I participate in an NSGQ Study Group. I have a group of genealogist friends who meet online once a month to discuss an article from the National Genealogical Society Quarterly journal. It’s a rewarding activity, and I highly recommend finding study groups like this to improve your skills. The most recent article that we discussed focused on surname patterns in northern Europe. I felt very much at home because this topic is something I deal with every time I do research!
One of the biggest challenges for research in Denmark, Norway and Sweden is understanding the naming patterns. I have an experiment I like to conduct when I teach groups about Scandinavian research. I ask, “Who here is related to Hans Jensen?” Usually the majority of the room answers in the affirmative. This question would be similar to asking if anyone is related to John Smith, except multiplied by about 100!
Our Scandinavian ancestors, like many other cultures, used patronymic surnames. The term patronymics refers to the practice of using the father’s given name as the surname while attaching –sen or –datter to the end for Norway and Denmark and –son or –dotter for Sweden. For example, if I had an ancestor in Norway named Maren and her father’s name was Peder Christiansen, Maren’s full name would be Maren Pedersdatter. All of her siblings would have the last name of Pedersdatter or Pedersen. Peder Christiansen’s father would be named Christian, and all of Peder’s siblings would have the Christiansen or Christiansdatter surname. While this is very different than our modern naming customs, it’s actually no more difficult than finding matching last names; it just requires changing the way your brain thinks.
In Scandinavia there are about ten very common given names for men and about the same amount for women. These names are used in different combinations for generations. Children were always named after a family member, so these names are found in every generation. Mix in the practice of using patronymic surnames, and sometimes it feels like we are looking at a pot of only Peder, Maren, Jens, Hans, Anna and Christian. I have a little mental celebration when I encounter a more unique name in my research.
The practice of changing surnames with each generation was generally phased out by the mid-1800s. At that time, the patronymic surnames stayed the same from generation to generation. During the same time periods we also see the use of other identifying surnames, including place names and occupations. In these situations a patronymic surname was given and the name of the farm where the family lived could be attached to the end. One example of this would be a Swedish ancestor named Anders Jonson Liljenquist. Jonson is the patronymic name and Liljenquist is the descriptive name of the farm where the family lived. This was a helpful tool for everyone in the community to keep track of which Anders Jonson was which.