Edited from a paper attributed to Ingela Martenius which was filed in the Swedish Culture and Traditions Facebook group. My family-related commentary is in [blue].
History and Tradition
Centuries ago people who inhabited what is now Sweden were only given one single name. As regional populations grew, it quickly became impractical to have only one name since many others would be called by the same name. A second name, or surname, was added. Initially it was not a family name since it did not apply to everyone in the family. Often it would describe a distinguishing characteristic, a profession, or a location.
During Viking times, naming practices were often limited to the names of the Viking gods or to something in nature; for example, Tor (god), Nanna (goddess), Gudrun (holy runes), Sten (stone), and Ulf (wolf). Eventually, these names were discouraged by the church which, instead, tried to introduce saints' and biblical names such as Johannes (John), Pehr or Pader (Peter), and Marta (Martha). Some saints' names had already been used during Viking times in the Nordic countries. Katarina (Catherine) was a Viking name as well as a Christian name. Some names were considered too "holy" and were not used at all such as Jesus and Josef (Joseph). Maria (Mary) came into more general use only in the 17th century and was not very common after that, even so, the diminutive form "Maja" was often used instead.
Old Testament names were generally never popular in Sweden and some common names, such as Eva or Eve, were regarded as offensive by some people. As an exception, there were some families with a tradition of using certain Old Testament names such as Elias, Samuel, Daniel, and Sarah. Old Testament names are more prevalent in the north than in the south, where they are very rare indeed.
Swedes have always had an amazing ability to change and adjust names, and to create several derivative names from the original. It may not seem out of the ordinary that Laurentius could become Lars or Benedict turned into Bengt, but from the Greek name Ioannes was derived the common Swedish names of Johannes, Hannes, Hans, Johan, Johan, Jöns, Jon, Joen, and Jan. And from the Greek name Katarina came Katarina, Karina, Katrin, Katrina, Karin, Karna, and Kajsa, all of which can also be spelled with a "C." These are just two examples of many. This practice of creating variations of names is something that must be kept in mind when reading church records as the clergy had their own ideas of naming practices and they wrote down what they believed the name should be. It did not necessarily match the name a person was given at baptism. Someone who had been "Kierstin" throughout their entire life could be referred to as "Kristina" if the new vicar believed this to be their "real" name. Some clergymen also thought that farmers and their children should not have too "fine" a name; Katarina was a name for an aristocratic lady, while a farmhand should make do with Karin or even Kajsa.
The practice of using more than one first name did not happen prior to the 17th century when the nobility started giving their children two first names. Only towards the end of the 18th century did the simpler gentry - and even some farmers - start using two or more first names, but it did not become very common until the mid 19th century. This varied greatly between different parts of the country and between parishes. In some parishes only girls were given two names, in others it only applied to boys, and in some places it was hardly used at all. Probably the local vicar had a decisive influence. [It's interesting that, true to form, my ancestor, Magnus Hallman, born in 1763, had only one first name, he also gave his son, Magnus Hallman, born in 1802, only one first name, but his son, Karl Erik Magnus Hallman, born in 1827, had three. And what's really interesting is that Karl Erik Magnus gave all of his sons only one first name again. In some of the records he was identified as KEM Hallman (or CEM Hallman depending on how they chose to spell it), so perhaps he got tired of having to use all three of his first names and spared his sons that burden.]
"Fashion" names, or non-traditional names, were already in use by the end of the 18th century, and some "odd" names became very popular for a time in certain parishes. "Petronella" was immensely popular in some places in the beginning of the 19th century and then disappeared as quickly as it arrived. [And I do indeed have a 3rd great-grandmother, born in 1801, named Petronella.]
Swedes loosely followed traditional family naming practices, though not as strictly as in England and other European countries. The tradition was as follows: the first son was called after his paternal grandfather, the second son after his maternal grandfather, the third son after his father, and the remaining sons after other relatives and friends. The first daughter was named after her maternal grandmother, the second after her paternal grandmother, the third after her mother, and the remaining daughters again after other relatives and friends. There are, however, numerous examples of other factors coming into play, and it was not at all uncommon to see names that are neither in the immediate family not among the sponsors (godparents).
