Norwegian Submitted Surnames
Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
AANorwegianDerived from
aa, an obsolete spelling of Norwegian
å "small river, stream".
AABYNorwegian, DanishFrom a place called Aaby or Åby, from Old Norse
á "small river, stream" and
býr "farm".
AADLANDNorwegianDerived from a place called Ådland, from Old Norse Árland "land by the river".
AAMODTNorwegianCombination of
aa, an obsolete spelling of Norwegian
å "small river, stream" and
møte "meeting".
AARHUSNorwegianDerived from any of the farms so named, from Old Norse
á "river" and
hús "house, farmstead".
AUNENorwegianDerived from Old Norse
auðn "wasteland, desolate place".
BIRKELANDNorwegianDerived from Old Norse
birki "birch" and
land "farm, land". Birkeland is the name of a village and parish in western Norway. The parish got it's name from an old farm. The parish church was built on the same spot where the farm once was.
BØENorwegianDerived from Old Norse
býr "farm, village, settlement" or
búa "to reside".
BØENNorwegianHabitational name from the common farm name Bøen, simply meaning "the farm" (ultimately derived from Old Norse
býr "farm, village, settlement" and the definite article
-en).
BORSHEIMNorwegian (Rare)Habitational name from either of two farmsteads in Norway: Borsheim in Rogaland and Børsheim in Hordaland. Borsheim is a combination of an unknown first element and Norwegian
heim "home", while Børsheim is a combination of Old Norse
byrgi "fence, enclosure" and
heim.
BRAGERNorwegian (Rare)From the name of any of the various farmsteads in eastern Norway, which may have derived their name from a river name meaning "roaring", "thundering".
BRÅTHENNorwegianDerived from Old Norse
broti "land cleared for cultivation by burning". This was a common farm name in southeastern Norway.
BREVIKNorwegianHabitational name from any of several farms named Brevik, from Norwegian
bred "broad" and
vik "bay".
CLEVELANDNorwegian (Anglicized)Americanized spelling of Norwegian
Kleiveland or
Kleveland, habitational names from any of five farmsteads in Agder and Vestlandet named with Old Norse
kleif "rocky ascent" or
klefi "closet" (an allusion to a hollow land formation) and
land "land".
DALENorwegian, DanishHabitational name from any of the various farmsteads called Dale in Norway. Derived from Old Norse
dalr "valley".
DRAGNorwegian (Rare)Habitational name from any of several farms named Drag. The place name is related to Old Norse
draga "to pull" (compare modern Norwegian
dra with the same meaning) and originally denoted a place where boats were pulled along a river or across an isthmus.
EGELANDNorwegianFrom the name of several farmsteads in Norway named with Norwegian
eik "oak" and
land "land".
EGNERNorwegian (Rare)From the name of a farm in Norway, of unknown origin. A known bearer was Norwegian playwright Thorbjørn Egner (1912-1990).
ENGLANDNorwegian (Rare)From the name of several farms in Norway, named with Old Norse
eng "meadow" and
land "land".
FETTNorwegian (Rare)Derived from Old Norse
fit "land, shore". This was the name of several farmsteads in Norway.
FINSTADNorwegianMeans "Finn's farmstead", from the given name
Finn (2) and Old Norse
staðr "farmstead, dwelling". This was the name of several farms in Norway.
FISKEEnglish, NorwegianFrom the traditionally Norwegian habitational surname, from the Old Norse
fiskr "fish" and
vin "meadow". In England and Denmark it was a surname denoting someone who was a "fisherman" or earned their living from selling fish.
FIVELANDNorwegian (Rare)From the name of a farm in Norway named with the word
fivel possibly meaning "cottongrass, bog cotton". This plant grows in abundance in the marshy land near the location of the farm.
FLONorwegianFamous bearers include Norwegian footballers and relatives
Tore Andre,
Håvard, and
Jostein Flo of the Norwegian national team that upset Brazil twice in both a friendly in 1997 and a 1998 World Cup group match.
FLOBERGSwedish, Norwegian (Rare)Of uncertain origin. Could possibly be combination of
flo, an unexplained element (but probably either ornamental or locational), and
berg "mountain", or a habitational name from a place so named.
FØRDENorwegianFrom Old Norse
fyrði dative form of
fjórðr "fjord". This was the name of several farmsteads in Norway.
FORRENNorwegian (Rare)Derived form the name of a farmstead in Norway named with a word meaning "hollow, gorge".
