Scandinavian 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, DanishThe surname Aaby is a habitational name from a place called Aaby or Åby, from å ‘river’ + Old Norse býr ‘farm’
AADLANDNorwegianThe surname Aadland is a habitational name 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".
AANENSONNorwegianThe surname Aanenson is a patronymic from the personal name Ånund, from Old Norse Onundr which means and creates the combination of ‘ancestor’ + ‘victor’.
AARHUSNorwegianThe surname Aarhus is a habitational name from any of 15 or so farms so named, from Old Norse á ‘river’ + hús ‘house’, ‘farmstead’.
ÅBERGSwedishSwedish ornamental name. A combination of
å "small river" and
berg "mountain".
ADELSKÖLDSwedishSwedish surname which possibly means "noble shield", from the elements
adel, meaning "nobility" and
sköld, which may mean "shield".
AHLBORNSwedish (Rare)Ornamental name composed of the elements
al "alder" and
-born, a Swedish surname suffix derived from German
geboren "born".
AHLINSwedishFrom
al 'alder' and -
in, a common ending of Swedish surnames derived from Latin -
inus, -
inius 'descendant of'.
AHLQUISTSwedishCombination of Swedish
al "alder" and
quist an old or ornamental spelling of
kvist "twig".
ÅHMANSwedishCombination of Swedish
å "small river" and
man "man".
ALVERSONSwedishRespelling of Swedish Halverson or of Alvarsson, a patronymic from the personal name Alvar (composed of Old Norse alf ‘elf’ + -arr, an element with various origins).
ÅNGSTRÖMSwedishSwedish surname meaning "steam river" from the elements
ånga, meaning "steam" and
ström, meaning "stream, current, river".
APPELKVISTSwedishCombination of Swedish
apel or
äpple both meaning "apple" and
kvist "branch, twig".
ÅSLUNDSwedishCombination of Swedish
ås "ridge, esker" and
lund "grove".
ASPLUNDSwedishSwedish surname meaning "aspen grove", from the elements
asp, meaning "aspen tree" and the common surname element
lund, meaning "grove".
ÅSTRÖMSwedishSwedish ornamental name meaning "small river stream". A combination of
å "small river" and
ström "stream".
AUNENorwegianDerived from Old Norse
auðn "wasteland, desolate place".
AXELLSwedishPossibly a habitational name with the combination of
ax, a Swedish word for the fruiting body of a grain plant, and the common surname suffix
-ell.
BÄCKMANSwedishCombination of Swedish
bäck "small stream" and
man "man".
BACKMANEnglish, Swedish, GermanCombination of Old English
bakke "spine, back" and
man "man". In Swedish, the first element is more likely to be derived from Swedish
backe "hill", and in German the first element can be derived from German
backen "to bake"...
[more] BANGDanishOriginally a nickname denoting a loud or brash person, from Old Danish
bang "noise" (from Old Norse
banga "to pound, hammer" of echoic origin). A literary bearer was Danish author Herman Bang (1857-1912)....
[more] BAYEnglish, French, Dutch, Scottish, German, Danish, NorwegianEnglish, French, and Dutch: nickname for someone with chestnut or auburn hair, from Middle English, Old French
bay,
bai, Middle Dutch
bay ‘reddish brown’ (Latin
badius, used originally of horses)....
[more] BERGGRENSwedishSwedish surname meaning "mountain branch". From
berg "mountain" and
gren "branch".
BERGKVISTSwedishSwedish surname meaning "mountain branch". From
berg "mountain" and
kvist "branch".
BERGLINSwedishCombination of Swedish
berg "mountain" and the popular surname suffix
-in, derived from Latin
-inus,
-inius meaning "descendant of". The second element could also be derived from Swedish
lind "lime tree" or
lin "flax, linseed".
BERLINGerman, English, SwedishHabitational name from the city in Germany, the name of which is of uncertain meaning. It is possibly derived from an Old Slavic stem
berl- meaning
swamp or from a West Slavic word meaning "river lake"....
[more] BERNGerman, Scandinavian, German (Swiss)German and Scandinavian: from the personal name Berno, a pet form of Bernhard. In South German it comes from the habitational name from Bern, Switzerland, notably in the south; in other parts from the personal name
Berno.
