AF-282: Do You Have Scandinavian Genealogy? | Ancestral Findings Podcast

Do You Have Scandinavian Genealogy? If you have a Scandinavian surname or have one or more of them in your family tree, you will be interested in knowing the history of these surnames, as they tell an interesting part of the story of your ancestors. Join me today on the Ancestral Findings Podcast, and I’ll talk about the origins and meanings of the most common surnames in Norway, Denmark, and Sweden.
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[@Ancestralfindings]

Thank you for listening to the podcast and subscribing... I really appreciate it.

[@hera2432]

Absolutely proud of my last name. It's good to be an Anderson.

[@franciscoprazzio225prazzio]

It is Andersson double ss in Swedish

[@michaelbarnett2527]

My Dna test says I’m 20% scandinavian, and 66% celtic, with the rest mostly being other parts of Europe. I already knew about the celtic part, but not the scandinavian. One scholar said about my last name barnett that : Barn could be from Bjorn( little bear), with the french ending of ett . It apparently is Anglo - norman, which could explain the scandinavian dna . But I have no english Dna so…all I know is, it’s very interesting.

[@franciscoprazzio225prazzio]

My Swedish roots came from Varmland, and i'm planning to visit Sweden.

[@adamdemirs3466]

My great grandmother on my moms side was full blooded Norwegian. My grandfather on my dads side was full blooded Albanian. I came by hot blood honestly.

[@nancyhooper7715]

Thank you so much for this post! I’ve really been struggling with working on my Danish family tree due to the inability to predict what a father’s last name would be without knowing the grandfather’s name.🤪. Working my way back in time is such a challenge!

[@ErininCopenhagen]

Great video and I love hearing everyone's stories in the comments here! 😊

[@karenpeterson9457]

This would explain why I have a great great grandfather named Eric Ericson. Perhaps this is when they started enforcing the permanent surnames.

[@chrislind57]

I have traced my family ancestry in Sweden as far back as the 1600s, surnames in order from then to now. Batelson, Hienricson, Jacobson, Nilson, and the name Lindby was adopted in the early 1800s though I have a great grandfather who was known by 2 surnames. One was Lindby and the other was Tullberg. Seems he was a seaman and for some reason seamen adopted different surnames. I don't know why.

[@FuzzyKittenBoots]

Where they really spelled like that (with only on s) or was that after they came to America?

[@franciscoprazzio225prazzio]

My Swedish roots go back to the 1480s.

[@chrislind57]

@@FuzzyKittenBoots probably two s

[@philcarlson5313]

Carlson and Jorgensen here! Sweden 🇸🇪 and Denmark 🇩🇰

[@brittanyhayes5832]

My one Swedish line all comes from the Varmland region

[@Ancestralfindings]

That's fantastic to hear! The Värmland region in Sweden has a rich history and unique cultural heritage. Tracing your lineage back to such a specific area can provide fascinating insights into your ancestors' lives and the broader context of Scandinavian history. It's these kinds of discoveries that make genealogy so rewarding. Thanks for sharing your Swedish connection with us. Happy Searching!

[@loripavlu9323]

My Swedish line was named Cox. The name seems to have originated with a Swedish ancestor that was a ships cook. Lol! Wouldn't it be awesome to be able to go back and see how the names evolved?

[@BrokenSofa]

That sounds probable. Kock (pronounced just the same as the english "cock") means chef in swedish

[@FuzzyKittenBoots]

That's probably a taken name :) Cox is very British (either English or Welsh) and Sweden did not have the same tradition of surnames from one's occupation. Apart from so called soldier-names.

[@Erieswitchcraft]

My family is from Sweden and the name is now Haskell and used to be Asketill or askell. I am searching for information on it.

[@hamstsorkxxor]

Ask(e) = ash tree till = most likely from the verb "tilla" which refers to the act of flipping the top layer of the soil to prepare the ground for planting seeds. Same root as the english word "tilling". Till could also mean "to" in which case your name means "Towards the ash trees" and probably refers to a small road near were they lived.

[@colinallers9982]

I have Erasmus in my family

[@Ludwig-un2mu]

I looked up the name that has been passed down in my family which was William and my last name is Granger. When I looked it up it said something about William le grangier circa 1100 in Norway. I have no idea what ancestors I have or what they were. The dictionary said that the word granger was Anglo-Norway. I don’t know how to confirm that this is my family or not.

