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Expanded and corrected section on farm names. Added section on adding names to Family Tree.
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(Expanded and corrected section on farm names. Added section on adding names to Family Tree.) |
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*Occupational - based on the person's trade, such as Smed (Smith) | *Occupational - based on the person's trade, such as Smed (Smith) | ||
Four types of surnames | Four types of surnames have been used from early on in Norway:<ref name=":0" /><ref>[https://www.geni.com/projects/Introduksjon-til-Geni-norsk/3288 Geni.com, Introduksjon til Geni - norsk.]</ref> | ||
*Patronymics | *Patronymics | ||
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===Patronymics=== | ===Patronymics=== | ||
[[File:Norway Patronymic Surnames.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Illustration of the derivation of Norwegian patronymic surnames]] | [[File:Norway Patronymic Surnames.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Illustration of the derivation of Norwegian patronymic surnames]] | ||
Patronymic surnames are based on the father's given name. This surname changed with each generation. For example, Jon Arnesen was the son of a man named Arne. If Jon had a son named Arne, the son would be known as Arne Jonsen (Arne son of Jon | Patronymic surnames are based on the father's given name. This surname changed with each generation. For example, Jon Arnesen was the son of a man named Arne. If Jon had a son named Arne, the son would be known as Arne Jonsen (or Jonsson, etc), that it, Arne son of Jon and his brothers would be surnamed Jonsen (or Jonsøn, etc.), while his sisters would be known as Jonsdatter (or Jonsdotter), that is, daughter of Jon. In some of the earliest church records a person may be recorded with a ''matronymic'' surname, based on the person's mother's given name. Cases like this are very unusual, and always indicate the person was illegitimate. | ||
===Fixed Patronymics=== | ===Fixed Patronymics=== | ||
Fixed Patronymic surnames look like regular patronymics however there are two distinct differences. Firstly, they did not change from generation to generation but instead remained the same. Secondly, they always had the -sen or -son suffix for both males and females. This type of surname was primarily found in cities and used by merchants, tradesmen, and others of similar social class. | Fixed Patronymic surnames look like regular patronymics however there are two distinct differences. Firstly, they did not change from generation to generation but instead remained the same. Secondly, they always had the -sen or -son suffix for both males and females. This type of surname was primarily found in cities and used by merchants, tradesmen, and others of similar social class. Examples of these can be found in the 1801 census such as the children of [https://www.digitalarkivet.no/ft20090807610552 Niels Andersen and Elen Christina Iversdatter]. He is a “gesel” in Bergen and their three children, all daughters, are listed as Alida Andersen, Martha Malena Andersen, and Sophia Andrea Andersen. | ||
Examples of these can be found in the 1801 census such as the children of [https://www.digitalarkivet.no/ft20090807610552 Niels Andersen and Elen Christina Iversdatter]. He is a “gesel” in Bergen and their three children, all daughters, are listed as Alida Andersen, Martha Malena Andersen, and Sophia Andrea Andersen. | |||
In 1923, when the first law regarding surnames was passed, many people that had just a patronymic surname chose to turn that patronymic into a fixed patronymic for their surname. | In 1923, when the first law regarding surnames was passed, many people that had just a patronymic surname chose to turn that patronymic into a fixed patronymic for their surname. | ||
===Family Names=== | ===Family Names=== | ||
Family name surnames are fixed surnames passed from a father to all his children that are not based on patronymics. Some families in the upper classes of Norwegian society adopted this type of surname as early as the 1600s.<ref name=":0" /> Some famous examples of family names are Collett, Leuch, Hagerup, and Wergeland. Examples of these can be found in the 1801 census such as the family of [https://www.digitalarkivet.no/ft20090806670611 Peter Collet and his wife Ellatine Bendiks]. He is an “Assessor i stifte retten” in Kristiansand and their two children | Family name surnames are fixed surnames passed from a father to all his children that are not based on patronymics. Some families in the upper classes of Norwegian society adopted this type of surname as early as the 1600s.<ref name=":0" /> Some famous examples of family names are Collett, Leuch, Hagerup, and Wergeland. Examples of these can be found in the 1801 census such as the family of [https://www.digitalarkivet.no/ft20090806670611 Peter Collet and his wife Ellatine Bendiks]. He is an “Assessor i stifte retten” in Kristiansand and their two children are listed as Elisabeth Collet and Peter Collet. | ||
In christening records, mothers who had family name surnames will often be seen recorded as, for example, [https://www.digitalarkivet.no/kb20050809020085 Elisabeth Kristine f. Schelderup] which stands for Elisabeth Kristine født Schelderup (Elisabeth Kristine born Schelderup). | In christening records, mothers who had family name surnames will often be seen recorded as, for example, [https://www.digitalarkivet.no/kb20050809020085 Elisabeth Kristine f. Schelderup] which stands for Elisabeth Kristine født Schelderup (Elisabeth Kristine born Schelderup). | ||
