Behind the Name: Scandinavian Surnames

BECK (1)English, German, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian
Cognate of BACH, from Middle English bekke (from Old Norse), Low German beke or Old Norse bekkr all meaning "stream".

BENDTSENDanish
Means "son of BENDT".

BENGTSDOTTERSwedish
Means "daughter of BENGT".

BENGTSSONSwedish
Means "son of BENGT".

BENTSENDanish
Means "son of BENT (1)".

BERGGerman, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
From a Germanic word meaning "mountain".

BERGFALKSwedish
Derived from Swedish berg "mountain" and falk "falcon".

BERGLUNDSwedish
Derived from Swedish berg "mountain" and lund "grove".

BERGMANSwedish
From Swedish berg "mountain" and man "man", originally a name for a person living on a mountain.

BERGSTRÖMSwedish
Derived from Swedish berg "mountain" and ström "stream".

BERNHARDSSONSwedish
Means "son of BERNHARD".

BJARNESENDanish
Means "son of BJARNE".

BJÖRKSwedish
From Swedish björk "birch tree".

BJÖRKMANSwedish
From Swedish björk "birch tree" and man "man".

BJÖRNSSONSwedish
Means "son of BJÖRN".

BLOMSwedish
Means "bloom, flower" in Swedish.

BLOMGRENSwedish
From Swedish blomma meaning "flower" and gren meaning "branch".

BODILSENDanish
Means "son of BODIL".

BORGSwedish
From Swedish borg meaning "fortification, castle".

BRAMSDanish
Derived from the given name BRAM.

BREINERGerman, Swedish
Occupational name derived from Middle High German brie "porridge".

BYQUISTSwedish
Derived from Swedish by "village" and qvist "twig, branch".

BYSTRÖMSwedish
From Swedish by "village" and ström "stream".

CARLSENDanish
Means "son of CARL".

CARLSONSwedish
Means "son of CARL".

CARLSSONSwedish
Means "son of CARL".

CARSTENSENDanish
Means "son of CARSTEN".

CHRISTENSENDanish, Norwegian
Means "son of CHRISTEN (1)".

CHRISTIANSENDanish, Norwegian
Means "son of CHRISTIAN".

CHRISTOFFERSENDanish
Means "son of CHRISTOFFER".

CLAESSONSwedish
Means "son of CLAES".

CLAUSENDanish
Means "son of CLAUS".

CLEMENSENDanish
Means "son of CLEMENS".

DAHLNorwegian, Swedish, Danish
From Old Norse dalr meaning "valley". A famous of this surname was author Roald Dahl (1916-1990) who is mostly remembered for children's stories such as 'Matilda' and 'Henry Sugar'.

DAHLMANSwedish
From Swedish dal meaning "dale, valley" and man meaning "man".

DALGAARDDanish
From Old Norse dalr meaning "valley" and garðr meaning "yard, farmstead".

DAMDutch, Danish
Means "dike, dam" in Dutch and Danish. In modern Danish it also means "pond".

DANIELSENDanish, Norwegian
Means "son of DANIEL".

DANIELSSONSwedish
Means "son of DANIEL".

DAVIDSENDanish
Means "son of DAVID".

EINARSSONSwedish
Means "son of EINAR".

EKSwedish
Means "oak" in Swedish.

EKLUNDSwedish
Composed of the elements ek "oak" and lund "grove".

ELDSwedish
From Old Norse eldr, modern Swedish eld, meaning "fire".

ELMERSSONSwedish
Means "son of ELMER".

ENGBERGSwedish
Ornamental name derived from Swedish äng "meadow" and berg "mountain".

ENGMANSwedish
From Swedish äng "meadow" and man "man", originally a name for a person who lived in a meadow.

ENGSTRÖMSwedish
Ornamental name derived from Swedish äng "meadow" and ström "stream".

ERICSONEnglish, Swedish
Means "son of ERIC".

ERICSSONSwedish
Means "son of ERIC".

ERIKSENDanish, Norwegian
Means "son of ERIK".

ERIKSSONSwedish
Means "son of ERIK".

ESPENSENNorwegian
Means "son of ESPEN".

ESPENSONNorwegian (Anglicized)
Americanized form of ESPENSEN.

FALKSwedish, Danish, Norwegian, German
From Old Norse falkr or Middle High German valke "falcon".

FELDTGerman, Danish, Swedish
North German, Danish and Swedish variant of FELD.

FISKERDanish
Means "fisherman" in Danish.

FORSBERGSwedish
Derived from Swedish fors "waterfall" and berg "mountain".

FRANK (3)German, Dutch, Danish, Norwegian
Name for a person from Franconia in Germany, so called because it was settled by the Frankish people.

FREDERIKSENDanish
Means "son of FREDERIK".

FREDRIKSENNorwegian
Means "son of FREDRIK".

