Norwegian Naming Convention: "You should realize, therefore, that a surname in addition to the Christian name and the patronymic is not always the same as a modern family name. Family names in Norway are, in fact, a product of only the last few generations, except among the traditional upper classes (the clergy, military, civil servants, and the wealthy bourgeoisie). In Norway, the use of fixed family names was not made compulsory by law until 1925.
Speaking of names, your search might benefit from a unique Norwegian custom. In Norway, especially in the rural districts, there have long been very strict rules about naming descendants. Some of these rules persist even today. It was customary, for example, for the eldest son to be named after his paternal grandfather and the second son after his maternal grandfather. In a similar fashion, the eldest and second daughters were named after the respective grandmothers.
After the grandparents' names had been used, the great-grandparents' names were the next to be given, although without strict rules as to the order. Special circumstances might interfere with these rules. For example, the name of a deceased spouse was to be used first; and the name of the father or mother was given if the child was baptized after a parent's death.
According to a Norwegian proverb: "The name and the farm must go together." This meant that a child who was intended to be the owner of the farm upon reaching maturity should be given the name of a previous owner, whether a relative or not
also seen in Scotland and Denmark
Those Norwegian names, a little history and tips for online researchers
most scholarly
" will start this section with a little background history. The "first name" was from ancient times and up till about 100 years ago the name of the person. You did not have a surname in the way we have nowadays. The old vikings believed that the child would achieve qualities and protection from what they were named after, like animals and weapons. The old norse names originally consisted of two components, a prefix and a suffix. "
Speaking of names, your search might benefit from a unique Norwegian custom. In Norway, especially in the rural districts, there have long been very strict rules about naming descendants. Some of these rules persist even today. It was customary, for example, for the eldest son to be named after his paternal grandfather and the second son after his maternal grandfather. In a similar fashion, the eldest and second daughters were named after the respective grandmothers.
After the grandparents' names had been used, the great-grandparents' names were the next to be given, although without strict rules as to the order. Special circumstances might interfere with these rules. For example, the name of a deceased spouse was to be used first; and the name of the father or mother was given if the child was baptized after a parent's death.
According to a Norwegian proverb: "The name and the farm must go together." This meant that a child who was intended to be the owner of the farm upon reaching maturity should be given the name of a previous owner, whether a relative or not
also seen in Scotland and Denmark
Those Norwegian names, a little history and tips for online researchers
most scholarly
" will start this section with a little background history. The "first name" was from ancient times and up till about 100 years ago the name of the person. You did not have a surname in the way we have nowadays. The old vikings believed that the child would achieve qualities and protection from what they were named after, like animals and weapons. The old norse names originally consisted of two components, a prefix and a suffix. "
posted by Hugh W at 5:38 pm
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home