HAALANDNorwegianFrom Old Norse
Hávaland, derived from
hár "high" and
land "land, farm". This is the name of several farms in Norway.
HAUGANNorwegianOriginates from a Farm name. Haugan comes from the Old Norse word
haugr which can be translatd to "hill" or "mound".
HAUGENorwegianHabitational name from any of numerous farmsteads named Hauge, from the dative singular of Old Norse
haugr "hill, mound".
HAUKEBØNorwegianA combination of Norwegian
hauk, derived from Old Norse
haukr, "hawk" and
bø, derived from Old Norse
bœr, "farm". The meaning refers to hawks sitting abode; as on the roof of a barn.
HELLANDNorwegianThe Old Norse name element
-land meaning "country, land" combined with either Old Norse
hella "flat rock" or
hellir "cave". ...
[more] HOLTEREnglish, German, NorwegianDerived from English
holt meaning "small wood". A topographic name for someone who lived near a small wooden area, as well as a habitational name from a place named with that element.
HOVDANorwegianHabitational name from the many farmsteads in Norway named Hovda. Derived from Old Norse
hófði "rounded peak", itself derived from Old Norse
hofuð "head".
ISLANDNorwegianHabitational name from any of four farmsteads so named. The origin of their name is not certain; it may be a compound of
is "ice" and
land "land" or from
Island "Iceland" (the name of the country).
KANEIrish, NorwegianFrom the anglicized Irish surname Cathan, meaning "warlike." In Norway, it's used as a noble name.
KJÆRDanish, NorwegianTopographic name for someone living near a wetland. Derived from Old Norse
kjarr "swamp, bog".
KOLDENGerman, NorwegianFrom Middle Low German kolt, kolde ‘cold’, a nickname for an unfriendly person; alternatively, it may be a habitational name, a shortened form of Koldenhof ‘cold farm’ in Mecklenburg (standardized form: Kaltenhof, a frequent place name in northern Germany, East Prussia, Bavaria, and Württemberg).Norwegian: habitational name from a farm called Kolden, from Old Norse kollr ‘rounded mountain top’.
LANDEFrench, Norwegian, JewishFrench: topographic name for someone living on a heath,
lande (from Gaulish
landa ‘space’, ‘land’), or a habitational name from any of numerous minor places named La Lande from this word....
[more] LANGELANDNorwegianDerived from the elements
lang meaning "long" and
land meaning "land" or "farmstead".
LIENorwegianVariant spelling of Li. Derived from Old Norse
hlíð "hillside, mountain slope".
LINDEGerman, Dutch, Jewish, Spanish, Swedish, Norwegian, DanishTopographic name for someone who lived by a conspicuous lime tree, from Middle High German, Dutch
linde, Scandinavian
lind. There are several places, especially in North Germany, named with this word...
[more] LØKKENNorwegianHabitational name from any of numerous farmsteads so called. Derived from Old Norse
lykkja "enclosure".
LYNGSTADNorwegianAnni-Frid Lyngstad (b. 1945) is a Norwegian-born Swedish singer and former member of ABBA.
MANUSNorwegian (Hispanicized)Hispanicized variant of
Magnussen. This was the surname of Norwegian World War II resistance fighter Max Manus, whose father spent much of his life living in Hispanophone countries.
MELBYNorwegianModern form of Meðalbýr meaning "middle farm", a combination of Old Norse
meðal "middle" and
býr "farm".
MØRKNorwegianFrom Old Norse
mork "wood". This was the name of several farmsteads in Norway.
MOSSINGNorwegianHabitational name from a farm name in Trøndelag, probably named with mose meaning "moss" + vin meaning "meadow".
MYKLEBUSTNorwegianDerived from Old Norse
Myklibólstaðr meaning "large farm". From
mikill "large" and
bólstaðr "farm".
NORDAHLNorwegian, SwedishThe surname derives from a place name in Sunnmøre, Norway. Meaning from Old Norse
norðr ''north'' and
dalr ''dale'', ''valley''. In Sweden, this name is mostly ornamental, rather than habitaional.
ØDEGÅRDNorwegianMeans "deserted farm" in Norwegian. A combination of
øde "deserted, empty" and
gård "farm, yard".
ODLANDNorwegianHabitational name from any of several farmsteads in Rogaland and Hordaland named Odland, from Old Norse Árland, a compound of á ‘small river’ (or another first element of uncertain origin) + land ‘land’, ‘farm’.
