Scandinavian Last Names: Meanings
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- čas přidán 6. 08. 2020
- This video looks at the meanings of some of the most prevalent words in the placenames that became last names in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark.
Jackson Crawford, Ph.D.: Sharing real expertise in Norse language and myth with people hungry to learn, free of both ivory tower elitism and the agendas of self-appointed gurus. Visit jacksonwcrawford.com/ (includes bio and linked list of all videos).
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I don't don't why but it makes me fuzzy and warm inside to hear this viking cowboy professor talk about our Scandinavian names :-)
Hey what a great first name you have.
Same! And I was just waiting for him to say the parts of my name, and then he did and I got giddy for no reason lmao.
Older Norwegian names were usually made up of three parts; first name, patronymic and farm name. So for example, a person might be named/called Einar Dagsson Haugen. Einar, son of Dag, from the farm Haugen. If the person moved to another farm, that part of the name changed too. Having a farm name did not mean that you owned the farm, it could also mean that you worked there or were a tenant. Patronymics are no longer used, but some turned into fixed family names. Most modern Norwegian last names are old farm names though, and not "former" patronymic names. There is a lot more to be said about this, and there's plenty to read about it (at least in Norwegian), this was just a very short comment.
Well, the farm name was usually the person's address and changed often whenever the person/family moved. The difference is in the cities where there were no farms to take your name from, and we therefore find a larger amount of -sen/-son names there. In the 1890's and up to 1928 (I think), people started having fixed last names. The city people locked themselves on a patronym usually, though some newly moved-in families from the countryside kept their farm names as most people out there did. In 1928 I think it was a law came that demanded fixed last names.
The volume in this video is unusually low. Love the content nonetheless.
In Sweden, patronymic last names was the default for a very long time. Members of the nobility did use the name of their house as a family name, but common people never did. Bynames, usually taken from a home village or an estate, were used but were rarely inherited. Men serving in the military could be given a byname, usually based on their function or on personal characteristics (some of them can be quite hilarious). Those names could in some cases be inherited. Women did not change their last name when they got married.
Family names, either adopted by "freezing" the current patronymic name (including the previously unthinkable idea of giving -son names to women), or by taking new ones inspired by nature, didn't become common practice until patronyms fell out of fashion during the mid-to-late 1800's.
Since the Church for a number of reasons advocated a family based naming system, and neighbouring countries outlawed the use of the patronymic naming system, Swedish people eventually changed their view on the practice. Patronymic names were now regarded unsophisticated an plain. New social structures with increased social mobility made it more important to stand out than to fit in. People started to adapt family names in a quite chaotic way. It's not unusual to find families where most or even all of the children take their own new last names. This is also when women started to take on their husband's last name.
The naming law of 1901 regulated and facilitated the adoption of family names, but did not require it. Patronymic names weren't finally outlawed until 1966. The conservative naming law from 1982 upheld the ban, but the new law from 2017 reinstates patronymic and matronymic names as optional.
Some clarification of the Swedish words (at least in modern Swedish):
stad = town, but plats = place
gård = farm
tun or gårdsplan = yard (the area between the buildings of the farm)
asp = aspen
by = village or hamlet
näs = not the peninsula but the narrow part (between two waters) that connects the peninsula to the mainland or connects two parts of the mainland
halvö = peninsula
bäck = not riverside but creek (small stream of water)
å = small river
älv = large river
flod = very large river
ax = not wheat but the ear of any kind of corn
yxa = axe
häll = not any rock but a flat, smooth rock (suitable for rock carvings)
Yeah - I was also thinking of pointing out the sizes in the river category.
Sådärja! Då kan dom få lära seg ordentligt. Då slipper jag få skriva dett. En dansk.
@@ulrikschackmeyer848 Hej Ulrik! - Har jeg ikke stadig de DVD'er jeg lånte af dig. Københavner-glimt...? :)
Flod is not larger than älv, älv is just the name used for Scandinavian rivers, while flod is used for rivers outside of Scandinavia. Actually many of the Swedish rivers (älvar) are much larger than European rivers (floder).
@@frbo9002 Sounds plausible. I have only used "flod" for very large rivers like the Amazon and the Nile but never considered what smaller rivers, located outside Sweden, might have been called in Swedish.
