Kongsjorden & Laugen

In Norway prior to the 1860s families did not use fixed surnames. They used a patronymic pattern in which children were named after their fathers. Hence, John Andersen = John, the son of Anders. And Mari Andersdatter = Mari, the daughter of Anders. Anders himself would be named Anders Olafsen = Anders, the son of Olaf. The full family unit could include Anders Olafsen (father), Mette Evensdatter (mother), John Andersen (son), and Mari Andersdatter (daughter). Mette Evensdatter will not have a name corresponding to her husband. But don’t be confused if a female has the male “-sen” name ending, however: it means the same thing and is more common in recent translations or reference works.

When you encounter names as common as Ole Olsen or Nils Hansen, this system gets confusing, so they often use their farm names to clarify their identity when conducting official business or traveling. In church records, for example, they would typically append the farm name to the patronymic name to be more precise, for example, “Anders Olafsen Sandness” (or “Anders Olafsen på (from) Sandness” if Anders merely worked at Sandness). It’s essential to remember that when a farm name is used, it is the farm at which they currently reside, rather than the farm at which they were born. The use of farm names is very helpful to keep in mind when looking at old records since Norway only gradually adopted fixed surnames from the mid-1800s until they were required in 1923. (From Norwegian Ridge)