OPPEGÅRDNorwegianHabitational name meaning "upper farm". Derived from Old Norse
uppi "upper" and
garðr "farm, yard". This was the name of several farmsteads in Norway. ...
[more] ØSTBYNorwegianHabitational name from farmsteads in Norway named Østby or Austby. Derived from Old Norse
aust "east" and
býr "farm, village".
ØSTHAGENNorwegianAn uncommon Norwegian surname of uncertain origin. It is most likely a locational name, derived from Norwegian
øst, 'east' and
hagen, 'enclosure'. ...
[more] OVERSONDanish, NorwegianAltered spelling of Oveson, itself a patronymic from the personal name Ove, a Danish form of the older Aghi, with a second element possibly meaning "spear".
QUISLINGNorwegianA treacherous person who sides with opposing forces, this meaning comes from Vidkun Quisling of Norway. He helped the Germans during the German rule of Norway in the 1940's. Original meaning "One from" (-ling) "Quislemark", (quis) A romanization of the place name of Kvislemark.
REKDALNorwegianThe name of people from the small town Rekdal in West-Norway. Former footballer Kjetil Rekdal (1968- ) is the most known person from there.
ROENorwegianHabitational surname for any of the several farmsteads named
Roe or
Røe, derived from the Old Norse
ruð meaning "clearing".
ROISUMNorwegianHabitational name from the farmstead in Sogn named Røysum, from the dative plural of Old Norse reysi ‘heap of stones’.
SANDENorwegianHabitational name from any of forty or more farmsteads so named, especially on the west coast, from the dative case of Old Norse sandr meaning "sand", "sandy plain", "beach".
SELLANDNorwegianFrom the Old Norse habitational name
Seljuland, from
selja "willow" and
land "land", "farm".
SEMNorwegianNorwegian: habitational name from any of about fifteen farms so named, a variant of
Seim.
SETHERNorwegianHabitational name from any of numerous farmsteads named Seter or Sæter.
SKELTONEnglish, German, Norwegian (Rare)Habitational name from places in Cumbria and Yorkshire, England, originally named with the same elements as
Shelton, but with a later change of ‘s’ to ‘sk’ under Scandinavian influence.
SORLIENorwegianHabitational name from a common farm name, Sørli, composed of the elements sør ‘south’ + li ‘slope’, ‘hillside’.
STAVIGNorwegianCombination of Old Norse
stafr "pole" and
vik "bay". This was the name of a farmstead in Norway.
STENSETHNorwegianhabitational name from any of numerous farmsteads, notably in eastern Norway, named Steinset, from either the noun stein ‘stone’ or the same word as a personal name + set ‘farmstead’....
[more] STOLTENBERGGerman, NorwegianHabitational name from places so called in Pomerania and Rhineland. A famous bearer is Jens Stoltenberg (b. 1959), Prime Minister of Norway 2000-2001 and 2005-2013.
STORMONorwegianHabitational name from any of numerous farmsteads, notably in northern Norway, so named from stor meaning "big" + mo meaning "moor", "heath".
TVEITNorwegianNorwegian habitational name derived from Old Norse
þveit "clearing".
ULVESTADNorwegian (Rare)Habitational name from any of five farmsteads, most in western Norway, named from Old Norse
ulfr meaning ‘wolf’ +
staðir, plural of
staðr meaning ‘farmstead’, ‘dwelling’.
UNDERBERGNorwegianHabitational name from a place named with Old Norse
undir meaning "under" and
berg meaning "mountain, hill".
VÆRNESNorwegianVærnes is a village in the municipality of Stjørdal in Nord-Trøndelag county in Mid-Norway. The original spelling of the village's name was Vannes and it is a combination of
var "calm, quiet" and
nes "headland"...
[more] VEANorwegianHabitational name from any of four farmsteads so named, from the plural of Old Norse viðr meaning "wood", "tree".
VEENorwegianHabitational name from farmsteads named Ve, for example in Hordaland and Sogn, from Old Norse
vé "sacred place".
VELTENNorwegianNorwegian habitational name from any of several farmsteads, mainly in Hedmark, named with
velte ‘log pile’.
WAGLENorwegianA habitational name derived from farmsteads in Rogaland named Vagle, from the Old Norse
vagl meaning a '‘perch’' or '‘roost'’, referring to a high ridge between two lakes.