Norwegian Naming Patterns

This blog is for anyone planning to trace Norwegian ancestors. Before you set off on your journey to 'grow' your Gulbrandsen, Olsen, Petersen, Henriksen, Elstad or Hansen family tree way back to the Viking days - be prepared for a challenge! The surname by which you know your Norwegian family, very likely, only dates back to the early 1900's. Prior to 1923, there were no fixed Norwegian surnames. Compulsory surnames were introduced in Norway between 1923 and 1925. Before the early 20th century, most Norwegian families, especially rural families, did not use surnames or family names in the way that we understand surnames, which is to identify patrilineal or matrilineal kinship or lineage.

The Norwegian tradition of naming was a patronymic system, derived from the father's name, but unlike other naming systems, a family name or surname, was not passed on from one generation to the next, to identify lineage or bloodline. This is where the difficulty lies in tracing Norwegian ancestry and why Norwegian naming patterns can be described as nothing short of a family historian's worst nightmare. So, unlike your MacDonalds from Scotland, your Jenkinsons from England, or your Sieglers from Germany, your Norwegian Håkonsen family cannot be traced backwards by its surname before the early 20th century. Fortunately for anyone hoping to research a Norwegian family tree, the Norwegian authorities have kept excellent records, however it is important to understand Norwegian naming practices, if you are to successfully trace your ancestry in Norway.

Once you are familiar with the Norwegian patronymic naming system, there are some excellent sources of Norwegian genealogical data online to help you to trace your family, such as the Norway Historical Data Centre ( www.rhd.uit.no/indexing.html ) and Norway Marriages, 1600's-1800's, which are available on Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com/), My experience is, that without some idea of the Norwegian naming system, before you embark on your search, you might find yourself spending much more time cursing, than searching! Having a book of Norwegian/English translation on hand, will be useful as well, since the censuses on the Historical Data Centre website are written in Norwegian.

Forenames

In ancient times, people in Norway were known only by a first name. Old Norse forenames were composed of two parts: a prefix and a suffix. There was a strict pattern to this system. Boys' names were constructed from a given list of prefixes and suffixes, and the same rule applied to the names for girls. Below are some examples of the most common prefixes and suffixes used to make up Norwegian names.

Male Prefixes

Alf, Arn, As, Berg, Bjorn, Bryn, Dag, Ei, Finn, Gaut, Geir, Gud, Halv, Har, Hen, Hjalm, Ing, Iv, Jard, Jarl, Jo, Jor, Jør, Kol, Lid, Lod, Magn, Malm, Mar, Mod, Nid, Nor, Odd, Orn, Os, Ragn, Reid, Ro, Se, Sig, Stein, Svein, Tor, Trygg, Ulf, Val, Ve, Tyg, Øy, Ås.

Male Suffixes

alf, ar, bein, bjørn, brand, dan, e, fast, finn, gar, geir, grim, id, ik, kjell, leif, leik, ljot, mund, mod, ne, odd, rød, stein, tor, ulf, ung, vald, vard, ve, vind, vor.

Examples of Norwegian Boys' Names:

Half/dan, Gud/brand, Bjørn/ar, Gunn/ar, Gul/brand (God's Sword, from gud meaning God and brand meaning sword).

Female Prefixes

Aud,Bjørg, Frid, Gull, Gunn, Heid, Hild, Inga, Mild, Møy, Mål, Rag, Sal, Sne, Sol, Svan, Unn, Yn.

Female Suffixes

borg, bjørg, frid, gerd, gunn, ild, møy, nild, rid, run, siv, unn, veig, vild.

Examples of Norwegian Girls' Names:

Gunn/ild, Bjørn/ild, Aud/berg, Rag/nild, Ingabjør

It was a popular tradition in Norway for parents to give children the names of ancient Kings, mythological figures, weapons and animals. The old Norse people believed that a child would be protected from evil if named after a brave figure such as a mighty warrior king, a sword or a fierce creature.

Examples of Norwegian forenames:

Halfdan was the name of King Halfdan the Black.

Gudbrand meant God's (God) sword (brand).