BERNADOTTEFrench, SwedishPossibly from the name of a building in the French city of Pau called
de Bernadotte. This was originally a French non-noble surname, but a member of the family later became King of Sweden.
BERWALDSwedishOriginally
Bernwald which meant the ruler of bears but later changed to
Bärwald through German folk which meant "The bear of the forest".
BESKOWSwedishDerived from the name of the city Beeskow in Germany. A notable bearer was Swedish author and illustrator Elsa Beskow (1874-1953).
BILDTSwedish, DanishBildt is a Danish-Swedish-Norwegian noble family originating from Jutland in Denmark and now domiciled in Bohus county in southwest Sweden. The Norwegian branch of the family died out in the beginning of the 18th century...
[more] BIRCHEnglish, German, Danish, SwedishTopographic name for someone who lived by a birch tree or in a birch wood, from a Germanic word meaning ‘birch’ (Old English
birce ‘birch’, Middle High German
birche, Old Danish
birk)...
[more] 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.
BJÖRKLUNDSwedishSwedish ornamental name meaning "grove of birch trees". A combination of
björk "birch" and
lund "grove".
BLASIUSGerman, Dutch, ScandinavianFrom the Latin personal name
Blasius. This was a Roman family name, originating as a byname for someone with some defect, either of speech or gait, from Latin
blaesus "stammering" (compare Greek
blaisos "bow-legged")...
[more] BLOMQUISTSwedishOrnamental name composed of the elements
blom "flower" +
quist, an old or ornamental spelling of
kvist "twig".
BODÉNSwedishSwedish ornamental name composed of Swedish
bod "small hut" and the common surname suffix
-én, a derivative of Latin
-enius "descendant of".
BØENorwegianDerived from Old Norse
býr "farm, village, settlement" or
búa "to reside".
BOMANSwedishCombination of Swedish
bo (noun) "nest, farm, dwelling" and
man "man".
BOMENGENNorwegianName created from during immigration from Norway to the United States in either the late 19th or early 20th century meaning, "The farm with the big gate."
BONERFALKNorwegianFrom the Norwegian word meaning "good/faithful hawk", probably the name of a falconer.
BORÉNSwedishOrnamental name composed of an unexplained first element and the common surname suffix
-en, from Latin
-enius "descendant of"....
[more] BORRESENDanishThe Danish surname Borresen has two origins. Boerresen is composed of -sen 'son' + the given name Boerre, the modern equivalent of Old Norse Byrgir 'the helper' (from proto-Indo-European root BHER- 'to carry, bear')...
[more] BORSHEIMNorwegianHabitational name from either of two farmsteads: Borsheim in Rogaland and Børsheim in Hordaland.
BOSTRÖMSwedishCombination of Swedish
bo "dwelling, home" and
ström "stream, river".
BRAATENNorwegianHabitational name from Bråten, a common farm name in southeastern Norway, derived from Old Norse broti ‘land cleared for cultivation by burning’.
BRAGERNorwegianHabitational name from any of various farms so called in eastern Norway, which may have originally derived their name from a river name meaning "roaring", "thundering".
BRANTINGSwedishA combination of Swedish
brant "steep hill" and the suffix
-ing. A famous bearer was
Hjalmar Branting (1860–1925), Prime Minister of Sweden in the 1920s.
BRATTÉNSwedishOrnamental name composed of the personal name Bratt + the surname suffix -én, from Latin -enius ‘descendant of’.
BREVIKNorwegianHabitational name from any of several farms named Brevik, from Norwegian
bred "broad" and
vik "bay".
BRODÉNSwedishOrnamental name or topographic name, probably composed of the elements bro ‘bridge’ + the adjectival suffix -én, from Latin -enius.
BUREOld Swedish, SwedishThis was the name of an influential family in 16th century Sweden. The name originated from the village
Bure (now known as
Bureå) in Skellefteå parish in Northern Sweden. The village got its name from the nearby Bure River (Swedish: Bure älv, Bureälven) whose name was derived from the Swedish dialectal word
burra "buzz, rumble".