My last name ends with -holm, which is the name of our old family farm. No river islands nearby though. But it's really interesting to see explanations for all those last names, that are still so very common here in Denmark.
@@lcmiracle Sure, the name is Rokholm (or alternatively Rockholm, the spelling of both the farm and family name has switched back and forth a few times over the last couple of centuries). I'm unaware of any family history, that isn't linked to that one particular farm. We no longer own the farm, but I did spend many long summers there as a kid, when my grand parents still lived there. I really like having my name that closely tied to a specific place, even though I no longer live anywhere close to it.
We also have Holm as a surname in and of itself.
Yours could've been Holmgaard. :)
My forst surname ends in -aard
I'm also a -holm-. Always thought it sounds nice.
@@Juarqua No, I've never been there.
I believe "Holm" refers to an (small) island shaped formation, usually in water but not necessarily. At least in Swedish we can refer to man shaped formations in a field as åkerholme, meaning "island in/on the field", even though it may have nothing whatsoever to do with water, in a direct sense
My last name is now the most common one in Denmark. As a child I envied the children that had "nature-names" like Bergqvist, Kærslund, Bjørnholt and Skovgård. I wanted that too! ;) :P :)
Omg, me too! Still do! I’m another common Scandinavian last namer.
There were so many George Johnsons in Minneapolis in the late 19th century, that my great-grandfather changed his surname to something French (at least to look at it), of all things.
You are finding even more gorgeous backdrops every time. Really loving the wildflowers addition
The suffix -borg may also mean castle, fortress or stronghold.
Yes, and usually these are placed on a hill, or themselves act as the hill/higher ground.
@@veritateminquirendam2403 True, although there are no hills or higher ground in for example the "trelle borgs" (Viking ring fortress, at the time in Denmark, today in Sweden), nor does any of the cognates "burg" and "borough" necessarily have anything to do with higher ground. However, if you go as far back as Indoeuropean, then it DOES have to do with higher ground:
'From Old Norse borg, from Proto-Germanic *burgz (“stronghold, city”), cognate with German Burg (“castle”) and English borough. The Germanic noun is derived from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerǵʰ- (“to rise”), which is also the source of Danish bjerg (“mountain”).'
Both parts of my last name are mentioned, need to raid monasteries increases.
It's kinda strange, but really cool to learn about your own last name from someone else. Fantastic video, got me hooked to the channel!
What an absolutely beautiful spot!! I bet you have a bit of fun looking for a place to film :) I appreciate it mate; keep up the good work!
Greetings from Grimsby!
Active Patriot UK is also from Grimsby!
Thank you for being kind enough to greet the curious chipmunk while you're doing super serious educating :)
Alright! I just found your video today and I am trying to understand how these Scandinavian surnames work for my book. Before I write, I want to be as accurate as possible, researching and learning, I never thought there is so much more to learn about viking culture, food, holidays, the weather, and now surnames.🙁 Thank goodness for your video❤
Great stuff!
Mine is Jensen, and it comes from a danish blacksmith born in 1787 in Store Ladager who later moved to Skuldelev :)
Such a rock sounds skerry for ships for sure. (I see myself out)
Oh, I could love you for your sonic intelligence! You might even be sort of right, if we go enough 'root-wards'.
In Norwegian the word "skjær" also can mean 'cut!' as in cutting open the hull of a ship.
This is so cool!
2:36
Never thought about hamar/hammer meaning peninsula. Now the place name Bergshamra makes more sense. The Stockholm suburb of that name is indeed a sort of peninsula, and one rising up quite a bit with exposed bedrock aplenty. So many place names make more sense now. I guess I just assumed if was a reference to old smithys located there.
Another common name ending is -blom, meaning blossom. My name for instance means birdcherry blossom, which is -almost- as cool as cherry blossom
Audio is a bit soft
I am Larsen. We hail from the island Fyn. All my kin who staid in Europe died in the Danish Resistance in WWII.
Blessed be their memory🙏. A thankful Dane living in a thus free Denmark.