When Christianity was introduced to Norway, in about the 10th century, people began to give children 'Norwegianised' biblical names as well as the names of Saints.

Examples of 'Norwegianised' biblical names:

Johannes (John)

Johan

Kristen

Christian

Christoffer

The giving of christian names for children in Norway usually followed a pattern:

1. The first son was named after the paternal grandfather.
2. The second son was named after the maternal grandfather.
3. The third son was named after the paternal great grandfather.

1. The first daughter was named after the maternal grandmother.
2. The second daughter was named after the paternal grandmother.
3. The third daughter was named after the maternal great grandmother.
   

Traditionally, the formula for the name given to a child was :

Christian name + father's name + appropriate suffix.

Example:

Henrik Gulbrandsen( son of Gulbrand Olsen) has a family. His first son would be named:

Gulbrand (christian name) + Henrik (father's name) + sen (suffix = son)

Henrik's first born son would be named Gulbrand Henriksen.

If Henrik had a daughter she would be named:

Ragnild (christian name) + Henrik ( father's name ) + datter (suffix = daughter)

Henrik's first born daughter would be named Ragnild Henriksdatter . (The name Ragnild would probably be the name of the child's maternal grandmother.)

Just to confuse matters more, it was not uncommon for children to assume the mother's 'family' name i.e. the name of her father. In Norway a wife was allowed to keep her father's name rather than to adopt the name of her husband. So if Henrik's wife was named Ingabjørg Evensdatter - her father being Even Tillesen- the children could be alternatively named Evensen and Evensdatter, instead of Henriksen and Henriksdatter. (datter is usually written in an abbreviated form as dttr i.e. Henriksdttr).

To illustrate the naming system, let us assume that Henrik Gulbrandsen and Ingabjørg Evensen had two sons and one daughter.

1. Gulbrand
2. Eiven
3. Ragnild

Below are examples of the surnames that Henrik's children might have.

Example 1. Patronymic naming system

Henrik Gulbrandsen

Ingabjørg Gulbrandsen

Gulbrand Henricksen

Eiven Henriksen

Ragnild Henriksdttr

Example 2. Use of mother's surname:

Henrik Gulbrandsen

Ingabjørg Evensdatter

Henrik Evensen

Eiven Evensen

Ragnild Evensdatter

Now, just as you are probably quite confused enough, I will introduce you to Norwegian 'Farm Names'. Many Norwegian surnames that became fixed after 1925, were farm names. Farm names in Norway were adopted when a family worked and lived on a farm. The family often assumed the name of the farm instead of the father's or mother's name. Farm names are a very old tradition in Norway and most date back more than 200 years. Norwegian surnames which end in stad, set, heim, um, land, tveit or tvedt are always farm names. If Gulbrand Henriksen worked on a farm named Kolstad, his family would assume the 'surname' of Kolstad instead of Gulbrandsen. If the family moved to a farm of a different name they would usually assume the name of the new farm.

Example 3. Use of farm name:

Henrik Gulbrandsen Kolstad

Ingabjørg Evebsen Kolstad

Gulbrand Kolstad

Eiven Kolstad

Ragnild Kolstad

Farm names were registered so if your Norwegian surname is Kolstad or Elstad, you will possibly be able to locate the farm where your ancestors lived in Norway.

If you are now confused and thinking twice about doing the Norwegian family tree, don't be discouraged by the complicated Norwegian naming system. Tracing your family in Norway will be a most interesting although challenging project.

Some Tips for searching for Norwegian ancestors.

1. Study the naming system until you are familiar with it.


2. Use the naming system to try to work backwards eg. Ole Hanson's father would most likely have been named Hans Olsen if Ole was the eldest son. Ole's grandfather would most likely have been named Ole. If Magnus Hansen was your ancestor and you don't know his position in the family, don't dispair! You know his father's christian name was Hans.