BYBERGSwedishSwedish ornamental name. A combination of Swedish
by "village" and
berg "mountain".
BYLINSwedishA combination of Swedish
by "village" and the suffix
-in, derived from Latin -inus, -inius "descendant of"
BYSTEDTSwedishA combination of Swedish
by "village" and German
stedt "home, place".
CARLANDERSwedishCombination of the given name
KARL or Swedish
karl "man" and
ander, from classical Greek
andros, "man".
CARLINIrish (Anglicized), Scottish, French, Swedish, Italian, Jewish (Anglicized), GermanIrish (now also common in Scotland) anglicized form of Gaelic
Ó Cairealláin, an Ulster family name, also sometimes Anglicized as
Carlton, meaning ‘descendant of Caireallán’, a diminutive of the personal name
Caireall...
[more] CELSIUSSwedish (Archaic), HistoryLatinized form of
Högen "the mound" (Latin:
celsus), the name of a vicarage in Ovanåker parish, Sweden. Celsius is a unit of measurement for temperature named for Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius (1701–1744).
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) +
land ‘land’.
CRABBEnglish, Scottish, German, Dutch, DanishEnglish and Scottish, from Middle English crabbe, Old English
crabba ‘crab’ (the crustacean), a nickname for someone with a peculiar gait. English and Scottish from Middle English
crabbe ‘crabapple (tree)’ (probably of Old Norse origin), hence a topographic name for someone who lived by a crabapple tree...
[more] DAHLÉNSwedishCombination of Swedish
dal "valley" and the common surname suffix
-én, a derivative of Latin
-enius "descendant of".
DAHMERGerman, DanishA northern German or Danish habitual name for someone from one of the many places named Dahme in Brandenburg, Holstein, Mecklenburg, or Silesia. A famous bearer of this name was Jeffrey Dahmer, serial killer (1960 - 1993).
DALENorwegian, DanishHabitational name from any of the various farmsteads called Dale in Norway. Derived from Old Norse
dalr "valley".
DAUGAARDDanishDanish name element
gård "farmstead, yard" combined with prefix
dau of unknown origin. ...
[more] DE GEERDutch, SwedishThe name is possibly derived from the town of Geer near Liège, Belgium. The town lies along the course of the river Jeker, which is called Geer in French.
DELEURANFrench (Huguenot), DanishHuguenot surname of unknown origin. This family emigrated to Denmark in the 16th century, and now most members of the family are Danish
DRAGNorwegian (Rare)Habitational name from any of several farms named Drag. The place name is related to Old Norse
draga "to pull" and originally denoted a place where boats were pulled along a river or across an isthmus.
ECKLANDNorwegian, SwedishProbably a respelling either of a Norwegian habitational name from several farmsteads named with
eik "oak" +
land "land", or of a Swedish ornamental compound with the same elements.
EDÉNSwedishPossibly a habitational name from a place named with the element
ed "isthmus". In some cases it could also be a shortened form of
EDENIUS (a combination of Swedish
ed "isthmus" and the Latin suffix
-enius "descendant of").
EGEDEScandinavianDerived from a place name on Sjælland containing the name element
EIK meaning "oak".
EGELANDNorwegianHabitational name from any of various farms in southwestern Norway named Eikeland, from eiki meaning "oak", "oak grove" + land meaning "land".
EGNERNorwegianHabitational name from a farmstead, of unexplained origin.
EIDSNESSNorwegianHabitational name from a farmstead so named in western Norway, from Old Norse eid meaning "isthmus" + nes meaning "headland", "promontory".
EKBERGSwedishCombination of Swedish
ek "oak" and
berg "mountain".
EKERNNorwegianHabitational name from a farm in eastern Norway so named, from Old Norse ekra ‘meadow’, ‘field’.
EKLANDSwedish (Rare)Combination of Swedish
ek "oak" and
land "land". A famous bearer is Swedish actress Britt Ekland (b. 1942).
EKLÖFSwedishCombination of Swedish
ek "oak" and
löf, an archaic spelling of
löv, "leaf".
EKMANSwedishSwedish ornamental name. A combination of
ek "oak" and
man "man".
EKSTRÖMSwedishSwedish ornamental name. A combination of
ek "oak" and
ström "stream".