Sorry to hear that, my grandfather on my father's side was also involved in some shady shenanigans the Gestapo wasn't too happy about, but luckily he survived, and as a result, I can sit here many years later, and thank your family for the effort and sacrifice they made back then, so thank you very much.:-)
I'm doing some world building for a norse fantasy game setting and I've been looking into so many location/geography words in Old Norse or modern nordic languages. This video came just at the right time for a nice summary. :D
Hello. I am intrested in names that they had for trees(i mean in Old norse) for example spruce ? I would be very happy if you could help me with that.Anyway I always loved your videos and your work.Hat down !
Pretty cool to see
Quite interesting, I love seeing and recognizing both the actual meaning of names and their connection to my language (german) which unsuprisingly has many similar elements to the scandinavian languages
Ja, es ist super interessant, ich mach das immer, wenn ich Norwegisch lerne, auch schon bei sachen wie unnskyld und Entschuldigung
@@annawho2220 Ja isso, bei mir ist es schwedisch im Moment. Relativ einfach durch die vielen identischen Worte
@@hakon_dlc voll :)
Ja, die Stammen, (oder sagt mann die Würtzel?) die Wörder sind oft dieselbe Ur-Germanische. Deswegen kann Ich mir auch so wie so auf Deutsch verständlich matchen. 'ne Däne.
@@ulrikschackmeyer848 stammen ist das richtige Wort :) ja, man findet sich recht schnell in vielen Sachen zurecht
Ol' Doc Norse©®, you are GREAT. Thank you and please continue to be you. ᛩᚹᛖᚱᛏᛦᚢᛁᛟᛈ
ᚨᛊᛞᚠᚷᚺᛃᚲᛚ
ᚦᛉᚳᛜᛒᚾᛗ᛫
I’m amazed at how many of those I would’ve guessed wrong...
The audio on this one is really quiet.
Very cool. You hit both aspects of my surname.
Hi Professor Crawford, can you tell me if there were runes associated with geographical features? I have a surname in my family that ends in dahl (valley) and I was wondering if there was an associated rune? My search so far suggests there isn't, but I would be thrilled to be proven wrong in this regard. Did geographical features hold deep spiritual meaning? Maybe just not valleys?
I’ll throw in -løkken or lykje, meaning loop, pasture or enclosed area. One of my great-grandfathers came from the farm Bjørnsløkken.
The ' Sealed off area of the Bear'. Not bad. Not bad at all! Powerful name.
A lot of these are placename elements too, in northern England especially; as well Isle of Man, coastal Scotland and Wales. -wang always makes think of Wetwang in East Yorkshire.
If you made a second channel just for one of these sub-series you make and get it to monetization then you’ll get two separate incomes. Either way, keep this content coming Dr. Crawford.
I have a question. My maiden last name is Thweatt. The w is pronounced as a r. My Grandfather told me it was Swedish but I have not found that last name in any of my research on Swedish last names. I can trace my ancestors as far back as 1549 in England. Could you please help me in determining whether or not it might be of Swedish origin or some other Scandinavian country? Thanks in advance.
Grimfrost's viking helmet is great!
The first part of my late mother’s surname is a Norse word but the second syllable seems to be Anglo Saxon. It seems to mean ‘ home enclosure’. Maybe the mix happened between the 9th and 11th centuries when the surname is known to have existed in the North of England - where many Norse people settled. I can only guess, that though. I love these videos because I’m finding out so much and because the academic excellence combined with the teaching skills enabling modern people to be able to relate to the past, is off the scale brilliant. Thank you.
What about the word s t r o m that is added to a lot of swedish last names? I've noticed it so I was curious
It simply means "stream" as in streaming water, of some kind, which can be either in a creek/river, or in a straight in the ocean where the water moves/streams
Here in Norway, patronyms are losing ground to place names. When a man named -sen marries a woman with a place name, he may take her name instead. Others take their mother's or grandmother's maiden name if it was a place name. Rare family names are protected by law unless you can show that it has been used in your family.
A funny thing about 'gård/gaard'. I have been informed by sources forgotten, that 'gaard' stems from 'gærde/gärde' (farmhouses fence). That is the 'garded' (that is' fenced off/inclosed) area, the inner courtyard. And thus directly equivalent to English 'gard' / take care of/protect! And further the Swedish Vikings tolk it East to 'Holmgard' that is today 'Nov-gorod' = New- Gard'. And thus all the other Russians '-gorods' have their origin in the inclosure or inner courtyards of ancient Scandinavian farmhouses.
