nicoline used Olsen as surname (her father\u2019s name was Knut). All their children used Olsen as surname.<\/p>\n<p>The use of proper surnames didn\u2019t become law in Norway until 1923. Before this they could do as they wished. This means that the same name might end up being spelled differently. It also means that siblings might end up with different surnames.<\/p>\n<p>There were many different spelling of Norwegian names and this may be a challenge. Even though the first public schools started in the 1730\u2019s, I think it is safe to say that far into the 20<sup>th<\/sup> century the reading and writing abilities among Norwegians were poor. They seldom, if ever, wrote, or saw their own name in writing. This means that the name was written as the minister or other officials thought it sounded. Often they were of foreign origin (often Danish) and wrote the names based on how the sounds were written in their native language.<br \/>\nThe many variations of names are too many to even try to list them all, but I\u2019ll give you just a few examples of spellings of what was often the same name:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Ann, Anna, Anne, Ane<\/li>\n<li>Jon, John, Joen, Johan, Johannes<\/li>\n<li>Guri, Guro, Gur\u00e5, G\u00f8ro<\/li>\n<li>Ola, Ole, Olav, Olaus, Oluf<\/li>\n<li>Per, Petter, Peder<\/li>\n<li>Pernele, Pernille<\/li>\n<li>P\u00e5l, Paul, Povel<\/li>\n<li>Kristian, Christian, X-tian<\/li>\n<li>Kristoffer, Krestoffer, Chrisoffer, Christopher, X-ofer<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>These variations in first names will, of course, give the same variation in patronyms. The variations in spelling of farm names are equally great. Oluf Rygh in his books \u201cNorwegian farmnames\u201d lists different spellings of names. In my article <a href=\"https:\/\/martinroe.com\/blog\/find-norwegian-place-names\/\">\u201cHow to find place names\u201d<\/a> I tell you a little about how to use the online version of these books.<\/p>\n<p>When you search for names in the Norwegian Digital archives it is smart to read through the <a href=\"https:\/\/digitalarkivet.no\/en\/content\/search-truncate\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">help section and learn about how to use wildcards<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>I hope you find this information useful.\u00a0 Don&#8217;t hesitate to contact me if you have questions or comments on this topic. There may be things that should be added or things that needs clarification. Comment below or go to <a href=\"https:\/\/martinroe.com\/blog\/index.php\/contact\/\">the contact pag<\/a>e and send me a word.<\/p>\n<p>Sources<\/p>\n<p>Byberg, Lis: \u00abLeseferdighet og skolevesen 1740\u20131830\u00bb Heimen, ISSN 0017\u20139841, bind 45, 2008<\/p>\n<p>Nedrelid, Gudrun: \u201cFramvoksteren av norske slektsnavn\u201d in Sprauten, Knut (editor) \u201c\u00c5 kallast med sitt rette namn\u00bb Skrifter fra NLI nr 38 2002<\/p>\n<p>Sandal, Per: \u00ab\u00c6ttegransking: ei element\u00e6r innf\u00f8ring til bruk i brevkurs eller sj\u00f8lvstudium\u00bb Fram brevskole, Oslo 1980<\/p>\n<p>Lov om personnavn, Kapittel 4 \u2013 Historikk. NOU 2001:1<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When you get into Norwegian genealogy you will very soon find a number of unfamiliar and sometimes strange ways to<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":485,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"colormag_page_container_layout":"default_layout","colormag_page_sidebar_layout":"default_layout","nf_dc_page":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":false,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"","_twitter_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type":"","_pinterest_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_instagram_share_type":"","_medium_share_type":"","_threads_share_type":"","_google_business_share_type":"","_selected_social_profile":[],"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"today","timeOption":"now","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":"absolute"},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-483","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-norwegian-concepts"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.0 (Yoast SEO v27.4) - 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