Scandinavian Surnames - Behind the Name

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".

BENDTSEN Danish
Means "son of BENDT".

BENGTSDOTTER Swedish
Means "daughter of BENGT".

BENGTSSON Swedish
Means "son of BENGT".

BENTSEN Danish
Means "son of BENT (1)".

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

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

BERGLUND Swedish
Ornamental name from Swedish berg "mountain" and lund "grove".

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

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

BERNHARDSSON Swedish
Means "son of BERNHARD".

BERNTSEN Norwegian, Danish
Means "son of BERNT".

BERNTSSON Swedish
Means "son of BERNT".

BJARNESEN Danish
Means "son of BJARNE".

BJÖRK Swedish
From Swedish björk "birch tree".

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

BJÖRNSSON Swedish
Means "son of BJÖRN".

BLOM Swedish
Means "bloom, flower" in Swedish.

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

BODILSEN Danish
Means "son of BODIL".

BORG Swedish
From Swedish borg meaning "fortification, castle".

BRAMS Danish
Derived from the given name BRAM.

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

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

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

CARLSEN Danish
Means "son of CARL".

CARLSON Swedish
Means "son of CARL".

CARLSSON Swedish
Means "son of CARL".

CARSTENSEN Danish
Means "son of CARSTEN".

CHRISTENSEN Danish, Norwegian
Means "son of CHRISTEN (1)".

CHRISTIANSEN Danish, Norwegian
Means "son of CHRISTIAN".

CHRISTOFFERSEN Danish
Means "son of CHRISTOFFER".

CLAESSON Swedish
Means "son of CLAES".

CLAUSEN Danish
Means "son of CLAUS".

CLEMENSEN Danish
Means "son of CLEMENS".

DAHL Norwegian, 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.

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

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

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

DANIELSEN Danish, Norwegian
Means "son of DANIEL".

DANIELSSON Swedish
Means "son of DANIEL".

DAVIDSEN Danish
Means "son of DAVID".

EINARSSON Swedish
Means "son of EINAR".

EK Swedish
Means "oak" in Swedish.

EKLUND Swedish
From Swedish ek "oak" and lund "grove".

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

ELMERSSON Swedish
Means "son of ELMAR".

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

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

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

ERICSON English, Swedish
Means "son of ERIC".

ERICSSON Swedish
Means "son of ERIC".

ERIKSEN Danish, Norwegian
Means "son of ERIK".

ERIKSSON Swedish
Means "son of ERIK".

ESPENSEN Norwegian
Means "son of ESPEN".

ESPENSON Norwegian (Anglicized)
Americanized form of ESPENSEN.

EVENSEN Norwegian
Means "son of EVEN".

FALK Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, German
From Old Norse falkr or Middle High German valke meaning "falcon".

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

FISKER Danish
Means "fisherman" in Danish.

FORSBERG Swedish
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.

FREDERIKSEN Danish
Means "son of FREDERIK".

FREDRIKSEN Norwegian
Means "son of FREDRIK".

FREDRIKSSON Swedish
Means "son of FREDRIK".

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

GERHARDSSON Swedish
Means "son of GERHARD".

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

GÖRANSSON Swedish
Means "son of GÖRAN".

GRAHN Swedish
From Swedish gran meaning "spruce".

GULBRANDSEN Norwegian
Means "son of GULBRAND" in Norwegian.

GULDBRANDSEN Danish
Means "son of GULBRAND" in Danish.

GUNDERSEN Norwegian
Means "son of GUNDER".

GUNNARSEN Norwegian, Danish
Means "son of GUNNAR".

GUNNARSSON Swedish
Means "son of GUNNAR".

GUNVALDSEN Norwegian
Means "son of GUNVALD".

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

GUSTAVSSON Swedish
Means "son of GUSTAV".

HAAKONSSON Norwegian
Means "son of HÅKON".

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

HÅKANSSON Swedish
Means "son of HÅKAN".

HALL English, 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).

HALLMAN Swedish
Occupational variant of HALL.