EKVALLSwedishComposed of Swedish
ek "oak" and
vall "field, pasture".
ELANDERSwedishOrnamental name composed of an unexplained first element + -ander, suffix adapted from Greek aner, andros ‘man’, a common element of Swedish surnames.
ENGLANDNorwegianHabitational name from any of various farmsteads, so named from Old Norse
eng "meadow" and
land "land".
ERLANDERSwedishDerived from the personal name
ERLAND. A famous bearer was Swedish politician Tage Erlander (1901-1985), Prime Minister of Sweden between 1946 and 1969. His father adopted the name Erlander from his father, whose surname was Erlandsson.
FAGERSwedishFrom Swedish
fager, an archaic word meaning ”pretty, fair”.
FALKENBERGGerman, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian (Rare)Habitational name from any of several places, especially in eastern Germany and Bavaria, named from Old High German falk meaning "falcon" + berg meaning "mountain", "hill"; such place names are often associated with the presence of a castle, as falconry was a privilege of the nobility.
FÄLTSKOGSwedishCombination of Swedish
fält "field" and
skog "forest". Agnetha Fältskog (b. 1950) is a Swedish singer and former member of ABBA.
FETTNorwegianHabitational name from any of several farms named with Old Norse fit meaning "meadow".
FINSTADNorwegianHabitational name from any of several farms so named, especially in southeastern Norway, from the personal name Finnr, meaning ‘Finn’, ‘Lapp’ + stad (from Old Norse staðr ‘farmstead’, ‘dwelling’).
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.
FIVELANDNorwegianThe name of a farm near Lygdal, Vest-Agder, Norway. The word, fivel, is the name of a plant with a flower that resembles a white cotton ball and this plant grows in abundance in the marshy land near the location of the farm.
FLINKSwedishFrom Swedish
flink, an adjective for someone who is quick and accurate.
FLONorwegianFamous bearers include Norwegian footballers and relatives Torre-Andre, Havard, 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.
FORRENNorwegianHabitational name from a farmstead in Trøndelag, so named from a river name derived from a word meaning ‘hollow’, ‘gorge’.
FORSMANSwedishCombination of Swedish
fors "rapid" (geology) and
man "man".
FRANZÉNSwedishCombination of the given name
FRANZ and the popular surname suffix
-én, derived from Latin
-enius "descendant of".
FRAYEnglish, French, NorwegianMeaning "peace" or "brother," descended from the French term "Frere" in turn descended from the name of ancient Norse deity Frey, the deity of peace and prosperity.
GARDLINSwedishPossibly derived from the Swedish word Gård meaning (Garden, or Gardener).
HAALANDNorwegianHabitational name from any of numerous farmsteads named Haaland or Håland, in Agder and southwestern Norway, notably in the county of Rogaland. The farm name is from Old Norse Hávaland, from Old Norse hár meaning "high" + land meaning "farm".
HAGEMANDutch, SwedishDutch: topographic name for someone who lived by an enclosure, from Middle Dutch haghe ‘hedge’, ‘enclosure’ + man ‘man’. Respelling of German
Hagemann. ...
[more] HAGEMANNGerman, Danish1. German: topographic name for someone who lived by a hedge or enclosure, from Middle High German hac ‘enclosure’, ‘hedge’, Middle Low German hage + mann ‘man’. ...
[more] HÄGGSwedishFrom Swedish
hägg "hackberry, bird cherry ".
HÄGGSTRÖMSwedishCombination of Swedish
hägg "bird cherry" and
ström "stream, small river".
HAGSTRÖMSwedishCombination of Swedish
hage "enclosure, garden" and
ström "stream, small river".
HALLADanishDerived from the Old Norse HALLR, which means 'flat stone, rock' or 'sloping, leaning to one side'...
[more] HALLÉNSwedish, DutchSwedish variant of
Hall, with the addition of the adjectival suffix
-én. Possibly a shortened form of Dutch
van der Hallen, a topographic or habitational name from Middle Dutch
halle ‘hall.’
HALLSTRÖMSwedishCombination of Swedish
hall "hall, stone, rock" and
ström "stream, small river".