Of cause this might just be my forgotten source being 'Scandinocentric'. But Jackson, you are welcome to confirm or burst my bubble. Please.
Both have a common Proto-Indo-European origin. The same root, reconstructed as ǵʰórtos, ultimately gave us several words in English (garden/yard/court/girdle). Both horticulture and orchard in English descend from the same root, through the Latin hortus (garden). Russian gorod (and its related terms horod and grad simply has the same parallel origin.
How cool Dr. Crawford! Turns out my last name translates to "grove-branch" :-)
Hi there,my last name is Oelofse…from which region is this name ? I am from South Africa.
Professor Crawford, off topic I know, but what length do you keep your beard at usually? It looks great!
I am told Skramstad meant "A shimmering brook" If "Stad" is a place would this translation be accurate?
Great stuff as always, but audio is very low.
My family name is Swanson. We are from the far north-east of Scotland where many vikings landed. I'm still not sure if my lineage is Swedish or Norwegian, but from some cursory research it seems the Norwegians came to the part of the Scottish coast from whence I hail.
ah i didn't know that vang referred to a plain or valley! so solvang, that "danish" touristy town in CA would be "sunny plain/valley" essentially. makes sense for danish immigrants settling in central california
'Vang' is more a 'plain' as in level field, not mountainous. And it has to be encircled/fences, not free range. So Solvang would be more like 'Sunny field'. A Dane
@@ulrikschackmeyer848 mange tak! i'm learning danish so this is all helpful lol. i don't know much about the history of solvang, and like i said it's a really touristy spot now but central california is a big flat area of california that is known for farming and agriculture
Audio seems a bit quiet with this video. Had to crank up the volume a fair bit.
What manner of butterfly was pictured at the end?
It looks like a Boisduval’s Blue Butterfly
My great grandparents came to the US in 1910 from Lom, Norway. Their last name was Kolden. I’m now a Peterson.
My family from my mother's side all had the last name Breistein "Wide Stone". All from Bergen, Norway!
When my Swedish ancestors could no longer use their patronymic names, they used their farm/location name of Almqvist. (Elm branch/twig) 💙⚡
First names were, Lehman (name of their river), and Forrest.
Don't have a Scandinavian last name, I have a Swiss-German name, Eash, from original Ösch. German, I believe has Esch, and Escher. There supposedly was an Anglo Saxon king named Oisc whose name has the same origin. It all means "ash", the ash tree, which I have heard in Norse mythology is related to the Yggsdrasil. Is there a Scandinavian equivalent to Eash/Ösch/Esch/Oisc/Æsc?
Ah. The Old Norse word would be askr.
Björklund and Öberg are two of my Swedish family names. 'Birchgrove' and 'Island Mountain'.
My last name (Kellett) is Scandinavian in origin by way of the Danelaw period of Anglo-Saxon England, but I'm supposing the name elements are relatively obscure as I've never recognized them in another name; Kelda (a spring or source of water) + hlið (a slope, cognate with modern english 'lee')
Anyone else have an obscure, anglicized viking name they know of?
Neat, might have to link to this next time somebody struggles with pronouncing my name.
A real 'uptown' name🌟
I've always loved my last name and nature names in general. Despite now living in a region that is considered Germany, it has belonged to Denmark in the past and Linde is a strong mark of that.
Real question: why do so many doorbells go 'lind-blom' even when Lindblom is not the name on the door?
I can't hear you!!
I’m told through a genealogist I have some connection to Olaf Tryggvason, I’m still trying to determine if that is remotely true. 35% of my DNA comes from Denmark, and I know I have DNA connections to people currently there. It could all just be coincidence or utter crap, but I would love to find out.
GroveBranch, i can live with that.
What language are you basising your pronunciation upon? It doesn't sound like Swedish to me
Reconstructed medival Old Norse, not modern Icelandic. Or Swedish.
From what I understand he’s much better at Norweigian than Swedish so I assume that
Only one I could think of not in your list is -bro (bridge)
I know you say it is non exhaustive,.. it is pretty close though ;)
I think in norwegian a "voll" is more of a hillock? might be wrong, tho?