HALVORSEN Norwegian
Means "son of HALVOR".

HANSEN Danish, Norwegian
Means "son of HANS".

HANSSEN Norwegian
Means "son of HANS".

HANSSON Swedish
Means "son of HANS".

HARALDSEN Norwegian
Means "son of HARALD".

HARALDSSON Swedish
Means "son of HARALD".

HAROLDSON Swedish
Anglicized form of HARALDSSON.

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

HEIMISSON Icelandic
Means "son of HEIMIR".

HENNINGSEN Danish
Means "son of HENNING".

HENRIKSEN Danish, Norwegian
Means "son of HENRIK".

HENRIKSSON Swedish
Means "son of HENRIK".

HERBERTSSON Swedish
Swedish form of HERBERTSON.

HERMANSEN Danish, Norwegian
Means "son of HERMAN".

HERMANSSON Swedish
Means "son of HERMAN".

HILMARSSON Icelandic
Means "son of HILMAR".

HJORT Danish, Swedish
Danish and Swedish cognate of HART.

HOLGERSEN Danish, Norwegian
Means "son of HOLGER".

HOLGERSSON Swedish
Means "son of HOLGER".

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

HOLST Danish, 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).

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

HORN English, 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.

HULT Swedish
Swedish form of HOLT.

IBSEN Danish
Means "son of IB". A famous bearer was the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906).

INGESSON Swedish
Means "son of INGE".

INGÓLFSSON Icelandic
Means "son of INGÓLFR".

ISAKSEN Norwegian, Danish
Means "son of ISAK".

ISAKSSON Swedish
Means "son of ISAK".

IVARSSON Swedish
Means "son of IVAR".

IVERSEN Norwegian, Danish
Means "son of IVER".

JACOBSEN Danish
Means "son of JACOB".

JAKOBSEN Danish, Norwegian
Means "son of JAKOB".

JAKOBSSON Swedish
Means "son of JAKOB".

JANSEN Dutch, Norwegian
Means "son of JAN (1)".

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

JANSSON Swedish
Means "son of JAN (1)".

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

JENSON Danish
Americanized form of JENSEN.

JENSSON Swedish
Means "son of JENS".

JESPERSEN Danish
Means "son of JESPER".

JOHANNESSEN Norwegian, Danish
Means "son of JOHANNES".

JÓHANNSSON Icelandic
Means "son of JÓHANN".

JOHANSEN Norwegian, Danish
Means "son of JOHAN".

JOHANSSON Swedish
Means "son of JOHAN". This is the second most common surname in Sweden.

JOHNSEN Norwegian, Danish
Means "son of JOHN".

JOHNSSON Swedish
Means "son of JOHN".

JOKUMSEN Danish
Means "son of JOKUM".

JONASEN Danish
Means "son of JONAS (2)".

JONASSON Swedish
Means "son of JONAS (2)".

JÖNSSON Swedish
Means "son of JÖNS".

JONSSON Swedish
Means "son of JON (1)".

JØRGENSEN Danish
Means "son of JØRGEN".

KARLSEN Danish
Means "son of KARL".

KARLSSON Swedish
Means "son of KARL".

KARSTENSEN Danish, Norwegian
Means "son of KARSTEN".

KASPERSEN Danish
Means "son of KASPER".

KJELDSEN Danish
Means "son of KJELD".

KJELLSSON Swedish
Means "son of KJELL".

KLASSEN Danish
Variant of KLAUSEN.

KLASSON Swedish
Means "son of KLAS".

KLAUSEN Danish
Means "son of KLAUS".

KNUDSEN Danish
Means "son of KNUD".

KNUTSEN Norwegian
Means "son of KNUT".

KNUTSON Swedish
Variant of KNUTSSON.

KNUTSSON Swedish
Means "son of KNUT".

KRISTENSEN Danish
Means "son of KRISTEN (1)".

KRISTIANSEN Danish, Norwegian
Means "son of KRISTIAN".

KRISTOFFERSEN Danish, Norwegian
Means "son of KRISTOFFER".