FREDRIKSSONSwedish
Means "son of FREDRIK".

FRISKSwedish
From Swedish frisk "healthy", which was derived from the Middle Low German word vrisch "fresh, young, frisky".

GERHARDSSONSwedish
Means "son of GERHARD".

GIESEGerman, Danish
Derived from a short form of the given name GISELBERT or other Germanic names beginning with the element gisil.

GÖRANSSONSwedish
Means "son of GÖRAN".

GRAHNSwedish
From Swedish gran meaning "spruce".

GULBRANDSENNorwegian
Means "son of GULBRAND" in Norwegian.

GULDBRANDSENDanish
Means "son of GULBRAND" in Danish.

GUNDERSENNorwegian
Means "son of GUNDER".

GUNNARSENNorwegian, Danish
Means "son of GUNNAR".

GUNNARSSONSwedish
Means "son of GUNNAR".

GUNVALDSENNorwegian
Means "son of GUNVALD".

GUSTAFSSONSwedish
Means "son of GUSTAF". The actress Greta Garbo (1905-1990) was originally named Greta Gustafsson.

GUSTAVSSONSwedish
Means "son of GUSTAV".

HAAKONSSONNorwegian
Means "son of HÅKON".

HAGENNorwegian, Dutch
From Old Norse hagi or Old Dutch hago meaning "enclosure, pasture".

HALLEnglish, German, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish
Means simply "hall", given to one who either lived in or worked in a hall (the house of a medieval noble).

HALLMANSwedish
Occupational variant of HALL.

HALVORSENNorwegian
Means "son of HALVOR".

HANSENDanish, Norwegian
Means "son of HANS".

HANSSONSwedish
Means "son of HANS".

HARALDSENNorwegian
Means "son of HARALD".

HARALDSSONSwedish
Means "son of HARALD".

HAROLDSONSwedish
Anglicized form of HARALDSSON.

HAUGENNorwegian
Means "the hill" in Norwegian, referring to a person who lived on a hilltop.

HEIMISSONIcelandic
Means "son of HEIMIR".

HENNINGSENDanish
Means "son of HENNING".

HENRIKSENDanish, Norwegian
Means "son of HENRIK".

HENRIKSSONSwedish
Means "son of HENRIK".

HERBERTSSONSwedish
Swedish form of HERBERTSON.

HERMANSENDanish, Norwegian
Danish and Norwegian form of HERMANSON.

HERMANSSONSwedish
Swedish form of HERMANSON.

HILMARSSONIcelandic
Means "son of HILMAR".

HJORTDanish, Swedish
Danish and Swedish cognate of HART.

HOLGERSENDanish, Norwegian
Means "son of HOLGER".

HOLGERSSONSwedish
Means "son of HOLGER".

HOLMSTRÖMSwedish
From Swedish holme "islet" and ström "stream".

HOLSTDanish, Low German, Dutch
Originally referred to a person from the region of HOLSTEIN between Germany and Denmark. A famous bearer of this name was the English composer Gustav Holst (1874-1934).

HOLTEnglish, Dutch, Danish, Norwegian
From Old English, Old Dutch and Old Norse holt meaning "forest".

HORNEnglish, German, Norwegian, Danish
From the Germanic word horn meaning "horn". This was an occupational name for one who carved objects out of horn or who played a horn, or a person who lived near a horn-shaped geographical feature, such as a mountain or a bend in a river.

HULTSwedish
Swedish form of HOLT.

IBSENDanish
Means "son of IB".

INGESSONSwedish
Means "son of INGE".

INGÓLFSSONIcelandic
Means "son of INGÓLFR".

ISAKSENNorwegian, Danish
Means "son of ISAK".

ISAKSSONSwedish
Means "son of ISAK".

JACOBSENDanish
Means "son of JACOB".

JAKOBSENDanish, Norwegian
Means "son of JAKOB".

JAKOBSSONSwedish
Means "son of JAKOB".

JANSENDutch, Norwegian
Means "son of JAN (1)".

JANSONGerman, Dutch, Swedish, English
Means "son of JAN (1)".

JANSSONSwedish
Means "son of JAN (1)".

JENSENDanish
Means "son of JENS". This is the most common surname in Denmark.

JENSSONSwedish
Means "son of JENS".

JESPERSENDanish
Means "son of JESPER".

JOHANNESSENNorwegian, Danish
Means "son of JOHANNES".

JÓHANNSSONIcelandic
Means "son of JÓHANN".

JOHANSENNorwegian, Danish
Means "son of JOHAN".

JOHANSSONSwedish
Means "son of JOHAN".

JOHNSENNorwegian, Danish
Means "son of JOHAN".

JOHNSSONSwedish
Means "son of JOHAN".

JOKUMSENDanish
Means "son of JOKUM".

JONASENDanish
Means "son of JONAS (2)".