When you build a voll, it is an earthen mound or raised barrier of earth, while a natural voll is a meadow. Not sure if they are the same word or just accidentally look and sound the same.
My Swedish ancestral name is "Hedlund" - heath grove, originating from Ambjörnarp, Sweden.
Sweet
Many norwegan last names end with «rud» that means restored farm that has been adopted. Many are named this because of the black deth left many farm s emty. So a name could be Liverud a farm taken over that is called «Live»
Janson?
My last name is Fjäll. It basically means snowy mountains
My surname is Arnold. My dad told me that during the war a Danish soldier asked him if he was Danish because Arnold so he said was a common surname in Denmark.
I've heard my surname is uncommon in Norway, but definitely Norwegian. Woldseth. Wold, being some kind of hill, I think, and Seth being like a summer home. Never been quite clear on it.
'Seth' comes from säter - the upper pastures in the hills/mountains- used for summer graising of cows. The säter dairy girl milked the cows and produced cheese.
@@ulrikschackmeyer848 fascinating! Explains a lot. An ancestor of mine was from the mountains bordering Norway and Sweden
A more common spelling today is Vollset, there's a bunch of such place names in Norway. A seter (of which set is a shortened form) is a forest meadow where cattle were grazing (pasture), and a voll is just a general word for meadow or open field, so Vollset simply means Pasture (or literally "Meadow Pasture").
To add on, "Borg" is also a common but old term for "Castle" or "Fortress" of the military variety.
@@Meevious No, to distinguish from the more Royal kind of castle. Suppose the word "Keep" would've been a better match.
@@Meevious Yeah, the word for the royal kind would be "Slott", but both the main keep, the fortress itself and even the outer walls some times can be refered to as a "Borg", which is ooooooold. Borg is also part of several placenames, surnames and anywhere where its applicable.
@@Meevious While i cant answer this with 100% certainty, it does seem that "Slott" is a case of a placename for the seat of the monarch. In the olden days that would most certainly be a fortress of some kind, and the keep would therefore be a "Slott" or a castle. Today the Royal Palace in Oslo is called "slott" in Norwegian, as is the case for foreign monarchs as well. We would definitely call Buckingham Palace a "slott". Interesting connection!
Upon closer inspection though, it would seem that a "borg" would in fact refer to any kind of military fortification of a permanent nature. And surely would find its place in naming. The swedish city of Goteborg, the norwegian town of Sarpsborg for instance. We also use "festning" for this, which is a bit more extra than "borg", with some added infrastructure and such. An example of this would be "Akershus Festning" which holds the royal mausoleum and funnily enough also contains a.. "slott". . if my memory serves... Which it should... As i was a Royal Guard at one point.
So to summarize..
Borg = Fortress or a permanently fortified military position. Could be just a keep, or just the walls, or both.
Slott = Castle or the seat of the monarch, used to be a fortress, now its more of a palace than anything.
Festning = Same as a Borg, but with more infrastructure and permanence.
Naming traditions being what they are, no wonder that a lot of placenames have "Borg" in them, and i can certainly see the connection of "Hill" as that would be the most easily fortifiable and defensible positions.
Alternatively, i could be blowing smoke out of my ass on this.
The -scoe part of my last name comes from skog
Holm/holme//holmi means "small island" (for example in Swedish respectively Icelandic -- and likely in ALL Scandinavian languages). Not sure what Dr. Crawford would mean that has to do with "rivers". Example: "Stockholm" (small log island). Example II: "Garðarshólmi" was one of several early names for Iceland, named after the Swedish viking Garðar Svavarsson, who in 860-865 became the second Scandinavian on the island, the first to circumnavigate it, and the first to spend the winter there (at Husavik, which he founded). Iceland's considerable size makes it odd to me to be named "holmi".
"Borg" means "fort" (or fortified town). Example: "Trelleborg" (named after a Viking ring fortress -- at the time in Denmark, today in both Denmark and Sweden -- in a FLAT landscape). Cognates are "burg" (German) and "borough" (English) -- same etymological meaning.
"Vall" has two rather different meanings. It can either refer to an embankment, or a (farmer's) field. Nowhere in the etymology I can find does it have anything to do with "valley". (That would instead be "dal"/"dahl"/"dalr".) "beck"/"bäck" isn't "riverside", but rather a brook (small creek).