3. Search the Historical Baptisms for a Magnus Hansen born to a Hans around the date you believe to be the birth date.


4. Search the Norwegian censuses.


5. Search the Norwegian Marriage records as they will often tell you the names of both parents.

How to type the special characters in the Norwegian alphabet:

Æ - Press ALT while typing 0198

æ - Press ALT while typing 0230

Ø - Press ALT while typing 0216

ø - Press ALT while typing 0248

Å - Press ALT while typing 0197

å - Press ALT while typing 0229

Until the early 20th century Norwegian people (unless they were very wealthy or members of the clergy who sometimes did use surnames)

'In a world full of audio visual marvels, may words matter to you and be full of magic.' Godfrey Smith 1926-

The Value of Family History Blogs

In December 2009, I wrote about the value of letters to the family historian in my other blog, (http://www.sharn-genealogyjottings.blogspot.com/ ). So much information about our ancestors lives in the words which are written in letters and sent across the miles, between family members or friends. Letters are are full of memories of the past. Today we live in a technological world where, for most people, the humble letter is a thing of the past. There are many benefits that come with technology, however. Thanks to the internet, we can quickly and more easily (most of the time) find ancestors. We are able to make contact with relatives and others who share our interests, worldwide.

The internet has also become a marvellous medium for sharing our discoveries, our stories, and advice to others who are just beginning their search for their ancestry.

My 'families' sat in archive boxes for years, while I thought about how to 'tell' the stories of my ancestors' lives. Every solution I came up with had the same problem - it took up too much room! I already had boxes and 'piles' of papers stored in every possible nook and cranny, writing books about each family meant finding more storage space.

The computer made it possible for me to find and to print out much more information than ever before... and that's what made me think of recording my stories on the computer. Not just on the computer but on the internet. Genealogy is all about sharing. My motto has always been that two heads are better than one. Just when I think I know almost everything there is to know about an ancestor, along comes a relative ( often who I have never even met) with a new lead or a family story I haven't heard before. There are always new directions and new 'finds' to make.

Blogging is a wonderful way to record stories about your ancestors lives, 'talk' about your journey into genealogy, express yourself about your frustrating 'brick walls' and to communicate useful tips to help other people searching for family.

I now write my family anecdotes in my blogs and my family members all over the world can discover their ancestry along with me. I have family and friends who although are not interested in actually searching for ancestors themselves, love to find out about them through the blogs. I can add photos, records and documents to illustrate my anecdotes and sources to help others who may be researching in similar places.

Recently I was contacted through my original blog http://www.sharn-genealogyjottings.blogspot.com/ (where I record stories about family members who I have researched), by several people who are researching a yacht called the 'Warrior 11'. The people who contacted me, are writing a book about a large steam yacht which was built in 1901 for the American millionaire, Frederick Vanderbilt and which changed owners several times before being requisitioned by the British Navy during World War 11 and was sunk off Portsmouth in the English Channel in 1940. The yacht happened to belong to my great uncle at the time it was attacked by 50 German bombers and sunk, and I had spent considerable time researching both my uncle and his luxury yacht. I was able to help these people with their research and I am thrilled that they are having an old film which they found (in a car boot sale in the UK!) of a cruise the yacht took in 1937-1938, around the Mediterranean with my uncle and his guests on board (including members of the royal family). I am lucky also. to be receiving a DVD of the wreck of the Warrior 11 from a dive enthusiast who happened to read my blog as well and who appreciated reading the history of the yacht.

Through the same blog, I was contacted by another UK researcher who was looking for information, also about my uncle, but with regard to a secret airstrip he had built on his property, Marwell Hall in Hampshire, during WW2. He was responsible for converting seafire aircraft to spitfires and test flying them at the Marwell Airstrip.

Right is an estimation of where the secret airstrip was at Marwell Hall.

Marwell Hall the property in Hampshire owned by my great uncle and where he built the secret airstrip to be used to test fly spitfire aircraft.


I have many more stories to tell in my blogs. There are my own stories that I have pieced together about my ancestors as well as some interesting tales I have discovered whilst researching the forebears of others. I feel pleased that my research will not lie in boxes for years to come, but be able to be enjoyed by family members and friends through my blogs. I have enjoyed making new acquaintances through blogging and have appreciated the experiences and advice of other family historians through reading their blogs.

