Sweden Occupations

Occupations are an important tool for the family history researcher. They help us to identify the same person when there are others in the same record by the same name. They help us to understand our ancestors’ life circumstances.

Occupations were also a measure of social status. Some trades were viewed as more prestigious than others. For example, goldsmiths had more prestige than shoemakers. Many trades, such as butchers, tanners, shoemakers, tailors, and others were organized into guilds, which were in charge of training apprentices and regulating a trade's practice in an area. Many guild records are in the Nordiska Museet collection in Stockholm. Do a search for the word Skråarkiv in Nationell Arkivdatabas.

This occupational word list is under construction. As of February 2013 there are over 800 occupations listed. The intention is to improve this list over time. Keep in mind there are some words that do not have a good English translation. See the references at the bottom of the page for all the sources used in building this list.