[@graceogren1679]

My last name ends in GREN and I've noticed many Swedish names do. Any info on that? Great video.

[@majinkentssj4]

Yes there are som people in sweden with that surname, but not many. I almost never heard it here in sweden

[@agrobabb4943]

In Sweden, your last name "Ogren" would mean "Island branch (ö=island, gren=branch)" if you exchanged the O for an Ö. Many Swedish names are just two natural phenomenons or objects smashed together to create a last name.

[@sarahr4099]

Mine does, Lundgren. All the Lundgrens in my family came straight from Sweden here to U.S. ( my great grandparents) Lund means grove and like was said..gren is branch

[@julierodriguez5583]

My great grandfather is from Sweden Bornjork

[@guavaB52]

I'm 50% Scandinavian and I'm having a hard time researching this side of my family.

[@FuzzyKittenBoots]

Do you know which country?

[@guavaB52]

@@FuzzyKittenBoots both Sweden and Norway

[@sniperpaintcorrection6790]

My last name is Hansen . Most common in Norway

[@beatricekyamani7792]

Thank you for the updates. I would like to know, where the surname Leosen originates from 😊

[@magnusholmberg9202]

@Beatrice Kyamani: If anywhere in the Nordics - Denmark. I think it's quite rare, though.

[@majinkentssj4]

Maybe danish or norway.

[@beatricekyamani7792]

@@magnusholmberg9202 Thank you for the feedback

[@beatricekyamani7792]

@@majinkentssj4 thank you

[@kathrynrubio6528]

Gustaf Ahlin from Gotland

[@danielwareham2904]

You should make a video on the meaning of your english surname.

[@tbthedozer]

Interesting, what about the indigenous peoples of Sweden and Norway? I think they are the Sami. Are surnames a common thing with them ?

[@theresek.9165]

I’ve been wondering the same thing… I have a few people within my ancestry with the surname “Lapp” and I can’t find much if any information about them. Most recent ancestor with the surname passed away in 1640. Google tells me it may be related to saami ancestry and a name given due to discrimination etc. But I just can’t find any info on those individuals to know for sure…

[@biaberg3448]

@@theresek.9165 Lapp is not a surname, it is an old Norwegian word for sami. They have many surnames totally different from the not sami Norwegian surnames. Like Utsi, Hætta, Boine.

[@jc5202]

My ancestor in 1690 was called Thomas hanson but he was born in Lincolnshire England and I can't trace back before him. Can hanson be of british origin or is it highly likely to be Scandinavian origin does anybody know

[@Helgardt6189]

My surname is Oelofse…i am from South Africa.From which part of Norway is this ?

[@marskinlan2034]

Is Broden a Scandinavian surname? Great great Grandfather in Ireland.

[@Adam-rt9kf]

Yes, a Swedish surname. Brodén.

[@gomogo2000]

My mom was a Hjort and I think we're from Hjortland. Yaa?

[@raddt385]

Soo the surname DerkSEN is Dutch?

[@berenicebauer2896]

I know the Nelson name meaning but don’t know about the Lofgren meaning.

[@biaberg3448]

The Swedis name Löfgren: Löf is leaves , gren is branch. So it means a branch with leaves. It sounds like an upper class name. In Swedish prounansiation the press is on the e. The ö sounds like the 2. syllable in girl.

[@berenicebauer2896]

Thank you. It was my grandmother’s maiden name. Her father was a shoemaker and did some farming so I don’t think they were upper class.

[@michaelcooke8665]

What about westman?

[@michaelcooke8665]

@chronicreader yep it was my family name on my mom's side I'm gonna change it back one day

[@oldskoolmark5414]

So Gunderson would be son of Gunder? Great Grandfather's name was gustaf.

[@mattmurdock2868]

We are Gunderson!

[@sonjak3359]

Alrighty, where/when does Nystedt come along? If you don't mind.

[@nancyhooper7715]

I know that Ny = newcomer. Part of my family are the Nyes, so named because they migrated in the 900’s.

[@faadar]

Sted is Stadt village fo you should look for NY as a village Germany or northern countries

[@biaberg3448]

Ny means new in Danish, Swedish and Norwegian. Sted means place. Nystedt can mean a new farm. Like a new farm was called that and the name got stuck.

