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m (Historically Danish and Norwegian patronymic surnames typically ended with -sen and -datter, while Swedish patronymic surnames were more likely to end with -sson and -dotter.) |
m (corrected the spelling of the word "with" which was spelled "witn".) |
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The patronymic naming system was used in all of Scandinavia. That means a Scandinavian's family name was formed by taking the first name of the natural father and adding sen, son, sson, søn, datter, dotter, or dottir to it. A person named Johannes Augustsen was literally "Johannes, the son of August." Maria Pedersdatter was literally, "Maria, the daughter of Peder." Because of this system, there could be many people living in the same place at the same time with the same surnames who were completely unrelated. | The patronymic naming system was used in all of Scandinavia. That means a Scandinavian's family name was formed by taking the first name of the natural father and adding sen, son, sson, søn, datter, dotter, or dottir to it. A person named Johannes Augustsen was literally "Johannes, the son of August." Maria Pedersdatter was literally, "Maria, the daughter of Peder." Because of this system, there could be many people living in the same place at the same time with the same surnames who were completely unrelated. | ||
For most of us, the patromymic naming system is different from what we're used to. However, it was the best system for the time and the culture, since just a few names, among them Jens, Lars, Peder, Ole, Anders, and their derivations, were used 90 percent of the time. With the patronymic system, at least the first name of the previous generation was known. Historically, Danish and Norwegian patronymic surnames often ended with the suffix -''sen'' for males and -''datter'' for females, while Swedish patronymic surnames were more likely to end | For most of us, the patromymic naming system is different from what we're used to. However, it was the best system for the time and the culture, since just a few names, among them Jens, Lars, Peder, Ole, Anders, and their derivations, were used 90 percent of the time. With the patronymic system, at least the first name of the previous generation was known. Historically, Danish and Norwegian patronymic surnames often ended with the suffix -''sen'' for males and -''datter'' for females, while Swedish patronymic surnames were more likely to end with -''sson'' for males and -''dotter'' for females. | ||
Scandinavian females did not assume the surname (family name) of their husbands when they married. They carried their maiden surname throughout their life in the records. If you find an Ole Pedersen and a Synnova Pedersdatter having a child, she is not "Mrs. Ole Pedersen" in the traditional American sense. The record simply means that Ole was the son of a "Peder" somebody, and Synnova was the daughter of a "Peder" somebody. | Scandinavian females did not assume the surname (family name) of their husbands when they married. They carried their maiden surname throughout their life in the records. If you find an Ole Pedersen and a Synnova Pedersdatter having a child, she is not "Mrs. Ole Pedersen" in the traditional American sense. The record simply means that Ole was the son of a "Peder" somebody, and Synnova was the daughter of a "Peder" somebody. |
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