KRON German, Swedish
From German Krone and Swedish krona meaning "crown" (from Latin corona), perhaps a nickname for one who worked in a royal household.

LAGER Swedish
Means "laurel" in Swedish.

LANDVIK Norwegian
From the name of a Norwegian town meaning "land inlet".

LÅNG Swedish
Swedish cognate of LONG.

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

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

LARSEN Danish
Means "son of LARS".

LARSSON Swedish
Means "son of LARS".

LAURITSEN Danish
Means "son of LAURITS".

LEIFSSON Icelandic, Swedish
Means "son of LEIF".

LENNARTSSON Swedish
Means "son of LENNART".

LEONARDSEN Norwegian
Means "son of LENNART".

LEONARDSSON Swedish
Variant of LENNARTSSON.

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

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

LINDHOLM Swedish
From Swedish lind "linden tree" and holme "small island".

LINDQUIST Swedish
Variant of LINDQVIST.

LINDQVIST Swedish
Ornamental name derived from Swedish lind "linden tree" and qvist "twig, branch".

LINDSTRÖM Swedish
Derived from Swedish lind "linden tree" and ström "stream".

LJUNG Swedish
Means "heather" in Swedish.

LJUNGBORG Swedish
From Swedish ljung "heather" and borg "castle".

LJUNGGREN Swedish
Ornamental name derived from Swedish ljung "heather" and gren "branch".

LJUNGMAN Swedish
From Swedish ljung "heather" and man "man".

LJUNGSTRAND Swedish
From Swedish ljung "heather" and strand "beach".

LÖFGREN Swedish
Ornamental name derived from Swedish löv "leaf" and gren "branch".

LORENZEN Danish, Low German
Means "son of LORENS".

LOSNEDAHL Norwegian
From Norwegian dahl meaning "valley" and Losna, a place in Norway.

LUDVIGSEN Danish
Means "son of LUDVIG".

LUND Danish, 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.

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

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

LUNDQUIST Swedish
Variant of LUNDQVIST.

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

LYKKE Danish
Means "happiness" in Danish.

MADSEN Danish
Means "son of MADS".

MAGNUSSON Swedish
Means "son of MAGNUS".

MÅRDH Swedish
From Swedish mård meaning "pine marten".

MARKUSSON Swedish
Means "son of MARKUS".

MARTINSEN Norwegian, Danish
Means "son of MARTIN".

MARTINSSON Swedish
Means "son of MARTIN".

MATHIASEN Danish
Means "son of MATHIAS".

MATSSON Swedish
Means "son of MATS".

MATTHIASEN Danish
Means "son of MATTHIAS".

MATTSSON Swedish
Means "son of MATTS".

MIKAELSSON Swedish
Means "son of MIKAEL".

MIKKELSEN Danish
Means "son of MIKKEL".

MÖLLER Low German, Swedish
Low German and Swedish form of MÜLLER.

MØLLER Danish
Danish form of MÜLLER.

MORTENSEN Danish
Means "son of MORTEN".

NÆSS Norwegian
Variant of NESS.

NAESS Norwegian
Variant of NESS.

NASS Norwegian
Variant of NESS.

NESS English, Scottish, Norwegian
From English ness and Norwegian nes meaning "headland, promontory", of Old Norse origin, originally referring to a person who lived there.

NIELSEN Danish
Means "son of NIELS (1)".

NIKLASSON Swedish
Means "son of NIKLAS".

NIKOLAJSEN Danish
Means "son of NIKOLAJ".

NILSEN Norwegian
Means "son of NILS".

NILSSON Swedish
Means "son of NILS".

NORDSKOV Danish
Means "north woods" in Danish.

NORLING Swedish
Originally denoted a person who came from the north.

NØRUP Danish
From the name of Danish villages named Nørup or Norup.

NORUP Danish
Variant of NØRUP.

NYBERG Swedish
From Swedish ny "new" and berg "mountain".

NYKVIST Swedish
Variant of NYQUIST.

NYLUND Swedish
From Swedish ny "new" and lund "grove".