ORIGIN OF NORDIC SURNAMES AND MEANING

Viking is the word with which the members of the Nordic peoples are mainly recognized. Their Nordic surnames could be acquired and inherited according to their occupation, place of origin, customs, character, attributes or achievements. In this article you will find information about it.

Nordic Surnames

Surnames let us know a lot about the society in which they originate. In the case of Nordic surnames, we can point out that those that have existed until now have given rise to the present surnames of Denmark, Norway, Sweden or Iceland.

Nicknames

In many civilizations, nicknames are where surnames originate. The same happened with the Nordic ancestors, who could adopt and inherit a surname according to their profession, place of origin, habits, character, and distinctive attributes.

In addition to this, the most famous Vikings acquired an epithet that alluded to their exploits. Indeed, sometimes particular rituals are carried out to grant an illustrious nickname.

Next, a succession of Viking characters are mentioned with pseudonyms. As you can see, sometimes these nicknames are the result of physical traits, others of their traditions, and others of their achievements.

Leif the Blessed (Leifur heppni). Leif Erikson, the son of Erik the Red who arrived in America and created the colony of Vinland. Erik Blood Axe (Eiríkr blóðøx). The second sovereign of Norway, who murdered numerous of his brothers and inspired fear. Ragnar Lodbrok (Ragnar “Hairy Underpants”). A legendary Viking adventurer who, according to legend, took part in the siege of Paris and various attacks in England. Harald Lovely Hair (Haraldr Hárfagri). He achieved the union of Norway to become its first sovereign. According to legend, he made a promise to a woman not to cut her hair until he took over all of Norway. Which took a decade! Harald Bluetooth (Haraldr Blátǫnn). Danish sovereign with a bad tooth. Bluetooth technology was named in his honor.

The Patronymic in Nordic Surnames

Women retained a more relevant role in Viking society than in other contemporary civilizations. For example, they were empowered to demand a divorce just like men, they could take part in expeditions and were responsible for the administration of the farms when their husbands were not present.

Read Also: MOST FAMOUS LEGENDS AND MYTHS OF SAVIOR

And yet, in Viking society, women were considered inferior to men. Although their competence and capacity were recognized, women do not intervene in political life or public issues.

For this reason, it is surprising that Nordic surnames will be generated from the patronymic. In other words, the name of the parent was taken and a genitive suffix was added: –son for the masculine (-sen in Danish) and –dottir for the feminine. So, Thorvald Eriksson would mean “Thorvald son of Erik.”

Let us mention a few examples of names and old norse surnames by patronymic for men:

Ivar Ragnarsson (son of Ragnar) Knut Gormsson (son of Gorm) Leíf Erikson (son of Erik) Olav Tryggvason (son of Tryggve) Svend Haraldsen (son of Harald)

Those cited below are some of the Nordic surnames for women:

Gunnhild Gormsdóttir (daughter of Gorm) Freydís Eiríksdóttir (daughter of Erik)

This system received some modifications over the centuries. In this way, a Western surname system is currently used in Denmark, Sweden and Norway, similar to that of Spanish-speaking nations. However, in Iceland the patronymic from Viking times is still used. Icelanders can also opt for a patronymic, although this is unusual.

List of Nordic Surnames

Below is an alphabetical list of the most common Nordic surnames that are in particular use mainly in Norway. Added to the names you can find the reference or meaning of Nordic surnames:

Abels It means “son of Abel.”
Abrahamsen Danish and Norwegian Abrahamson modality
Abramsen Norwegian Abramson modality
Adamsen Danish and Norwegian Adamson modality
Albertsen It is translated “son of Albert.”
Alexandersen It means “son of Alexander.”
Amundsen It means “son of Amund.”
Andersen It is translated “son of Anders.”
Anthonsen It means “son of Anthon”, Anthon being a variety of Antón.
Arnesen It means “son of Arne.”
Årud means “a river through a clearing” from å or aa means “river” and rud, a very ancestral Norwegian meaning of the word “Clear.”
Baardsson It is translated “son of Bård.”
Carlson It means “son of Carl.”
Christiansen It means “son of Christian.”
Dahl Middle Low German dal or Ancestral Norse dalr both mean “the valley.” A famous person of this surname was the writer Roald Dahl (1916-1990), who is primarily remembered for children’s stories such as ‘Matilda’ and ‘Henry Sugar’.
Danielsen It is translated “son of Daniel.”
Erikson Norwegian Ericson modality.
frank Denomination for a Franconian person in Germany, named so since it was settled by the Frankish people.
Gulbrandsen Guldbrandsen variety
Haakonsson It means “son of Håkon.”
Hagebak Norwegian for “garden on a mountain.”
hansen It means “son of Hans.”
Haraldsson It means “son of Harald.”
Haugen It literally means “the hill.” Used by families who live in the hills.
Hermansen Old Danish and Norwegian mode
Holt It means “a wood” or “grove” in ancient English or German.
Horn Occupational nickname for someone who made horn objects or who blew a bugle.
Horn Originally awarded to a person who resided near a horn-like geographic feature, such as a ridge or bend in a river.
Hummel It comes from the name Humbert.
Hummel Appellation for a busy person (from the Germanic word hommel means “bee”).
Jacobson It means “son of Jacob.”
Jakobsen It means “son of Jakob.”
Knutsen It means “son of Knut.”
Kristiansen It means “son of Kristian.”
Kristoffersen translates “son of Kristoffer.”
Landvik It means “Land and Bay” in Norwegian.
Lang From Scandinavians Lang, Middle High German lanc and Middle Low German latum meaning “long”. In principle it was an epithet for a tall person or family.
Lang Lang variety
Leonardsen Norwegian Leonardson modality
Losnedahl From a place name: Dahl means “Valley” in Norwegian, and Losne is a place in Norway.
lund It means “Grove”, from the ancient Norse lundr. There are towns in Sweden and Great Britain named Lund.
Naess Naess variety
Naess From the Norwegian term næs “a promontory.”
nass From the Norwegian term næs meaning “a promontory.”
Nielsen Nelson variety
Nilsen It means “son of Nils.”
Olhouser It means “(settler by or near the) old house.”
Oliversen Norwegian Oliverson modality
Omdahl It denotes a person originating from one of a number of estates in Norway named Åmdal or Omdal meaning “Elm Valley”.
Ostberg From Østberg, the Norwegian form of Östberg.
Ovesen It means “son of OVE.”
Raske Variety of Rask, used in Germany and the Netherlands.
Rasmussen It means “son of Rasmus.”
Rolvsson It means “son of Rolf.”
Sinason It means “son of Sina.” Sina is a very common female nickname in Scandinavia.
Skjeggestad It means “Place of Skjegge” or “the bearded that is a place” from the Norwegian skjegge “beard” and stad “city, place”
Solberg From the Germanic elements sol “sun” mixed with Berg “mountain”.
Sorensen It means “son of Søren.”
Spillum It originally denoted a person from Spillum, Norway.
Steensen It means “son of Steen.”
Storstrand It means “from the farm of Storstrand, Norway.” On the site name stor means “big” and “beach” Strand.
Strand From the Middle Low German word filament means “seashore.” It was originally awarded to someone who resided on or near the sea.
Swenhaugen Possibly meaning “from Swenhaugen, Norway.”
Tennfjord It originally denoted a person from Tennfjord, Norway.
Toov It comes from the Old Norse name Tófi which was a diminutive of any name that began with the element Þórr referring to the God Thor.
Wang Site or occupational name for a person who has lived or worked on a farm, from Ancestral Norse vangr “Field, meadow.”
Vilhjalmsson It means “son of Vilhjálmur.”
Vinter Scandinavian winter variety
Voll Means “(dweller by a) Prado”, from ancient Norse völlr.
Vollan Völlr from the Old Norse word (see VOLL), originally given to someone who lived near a farm.
Wang Variety of VANG.
Wolff Variety of the Wolf.