Very common in Swedish culture, though, was naming children after a sibling who had died. If there were two sons both being names Sven, it is very probably that the first Sven died before the second Sven was born. There are examples of two children in the same family with the same name growing up together - the oldest child may have been sickly and was not expected to survive into adulthood, or two grandfathers with the same first name had to be honored. Children could also be named after their parent's dead siblings, and the first child in a second marriage was very likely to be named after the dead spouse if of the same gender.
Patronymics
Patronymics have been widely used in the Nordic countries, the Slavic countries, and on the Continent. In The Netherlands it used to be as common as in Sweden and was used in Wales until quite recently. In Russia it is still in use. Most places that practiced patronymics have discontinued its use.
In Sweden, a patronymic last name came from adding "son" or "dotter" to the father's first name. The last name changes for every generation, but all children of the same father would have the same patronymic name. It always uses a double "s" for the sons due to the fact that the name is in the genitive: Karl's son would be Karlsson, Erik's son would be Eriksson, etc. Depending on the length of the father's first name, the child's surname may change over time. For example, Olofsdotter may, after thirty odd years or so, turn into Olsdotter or Eriksdotter may become Ersdotter.
Metronymics, in which the surname is formed from the mother's first name, happened in very rare instances. It could have been due to the father being unknown, but it was more likely to create intentional distance with the father or deny the father his parenthood. A handrful of people from midieval times were known by their metronymic because the mother's family was more prominent than the father's family. If the father was truly unknown, the mother's patronymic was often used; thus, illegitimate son Erik from his mother, Anna Persdotter, became Erik Persson, and the grandfather would take over responsibility for the grandson. [In an upcoming post we'll learn about a blind, unmarried daughter who gave birth to a daughter of her own. The surname the child used when she became of age was the patronymic of the grandfather.] It was not uncommon, however, to use the name of the assumed father, even it it was never proven in court or listed in the church records. Before 1864 it was a criminal offense to bear an illegitimate child. A pregnant, unmarried woman would be tried in a court of law like any criminal and was required to name the father of the child. The man whom she named would then be required to appear, but he could "swear himself free" by placing his fingers on the bible and declare his innocence. Consequently, the church records may have "father inknown" if at court the man had "sworn free," but yet his name was used for the child's patronymic. (Usually, in a case like this, the man would have to pay a fine for "whoring" to the church - because the vicar usually knew what was going on in his parish.) [After Josephina Engström had moved to Stockholm and could no longer care for her illegitimate daughter, Elida, and the child was sent to live with the same foster mother who had raised Josephina, Elida's surname reverted from Engström to Reventberg, the employer who had, in fact, raped Josephina and fathered Elida. Alexander Reventberg was Danish and not listed in the Swedish church records, so I'm doubtful that he was ever held responsible in any way for the crime he committed or for financial support of his daughter.]
Family Names
A family name, which "expresses a sense of belonging between the user of the name and his parents, children, and siblings and is meant to be used unchanged generation after generation to denote such belonging," started being used in parts of Sweden in the late 19th century, prompted by an avalanche of people moving into the towns and cities. In order to keep track of everyone, the clergy started transforming the old patronymics into family names (without asking). Anders Svensson, who moved to Götebord in 1875, married and had children, and shortly afterwards discovered that his sons were also called Svensson, while his brothers' children still in the countryside retained their patronymics. In the countryside, the use of patronymics did not cease until the beginning of the 20th century.
Adopting a family name did not necessarily mean dropping the patronymic as the names could be used simultaneously. Erik Nilsson Stake could be called Erik Nillson, Erik Stake, and Eril Nilsson Stake. Note that the proper order is always: first name, patronymic, family name.
Prior to 1901, a Swede could assume almost any name they liked. A person could start calling himself/herself the new name and would simply tell the vicar what he was to write in the church records. [After looking at the records I believe this is exactly why my Sätila-born great-grandfather, August Svensson, started using the last name Wernqvist sometime in the early 1890s. It appears he just chose it for whatever reason he had at the time. After he died in 1906, however, his 4 daughters all reverted back to Svensson and his widow, as well, adopted Svensson as her surname.]