Centuries before 1923 | Centuries before the naming laws of 1923 some people had already adopted the practice of using a permanent family name to be passed to successive generations. The 1923 law continued the previously established law that certain family names were protected and could only be adopted by individuals who could show proper inheritance of the name or by the unanimous consent of all others who bore the name.<ref>National Library of Norway, [https://www.nb.no/items/URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2008120304033 Lov om personnavn : tradisjon, liberalisering og forenkling : utredning fra en arbeidsgruppe oppnevnt av Justis- og politidepartementet ved brev 22. april 1999 : avgitt 20. desember 2000], page 71.</ref> | ||
===Farm Names=== | ===Farm Names=== | ||
It is believed the oldest place names in Norway are more than 2,000 years old. The practice of identifying a person in connection with their named residence (for example, ''Stein på Børve'' farm from a record in 1563) is easily that old. The earliest records we have from Norway generally identify people by their given name and residence. As these records are for the assessment of taxes, generally only landowners are identified | Farm names are surnames which are the name of the farm where a person lives or where his family used to live. These are found primarily in rural area. The use of farm names did vary between the different regions of Norway. They were primarily used by landowners and their descendants. Tennent farmers and crofters whose families had never owned farms did not usually use farm names. | ||
It is believed the oldest place names in Norway are more than 2,000 years old. The practice of identifying a person in connection with their named residence (for example, ''Stein på Børve'' farm from a record in 1563) is easily that old. The earliest records we have from Norway generally identify people by their given name and residence. As these records are for the assessment of taxes, generally only landowners are identified. | |||
Frequently people are identified in the records by their given name and | Frequently people are identified in the records by their given name and farm name surname; by their given name and patronymic surname; or by their given name, patronymic surname, and farm name surname. For example: | ||
*John Folkedal | *John Folkedal | ||
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All three are the same person. | All three are the same person. | ||
When farm names are given in a record | When farm names are given in a record in a manner that shows they are clearly being used as a surname, they provide potentially critical information for uniquely identifying an individual and should be recorded as the person’s surname. | ||
Because farm names were derived from where a person was living, the person’s surname would change each time he or she moved. A person’s surname may be recorded differently depending on the time a record was made. It might be: | |||
*The farm on which they were born | *The farm on which they were born | ||
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*The farm where their children were born | *The farm where their children were born | ||
*The farm where they died | *The farm where they died | ||
Because these changing surnames are important for correctly identifying individuals in records, all of these names should be recorded as alternate names for individuals. | |||
===Farm Names in Local Histories=== | ===Farm Names in Local Histories=== | ||
Many local histories (''[[Norway Farm Books|bygdebøker]]'') published in Norway | Many local histories (''[[Norway Farm Books|bygdebøker]]'') published in Norway include farm names as part of a person's name. This shows that farm names were viewed as surnames and illustrates the importance of including them. | ||
For example, ''[https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/471492 Ulvik gards- og ættesoga]'' has under the entries for Gjele, a smaller part of Ljono farm, a ''Jon Asbjørnsson Håheim''<ref>Kolltveit, Olav, Johannes Kvestad, and Torbjørn Kvestad. ''Ulvik: gards- og ættesoga, 2: Gards- og ættesoga Syse-Vallavik.'' Ulvik bygdeboknemd, 1987. Page 140.</ref>. Here ''Håheim'' is used to indicate his previous farm name and at which farm more information about him can be found. | |||
=== Surnames Alone Do Not Prove Relationships === | |||
None of the four types of surnames can in and of themselves be used to prove relationships. In the same way that two people named Smith living next door to each other cannot be assumed to be related to each other, two people with the same fixed patronymic or the same family name cannot be assumed to be related without actual evidence of that relationship. | |||
This is also true of patronymics. If two men with the patronymic Hansson are living on the same farm, all that is known is that they both have fathers by the name of Hans. It cannot be assumed that their two fathers are the same Hans and that they are brothers. Their relationship must be demonstrated by birth records, census records or some other type of record. | |||
