Sweden Personal Names

Understanding surnames and given names can help you find and identify your ancestors in the records.

Surnames
Before record keeping began, most people had only one name, such as Johan. As the population increased, it became necessary to distinguish between individuals with the same name. The problem was usually solved by adding descriptive information. Johan became Johan the smith, Johan the son of Erik, Johan the short, or Johan from Borås. At first, such "surnames" applied only to one person and not to the whole family. After a few generations, these names were passed from father to children.

Surnames developed from four major sources:


 * Patronymic, based on the father's name, such as Johan Nilsson (son of Nils).
 * Nicknames, based on a person's characteristics, such as Pehr Fager (beautiful).
 * Geographical, based on a person's place of birth or residence, such as Olof Grankulla.
 * Occupational, based on the person's trade, such as Lars Smed (Smith).

Surnames were first used by nobility and wealthy land owners. Later the custom was followed by merchants and townspeople and eventually by the rural population.

Most Swedish surnames are patronymic. Patronymic surnames changed with each generation. For example, Lars Pettersson was the son of a man named Petter. If Lars had a son named Hans, the son would be known as Hans Larsson (son of Lars). His brothers would be called Larsson, while a sister would be known as Larsdotter (daughter of Lars). When people used patronymics, a woman did not change her name at marriage.

When a young man went into the military he was given a new surname. This name could be based on his characteristics, such as Stark (strong) or Modig (brave), or the place where he was stationed. If the place was called Lillebäck, he may have been called Bäck. Before the late 1800s, a military surname seldom became a family name. Later, when family names were more common and sometimes when people emigrated from Sweden, the military name became the family surname.

When a young man became an apprentice to learn a trade, he would choose an additional surname.

The clergy and other learned men often "Latinized" their names. Thus Eric Karlsson became Ericus Caroli.

In 1901 a law required people to adopt permanent surnames to be passed onto successive generations.

Given Names
When baptized, children were usually given one or two given names. The name may be that of a parent or other relative.

Some good books on names are:


 * Kjöllerström, P. A. (Per August). Svenska dopnamn och släktnamn (Swedish Given Names and Surnames). Stockholm, Sweden: Wahlström &amp; Widstrand, 1913. (FHL films 1440226 item 14.)


 * Otterbjörk, Roland. Svenska förnamn: krotfattat namnlexikon (Swedish Given Names: A Brief Dictionary of Names). Stockholm, Sweden: Esselte Studium, 1979. (FHL book 948.5 D4o.)

For Swedish Naming Practices click here