In 1901 an ordinance was issued that any name change would have to be approved by the authorities. The use of a family name over the traditional patronymic was not required; however, it was quickly becoming the norm. By 1920 most children adopted their father's family name and the new Marriage Act forced women to assume their husband's family name. In 1963 the Name Law stated that family names were required, but women were again given the right to retain their own family name and not adopt that of their husband's. In 1982 a new Name Law made it much easier to change both first and family names, and everyone was assigned a civic registration number in which to be identified. So as of today it is nearly as easy to change names in Sweden as it was before the first Name Ordinance of 1901.
Town People
Beginning in the 17th century, town people and some rural professional people started assuming family names. This was due partly to a wish to imitate the upper classes - being a little bit better than the common farmers - and partly because it was good for business to have a distinguishing name. Also, the advantage of having the same name for several generations was quickly realized as the sons could take over the company with a family name that guaranteed that the products and services were as good as in the father's time.
Town officials, foresters, rangers, sheriffs, merchants, and city craftsmen including tailors, shoemakers, blacksmiths, cabinetmakers, etc would often assume a family name. While rural parish shoemakers and tailors seldom assumed family names, blacksmiths always did. Blacksmiths were always trained professionals and immensely important to the Swedish economy, and as such, were accorded much respect. [Which leads me to believe more strongly that blacksmith Magnus Hallman, whose parents I have been unable to find, must have been the son of a blacksmith; hence, the family name rather than a patronymic.]
Soldiers
The allotment system - which staffed the Swedish armed forces until 1901 when national conscription was introduced - provided every soldier with a surname. This was for practical reasons - they could not shout for "Anders Persson" and have 20 men step forward. Since the new name was assigned for purely practical reasons, the name itself was practical, too. A soldier's name was preferably short and often warlike - Spets (point), Lans (lance), etc. There were exceptions such as Lilja (lily), Ros (rose), and names derived from physical characteristics such as Lång (tall), Modig (brave), and Fast (firm).
Even if the soldier already had a family name when he enlisted, he was almost always given a new soldier name. The name remained consistent with each soldier who occupied the particular soldier number and soldattorp, making the name more like a badge or office.
Two things must be understood:
1. The same name does not occur twice in the same company or that would completely defeat the purpose of assigning new soldier surnames. There were 150 men in a company, so there were 150 unique surnames.
2. The name was not personal property. The name belonged to the soldier number as did the croft. If the soldier moved to another soldattorp, he adopted the new soldier number and associated name.
Children and wives of the soldiers did not assume the soldier's surname. It was, after all, more of a professional badge, and the surname was "returned" when the soldier was discharged. If he had been honorably discharged he could still be called by his soldier name as a sort of courtesy to him, but it was not inherited by his children.
Children
Children under 15 (before being confirmed) were not regarded as persons "in their own right." They were "part" of their father - even if he had died - and were noted as such in all records: "Britta, daughter of Per Andersson and his wife Anna Eriksdotter, born December 12th," or "Anders, son of Per Andersson's widow Anna Eriksdotter, dead from dysentery at age 13." Children are thus commonly noted without surnames. When children would come of age they would adopt a surname. If the father had a family name, the children would adopt the same family name. If the father did not have a family name, the children would use a patronymic.
The practices were different, however, for illegitimate children and sons who lose their social standing. If the son of a clergyman with a family name became an ordinary farmer he would no longer use the family name and would adopt the patronymic. as a farmer who used a known clergyman's or blacksmith's family name he could rish quite serious social consequences. However, if this man's son - or even grandson - again climbed the social ladder and attained a social position which warranted a family name, the old name was not forgotten and would be used again - perhaps as much as 50 or 75 years later. This is sometimes the origin of family names "suddenly" assumed by emigrants entering a new country. Daughters who married "beneath" them would most often continue to use their family name.
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