JONASSONSwedish
Means "son of JONAS (2)".

JÖNSSONSwedish
Means "son of Jöns". Jöns is a southern Swedish form of JOHANNES.

JONSSONSwedish
Means "son of Jon". Jon is a short form of JOHAN.

JØRGENSENDanish
Means "son of JØRGEN".

KARLSENDanish
Means "son of KARL".

KARLSSONSwedish
Means "son of KARL".

KARSTENSENDanish
Means "son of KARSTEN".

KASPERSENDanish
Means "son of KASPER".

KJELDSENDanish
Means "son of KJELD".

KJELLSSONSwedish
Means "son of KJELL".

KLASSENDanish
Variant of KLAUSEN.

KLASSONSwedish
Means "son of KLAS".

KLAUSENDanish
Means "son of KLAUS".

KNUDSENDanish
Means "son of KNUD".

KNUTSENNorwegian
Means "son of KNUT".

KNUTSONSwedish
Variant of KNUTSSON.

KNUTSSONSwedish
Means "son of KNUT".

KRISTENSENDanish
Means "son of KRISTEN (1)".

KRISTIANSENDanish, Norwegian
Means "son of KRISTIAN".

KRISTOFFERSENDanish, Norwegian
Means "son of KRISTOFFER".

KRONGerman, Swedish
Means "crown", perhaps a nickname for one who worked in a royal household.

LAGERSwedish
Means "laurel" in Swedish.

LANDVIKNorwegian
Means "land and bay" in Norwegian.

LÅNGSwedish
Swedish cognate of LONG.

LANGGerman, Danish, Norwegian
German, Danish and Norwegian cognate of LONG.

LANGEGerman, Danish, Norwegian
German, Danish and Norwegian cognate of LONG.

LANGENBERGGerman, Swedish
Means "long mountain" in German.

LARSENDanish
Means "son of LARS".

LARSSONSwedish
Means "son of LARS".

LAURITSENDanish
Means "son of LAURITS".

LEIFSSONIcelandic, Swedish
Means "son of LEIF".

LEONARDSENNorwegian
Norwegian form of LEONARDSON.

LEONARDSSONSwedish
Swedish form of LEONARDSON.

LINDBERGSwedish
From Swedish lind "linden tree" and berg "mountain".

LINDGRENSwedish
Means "branch of a linden tree" from Swedish lind "linden tree" and gren "branch". A famous bearer of this name was Swedish author Astrid Lindgren (1907-2002).

LINDHOLMSwedish
From Swedish lind "linden tree" and holme "islet".

LINDQUISTSwedish
Derived from the Swedish words lind "linden tree" and qvist "twig, branch".

LINDSTRÖMSwedish
Means "linden stream", and is derived from the swedish words lind meaning "linden (lime) tree", and ström which means "stream".

LJUNGSwedish
From the Swedish name of the heather plant. There are many combinations of this name in Sweden, for example Ljungberg "heather mountain", Ljungblad "heather leaf", and so on.

LJUNGBORGSwedish
Means "heather castle" in Swedish.

LJUNGGRENSwedish
Means "heather bough" in Swedish.

LJUNGMANSwedish
Means "heather man" in Swedish.

LJUNGSTRANDSwedish
Means "heather beach" in Swedish.

LÖFGRENSwedish
From Swedish löv "leaf" and gren "branch".

LORENZENDanish, Low German
Means "son of LORENS".

LOSNEDAHLNorwegian
From a place name: dahl means "valley" in Norwegian, and Losne is a place in Norway.

LUDVIGSENDanish
Means "son of LUDVIG".

LUNDDanish, Swedish, Norwegian, English
Indicated a person who lived near a grove of trees, from Old Norse lundr meaning "grove". There are towns in Sweden and Britain called Lund.

LUNDBERGSwedish
Derived from Swedish lund "grove" and berg "mountain".

LUNDGRENSwedish
Derived from Swedish lund "grove" and gren "branch".

LUNDQUISTSwedish
Derived from Swedish lund "grove" and qvist "twig, branch".

LYKKEDanish
Means simply "happy".

MADSENDanish
Means "son of MADS".

MAGNUSSONSwedish
Means "son of MAGNUS".

MÅRDHSwedish
From Swedish mård meaning "pine marten". It was often a soldier's nickname, which became a surname in later generations.

MARKUSSONSwedish
Means "son of MARKUS".

MARTINSSONSwedish
Means "son of MARTIN".

MATHIASENDanish
Means "son of MATHIAS".

MATTHIASENDanish
Means "son of MATTHIAS".

MATTSSONSwedish
Means "son of MATS".

MIKAELSSONSwedish
Means "son of MIKAEL".

MIKKELSENDanish
Means "son of MIKKEL".

MØLLERDanish
Danish form of MÜLLER.

MORTENSENDanish
Means "son of MORTEN".