'Do you spell it with a 'V' or a 'W'?' inquired the judge. 'That depends upon the taste and fancy of the speller, my Lord,' replied Sam.' Dickens

Deciphering your Ancestor's Old Writing

Paleography - Greek; noun; the study and interpretation of old and ancient writing

Here are some simple rules to help you interpret old documents

1. Read documents slowly and carefully.

2. Read documents several times.

3. Use a magnifying glass to help read faded writing.

4. Find websites that offer help deciphering old script.

5. Keep in mind that original documents may contain spelling mistakes!


Recently I acquired a document written in 1760, which relates to the use of a property named Marwell Woodlocks (a manor estate later known as Marwell Hall, that my great uncle owned in the 1930's and 40's and which King Henry VIII had earlier presented to the Seymour family). The antique parchment paper and the flourishes and swirls of mid 18th century English handwriting undoubtedly added artistic charm to this document, but made it extremely difficult to read, as the style and form of penmanship was very different from any writing that we are used to reading today.

One of the most difficult tasks for the family historian, is to decipher old handwriting. Who of us, researching the lives of our ancestors, hasn't received a much anticipated marriage certificate, only to find, that we remain in ignorance of a further generation of forebears' names, because we can't understand the writing. Old writing is frustrating and impossible to avoid. Birth, death and marriage certificates, wills, parish and passenger records, were all handwritten (no word processors in the 'old' days). Generally, handwriting from the 18th century onward is not as difficult to interpret as it is on older documents where many of the lettering styles and forms differ significantly from those of today. To read and interpret old penmanship, (when 'writing' was an artform), you may require help. If your forebears happen to be of German or other European origins, the task of interpreting the handwriting may be even more arduous, as letters such as double s (ss) were written as ß or as a letter F. So if you have been searching in vain for your German or Swiss family of Bebers or Befers, you might like to reconsider that the name might be Besser, which in old German script would have been Beßer.

This doesn't mean that all budding genealogists need to rush off to enrol in paleography classes to learn to interpret ancient script, however, there are a number of excellent websites which offer free advice about deciphering old handwriting. The British National Archives offer an excellent free tutorial to help you to understand writing from 1500-1800, at the following link www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/paleography/ . Other useful websites are, www.cyndislist.com/handwriting.htm and http://www.genealogy.com/. By simply googling 'deciphering old handwriting' you will find a number of other useful websites to guide you through the process of transcribing your ancestors' beautifully scripted' but 'difficult to read' documents. It may be helpful to familiarise yourself with some of the most commonly misunderstood letters of the alphabet.



Commonly misunderstood Capital Letters



F -H

J-I

K-R

S-L

O-Q

P-R

U-V

W-M,UU



Commonly misunderstood Lower Case Letters



b-f

d-ef

j-i

k-t

s-l

t-c

ss-fs,ps,ß

w-vv

y-g



A simple confusion between a letter 'L' and an 'S' led me to believe for some years, that my three times grandfather, Michael Frayne, was an Irish lawyer. I was proud of all of my ancestors who had been deep in coal pits or working as agricultural labourers, but my 'ag labs' and all my ordinary folk dulled in comparison to my husband's ancestry. (He descends from Charlemagne, Alfred the Great, William the Conqueror, the Scottish McAlpin Kings.... ) So, against this backdrop, an Irish Lawyer was looking quite good! I am sure you can see where I am heading with this anecdote. Some years, (and much more experience) later, when I re-read Michael's daughter's birth certificate, my illustrious Irish grandfather suddenly fell from the social ladder, going from 'Lawyer' to 'Sawyer'. My disappointment, though real, was short lived however, as this discovery led to a much more exciting one when I realised that the date of arrival I had for him in Australia (1837), was too early for a free Irish immigrant. Michael Frayne was, excitingly (for me, though undoubtedly, not for him) a young Irish convict, the brother of notorious convict, Lawrence Frayne, whose memoirs of his time spent on Norfolk Island, are part of the Colonial Papers held in the NSW State Library. Robert Hughes dedicates a chapter to Lawrence Frayne, also, in his book 'The Fatal Shore'.

It was a happy ending for me, but a valuable lesson learned - paleography is an important tool for the genealogist!