[@waynehawkes9105]

I would love to know if my grandfather’s surname Beint is Scandinavian.

[@biaberg3448]

I have never heard the name Beint in Norway, but a Norwegian encyclopedia says that Beint is a Norwegian variation of the male name Bent, who came from the latin Benedictus. It is rare in Norway to use a name as a surname, we usually add «sen» that is- son of. Then it would be Beintsen. But you never know.

[@waynehawkes9105]

@@biaberg3448 Thanks for the help. My uncle says the family came from Denmark originally. We are the only family in Britain called Beint who mostly live in Wiltshire south West Country.

[@FuzzyKittenBoots]

@@waynehawkes9105 I don't think it's Danish (although that doesn't mean the family isn't from there). Beint (like mentioned above) seems to be a very old and out of use version of another name. But if that is true that doesn't explain why it would be used as a surname without a -sen.

[@waynehawkes9105]

@@FuzzyKittenBoots Thanks 😊

[@joanwhite2365]

My husband's ancestors Scandinavian name was Bartrupt and is not very common.

[@FuzzyKittenBoots]

I don't think that's Scandinavian?

[@SuperGHOSTBAD]

I am Brazilian great-grandson of immigrants. My last name is Jensen. My family always said that this last name is German, but I looked it up and found it to be Danish. Can anyone enlighten me?

[@SuperGHOSTBAD]

@@PowerandLightTarot as you know?

[@magnusholmberg9202]

@@SuperGHOSTBAD Jensen is a very typical Danish name. I'm sure quite a few Jensens have moved to Germany a long time ago. Some maybe "were included" in the conquest of Schleswig and Holstein. Some other people in northern Germany may also have applied the "-sen" suffix to Jens themselves.

[@SuperGHOSTBAD]

@@magnusholmberg9202 thanks for the information

[@warrioroforthodoxy1729]

Is Peterson a Scandinavian surname cuz Peter doesn’t sound very Scandinavian

[@siouxperirish]

Peterson (son of Peter), is a patronymic surname

[@jaceymartin4739]

Petersen, 'sen is likely the original spelling.

[@christiand2808]

Peter is an extremely common name in Sweden, Peterson or the more common spelling Petterson is the 11th most common surname in Sweden.

[@jimaspholm6296]

My Last name is Aspholm all I know is that we are from AAngermanland

[@moniquegin8444]

Jim Aspholm small island iskand with ash trees ? Asp = ash tree, Holm = small island

[@An-mei]

Schild von Spannenberg?

[@hamstsorkxxor]

That's a Dutch or German name, if you have Scandinavian ancestors, then those ancestors had German ancestors very recently before that.

[@An-mei]

@@hamstsorkxxor Thank you very much. We haven't had luck tracing this name.

[@An-mei]

@@hamstsorkxxor Also, do you mean pre WWII? If you know, what time period would they have moved?

[@hamstsorkxxor]

@@An-mei There was a large wave of immigration by German/Dutch traders and merchants into sweden (and Scandinavia in general) up until the industrialisation. During the tumultuous years of the german civil war and the rise of nazism, there were also a lot of German refugees arriving in Scandinavia (particularly Sweden). If your ancestors immigrated to America from Scandinavia during the late 1800's with that name, it is not unlikely that they had only lived in Scandinavia for a couple of hundred years (or possibly as little as decades).

[@An-mei]

@@hamstsorkxxor I am looking at copies of documents now. I looked this up bc my mothers parents were born around 1850 Fuchsberg? and were married in Weißensulz, (Austria Hungary?) 1879. After WWII her grandfather and her mother were the only members of the Shild von Spannenberg family she knew of. When the war started my mother lived in Sudetenland. Maybe they did immigrate germanbohemianheritagesociety.com/who-are-the-german-bohemians/ Interesting, I wish there was a way to find anyone who would know more. These documents are hard to translate.

[@beeragainsthumanity1420]

☝️

[@justinvince7731]

My last name is dragland

[@graveyardghost2603]

Land of the Dragon, is my guess of the meaning.

[@biaberg3448]

Drag is used for several Norwegian farms. It has nothing to do with dragons. More likely it is a small wind in the air. So Dragland might have been a place where it was a bit windy. ( Land can be a small area, not only a country)