"kvist"/"qvist"/"quist" is "twig" (thus a finer, smaller branch -- at least in Swedish). "Gren" is "branch" (as Dr. Crawford mentions). Example: The Swedish immigrant founder of an American pharmacy chain changed his name from "Wahlgren" to "Walgreen" when he came to he U.S.
Etymology of "vall": Old Norse "vollr" (field) and Latin "vallum" (entrenchment, protective wall, or similar).
I appreciate Dr. Crawford's video.
Two of the big Norwegian last names in my family that are the most recent are 'Hagen' and 'Haukland'.
That would be 'garden' and 'gardenland/orchard'
Oups: Gardenland would be 'Haugland'. 'Haukland' could be either 'high land' (hill) or 'hawk land' (the birds)
@@ulrikschackmeyer848 Thanks!
@@DaevaGlow I'm a Hagen, 4th generation. 😉
Aremeriel My Hagens settled in rural Ada, MN. I think I am 5 generations off of that line.
One of my family names from England is believed to have its origin in Norway, Fisk. There’s currently male family DNA being done to see if it can be confirmed at all.
I live in part of England that still has a lot of influence from Vikings/Danes in the local place names and dialect, and I know some modern Norwegian. I love seeing where sh and sk have interchanged under this influence, and Fisk/fish is like this. Here in Yorkshire we have old towns called Shipton and Skipton. It is said that both were called Shipton once but one changed to Skipton under Danish influence, presumably about 1000 years ago.
Meaning fish :)
Well it definetely HAS to be some sort of Scandinavian/Nordic. 'Fisk' meaning fish in all 3-6 language, as Im sure you know.
The original spelling was Fiske. Still the same thing-fish. They originated in Suffolk in the 1200’s as far as anyone can tell. My line dropped the “e” in the early 1700’s in the US because of mispronunciations. Many here still have the ending “e.” My son had a teacher named Fiske. We always joked we were distant cousins.
@Dev Preston that’s very interesting that they did that. I just found this channel recently, so was unaware. I’ve been enjoying learning things about my distant heritage. Another branch of my ancestry were Normans, with Rollo.
"Meadow" can also be "rud" in Norwegian. Like my last name, "Diserud", which means "foggy meadow" or something like that.
Nice to see "quist" included here :-) My other last name is "Thornquist", which means "thorn branch".
I've been told rud means "clearing" or "cleared forest for habitation"
Rydda skog, på godt norsk
@Therese You're right, but it's slightly different in Norwegian. If it's a rose bush, we would say "gren", if it's a single rose we would say "kvist/stilk". At least where I'm from, Norway has many weird dialects :-)
I suspekt "rud" cognate in danish is "rød" which means clearing / cleared forest. It is quite common in Zealand: Hillerød, Lillerød, Bregnerød, Birkerød,
@@Dynja-kaiR Ja, det stemmer nok også. Der jeg vokste opp brukes det om alle typer sletter, jorder etc. I Bærum er det f eks et område som bare heter "Rud". Flatt område mellom diverse fjell og daler :-)
Diserud er en eller flere gårder i Valdres, så der er nok betydningen "jorde i morgentåke", eller noe i den dur.
@@ivanskyttejrgensen7464 Yes, that's probably the same word!
A holme in Swedish is not defined as being uninhabited, a lot of holmar are inhabited. It's just small islands in rivers and lakes.
So our last name is Crows Fjord?
These are not all accurate. I am not familiar with any place in eastern Norway wheee ø is used in stead of øy. Also, tun is more used for the space between buildings, but can also mean a cluster of typically farm building. Not just a single dwelling.
I'm sorry but this is simply too many imbedded commercials.....
What's "Brandr" ?
Can both mean a sword or a fire
Sometimes wonder if my surname SANDLAND could be scandanavian
And my last name, Kjeldahl....valley of the Kjel....I think 🤔
Always wondered what my last name means Holøien/Holøyen
'The Island by the hollow', hollow probably being some sort of depression in the landscape, anything from a dell to a small canyon. Oy is island, en is the.
The "øy" or "ø" part in names could also come from øde/øyde/aude meaning a deserted (place). Names like Øygard and Ødegård/Ødegaard are common examples of this, and are often places located far from water or sea. Not unusual that they were once deserted due to the Black Death.