NÆSSNorwegian
Variant of NAESS.

NAESSNorwegian
From the Norwegian word næs "a promontory".

NASSNorwegian
From the Norwegian word næs meaning "a promontory".

NESSScottish, English, Norwegian
Means "headland" in Middle English, originally referring to a person who lived there.

NIELSENDanish
Means "son of NIELS (1)".

NIKLASSONSwedish
Means "son of NIKLAS".

NIKOLAJSENDanish
Means "son of NIKOLAJ".

NILSENNorwegian
Means "son of NILS".

NILSSONSwedish
Means "son of NILS".

NORDSKOVDanish
Means "north woods".

NORLINGSwedish
Originally denoted a person who came from the north.

NORMANSSONSwedish
Swedish form of NORMANSON.

NØRUPDanish
Derived from the name of at least two different Danish villages.

NORUPDanish
Variant of NØRUP.

NYKVISTSwedish
From Swedish ny "new" and qvist "twig".

NYLUNDFinnish, Swedish
From the Swedish-speaking south of Finland, directly from Swedish ny "new" and lund "grove".

NYSTRÖMSwedish
From Swedish ny meaning "new" and ström meaning "stream".

OLANDERSwedish
Denoted someone from the island of Öland, or a variant spelling of Ålander, which is a habitational name for someone from the island of Åland.

OLESENDanish
Means "son of OLE".

OLHOUSERNorwegian, English
Means "(dweller by or near the) old house".

OLIVERSENNorwegian
Norwegian form of OLIVERSON.

OLIVERSSONSwedish
Swedish form of OLIVERSON.

OLOFSDOTTERSwedish
Means "daughter of OLOF".

OLOFSSONSwedish
Means "son of OLOF".

OLSENDanish
Means "son of OLE".

OLSONSwedish, Danish
Anglicized form of OLSSON or OLSEN.

OLSSONSwedish
Means "son of OLAF".

OLVIRSSONIcelandic
Means "son of Óleifr", Óleifr is the ancient form of OLAF.

ÖMANSwedish
From the Swedish words ö meaning "island" and man meaning "man". Thus the meaning is "man from the island".

OMDAHLNorwegian
Denoted a person hailing from any one of a number of farms in Norway called either Åmdal or Omdal meaning "elm valley".

ÖSTBERGSwedish
Means "mountain (or hill) in the east" from Swedish öst "east" and berg "mountain, hill".

OSTBERGNorwegian
From Østberg, the Norwegian form of ÖSTBERG.

ØSTERDanish
Means "(dweller in the) eastern (side of a place)" from Danish øster meaning "eastern".

ØSTERGAARDDanish
Variant of ØSTERGÅRD.

ØSTERGÅRDDanish
Means "(dweller by or at the) eastern farm, enclosure" from Danish øster "eastern" and gård "enclosure, farm".

OTTOSENDanish, Norwegian
Means "son of OTTO".

OTTOSSONSwedish
Means "son of OTTO".

OVESENNorwegian
Means "son of OVE".

PALLESENDanish
Means "son of PALLE".

PATRIKSSONSwedish
Means "son of PATRIK".

PEDERSENDanish, Norwegian
Means "son of PEDER".

PERSSONSwedish
Means "son of PER".

PETERSENDanish
Means "son of PETER".

PETERSSONSwedish
Means "son of PETTER".

PETTERSENNorwegian
Means "son of PETTER".

PETTERSSONSwedish
Means "son of PETTER".

PILKVISTSwedish
From Swedish pil "arrow, willow" and qvist "twig".

POULSENDanish
Means "son of POUL".

PREBENSENNorwegian, Danish
Means "son of PREBEN".

RAGNVALDSSONSwedish
Means "son of RAGNVALD".

RANDRUPDanish
From the name of homesteads in Denmark (in Viborg or Rebild municipalities).

RAPP (1)Swedish
From Swedish rapp meaning "quick, prompt", one of the names adopted by soldiers in the 17th century.

RASKDanish, Swedish
Means "energetic, quick, healthy" in Danish and Swedish.

RASMUSSENDanish, Norwegian
Means "son of RASMUS".

REENBERGDanish
Meaning unknown. The second element is probably from Old Norse berg "mountain" (modern Danish bjerg).

RIBERDanish
Originally indicated a person from the county or town of Ribe in southwestern Denmark.

ROBERTSENDanish
Means "son of ROBERT".

RÓBERTSSONIcelandic
Means "son of ROBERT".

ROBERTSSONSwedish
Means "son of ROBERT".

ROLVSSONNorwegian
Means "son of ROLF".

ROSENBERGGerman, Swedish, Jewish
Means "rose mountain" in German and Swedish. As a Swedish and Jewish name it is ornamental.

RUNDSTRÖMSwedish
Ornamental name derived from Swedish rund "round" and ström "stream".

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