Norwegian Naming Practices

by Olaf Kringhaug

First names are simple - there are the ancient Norse names such as Olaf, Håkon, Bjørn and Erik. When Christianity came in the 11th century there was a profusion of Christian names such as Peder, Jon, Paul and Johan. There was a tradition that was fairly rigidly followed until the 19th century. Children were usually named after a grandparent or other family members. A first son would be named after his father's father, a second son after the mother's father. A similar situation occurred with daughters.

This could get a little complicated if both grandparents had the same name. Using our example, if there were two Erik Jonsens in the family, they might be distinguished as Big-Erik and Little-Erik. Children could also be named after deceased uncles and aunts and even deceased siblings and occasionally after a great-grandparent. Quite commonly a widowed spouse in a second marriage would name the first child after the deceased spouse.

Patronyms are probably the most confusing aspect of Norwegian naming practices. The name patronym or patronymic derives from late Latin patronymicum from patr-(father) + onyma (name)]:a name derived from that of the father or a paternal ancestor usually by the addition of a suffix. In the case of Norway, this was practiced by adding the suffix '-sen' (son) or '-datter' (daughter) to the father's name. For example if Jon had a son Erik, he would be known as Erik Jonsen, or a daughter might be known as Marit Jonsdatter. The patronym was not a surname but just an expression of who their father was. Women would retain their patronym when they married.

Then there are the farm names. All farms in Norway have a name, in addition to the Land Registry numeric descriptions. Most of these farm names are a geographic description of the farm. Bakke or Bakken, for example means a hill and the name would be applied to a farm up the hill. Since there might be more than one Erik Jonsen in a community, they would be distinguished by adding the farm name to the rest of their name. Our man might be known as Erik Jonsen Bakke, or commonly just Erik Bakke. Again, these were not surnames. Erik Jonsen Bakke only means Erik, Jon's son, who lives on the Bakke farm. The Bakke can be considered an address.

As society modernized and the state became more involved in people's affairs, this system became a problem. So, in the late 1800s the government asked people to voluntarily take a fixed surname and for women to drop the -datter in favour of -sen and, when married, to take their husband's surname. It was made compulsory in 1923. Most people used patronymic surnames when they settled the issue of a surname.