Likewise, farm name surnames alone cannot be used to establish relationships. As stated by Yngve Nedrebø, Director of the Regional Archive in Bergen, “In addition, a third name was often used. This was usually a farm name.This ‘surname’ did not necessarily identify a family or a relationship; it signified a place of residence. If farmer Ole Olsen Li moved from Li to another farm, such as Dal, he would then be known as Ole Olsen Dal. A farm laborer could be named in the same way, even though he was not related to the farmer." Because farms were divided into separate sections and these could each be owned by a different family, several families who were not related to each other at all could be living on the same farm and have the same farm name. | |||
==Norwegian-American Name Changes== | ==Norwegian-American Name Changes== | ||
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*Anders Halvorsen and his wife Kari Knutsdatter emigrated with the two youngest children in 1862. They and the two children carry on with the name ''Halvorson'' in the US. | *Anders Halvorsen and his wife Kari Knutsdatter emigrated with the two youngest children in 1862. They and the two children carry on with the name ''Halvorson'' in the US. | ||
== Recording Norwegian Names In Family Tree == | |||
Following usual genealogical practice, an individual’s name at the time of his or her birth should be entered in the Vitals section of Family Tree. Exceptions to this general rule can be found. For example, if a family moved from one farm to another when a child was just a few years old and all other children in the family were born at the second farm, it sometimes makes sense for clarity to enter the first child with the same farm name as his or her siblings. All additional names a person used through life whether due to moving from one farm to another, moving from a rural to an urban area, or emigrating should be recorded in the Other Information section of Family Tree as Alternate Names. | |||
=== Given Names === | |||
Enter all first names in the First Names field. Because of the wide variation in spelling used for names which sometimes differs even between the Ministerialbok christening record and the Klokkerbok copy of the same record, the decision of which spelling to use can be challenging. | |||
=== Surnames, excluding patronymics === | |||
Enter any fixed patronymic, family, or farm name surname in the Last Names field. Fixed patronymics use the -sen suffix for both men and women. Family names will usually have standard spelling that can be used. Farm name spelling varied through the years just like given names. They can be entered either with the spelling current at the time of an individual's birth or with the modern spelling of the farm. | |||
=== Patronymic Surnames === | |||
For individual with only a patronymic surname, enter it in the Last Names field. Since the patronymic is usually abbreviated, it is often impossible to know which spelling was used for the suffix. Some people choose to exclusively use -sen and -datter no matter what the records contains. Some people choose to use the form used in the records when present. Some people choose to use -sson and -datter to distinguish regular patronymics from fixed patronymics. | |||
Individuals with fixed patronymic surnames usually did not use a regular patronymic with their surname. | |||
Individuals with family names sometimes used a patronymic in addition, but often did not. | |||
Individuals with farm name surnames almost always used a patronymic along with their surname. | |||
If used along with a second type of surname, a person’s patronymic can be entered either at the end of the First Names field or at the beginning of the Last Names field. The position of the patronymic will effect search results. | |||
If an individual had a fixed patronymic, a family name, or a farm name, one should always enter the strictly patronymic form of his or her name as an Alternate Name in the Other Information section of Family Tree with the first name in the First Names field and the patronymic in the Last Names field. This assists the Find and Hint routines to work most effectively. | |||
<br /> | |||
==Online Resources== | ==Online Resources== | ||
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*National Library of Norway, [https://www.nb.no/items/URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2008120304033 Lov om personnavn : tradisjon, liberalisering og forenkling : utredning fra en arbeidsgruppe oppnevnt av Justis- og politidepartementet ved brev 22. april 1999 : avgitt 20. desember 2000] A report on the history of Norwegian name laws by the Norwegian Justice and Police Department. | *National Library of Norway, [https://www.nb.no/items/URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2008120304033 Lov om personnavn : tradisjon, liberalisering og forenkling : utredning fra en arbeidsgruppe oppnevnt av Justis- og politidepartementet ved brev 22. april 1999 : avgitt 20. desember 2000] A report on the history of Norwegian name laws by the Norwegian Justice and Police Department. | ||
*Arvegods (blog) [http://arvegods.blogspot.com/2012/02/norwegian-names.html Norwegian Names] | *Arvegods (blog) [http://arvegods.blogspot.com/2012/02/norwegian-names.html Norwegian Names] | ||
*Solem, Børge. ''[http://www.norwayheritage.com/norwegian-names.htm Those Norwegian names, tips for the "online" researcher]''. Norway-Heritage: Hands Across The Sea. | |||
*''[https://www.arkivverket.no/en/find-your-ancestors/tracing-your-ancestry Start tracing your Norwegian ancestors.]'' Arkivverket.no | |||
*Eidhammer, Martin Roe. [https://martinroe.com/blog/how-i-record-person-names/ "How I record person names."] ''Norwegian Genealogy and then some: Genealogy, history and culture from Norway.'' | |||
==References== | ==References== | ||