A lot of Swedish surnames end in -us. Björn Ulvaeus of Abba fame to name but one.
@@beaujuste Most of the people that went to University, and most were priest, latinized their names, because Latin was the established language in the University. So if did NOT latinize your name you would ACTIVELY be considered a un-learned, and un-scollarly country bumpkin!
Oh, this is a good one. His father was born Gunnar Andersson and later his surname was changed to Ulfsäter (a farm located 10 miles NW of Jönköping; it means "Wolf Forest Meadow" where "Wolf", Ulf", is either literally what it means or a name of the person who founded the farm) by his parents (but they kept Andersson themselves, afaik). But later Gunnar latinized the surname to Ulvaeus because, well, it sounds fancier. Latinized surnames used to be a trademark of priests but in the 1800's and 1900's other people also took such surnames because of an increased education level. Björns' uncle, Esbjörn Ulfsäter, kept his surname and he's got a grandson, Richard Ulfsäter, who's a somewhat well-known actor in Sweden.
Note that if Björn's grandparents hadn't decided to give Björn's father a new surname and if Gunnar had decided to keep the surname, also Björn would be an Andersson (like Benny)!
Love yor Content, Jackson. As a Dane I learn a lot about the history/etymologi of my language. I DON'T speak any old Norse. But in modern Danish/Swedish/Norgegian 'kvist/quist' is more twig than branch, the latter wich you corretly labeled 'gren/green'.
I just had an epiphany as to the origin of the Danish word 'hygge' and therefore its real meaning. This is going to be a bit of a long one, but I need to share this.
Hygge is often translated into English as 'cosy', but this is not entirely correct, it seems to me. As I understand it, cosy means something to the effect of 'warm and snug' and indeed 'hygge' is sometimes used to describe that feeling, but I believe that that's not quite the essential meaning of the word, and here's why:
To do something with care, to give great thought to something your doing, in Danish, means to do something with 'omhu'. Notice the last two letters 'hu'. The word 'hu' is and old Danish word for 'thought'. Notice then the relation to the one of Odin's ravens called Huginn or 'Thought. The first two letters 'om' is a common Danish preposition (also used in modern times) meaning 'about, or 'to do with'. In Danish, when you are doing something with 'omhu' (focusing/concentrating on or giving great thought to a task you are performing) you are being 'omhyggelig'. There it is, the word 'hygge', as part of an adjective describing someone giving careful thought to something. It is then not a far stretch to conclude that 'hu' and hygge' are very closely related and hygge therefore means something to do with thought or thinking.
Now, to 'hygge' (the Danish verb) describes a situation where two or more persons engage in a shared activity, with the added twist though, that all the persons engaged in the same 'hygge' could be doing completely different things and in complete silence so long as they are more or less in the same room or at least close enough that they are aware of each other. A sentence like 'Vi hygger os' would, somewhat clumsily' translate to 'we are "hyg"-ing (us)' or 'we are having us some "hygge"', or, when considering the relation to 'hu' (thought), 'we are sharing in thought'.
So, 'hygge' describes a situation were two or more persons, even without words and maybe doing different things, share a common mental state or are being "on the same wavelength" although not necessarily in pursuit of a particular agreed upon goal other than the 'hygge' itself. It somewhat resembles a mental flow-state this way.
'Hygge' does indeed give rise to a warm-and-snug feeling, which is probably why we translate it to 'cosy' and also because there isn't, to my knowledge at least, a directly corresponding word to 'hygge" in English.
Also, it is of course not only Danes who are capable of engaging in hygge/un-uttered shared mental state of collective wellbeing, but the Danish language is perhaps the only one that has a specific word for this particular state of being.
could the english word "hug" be related? when you hug someone you love you are warm and cosy.
Torsell - Thors häll
Fellow team "Island Hill"ers where u at?
One rare suffix is -øre, meaning small protusion into the sea/river, as in Glyngøre, Harborøre, Vindebyøre, Sundsøre. It's somewhat rare, so I'm curious if there are place names in Norway or Sweeden that have a similar suffix.
Most likely. I do not know the etymology of these places, so it could be different. The first place that came to mind has "Öre" as a prefix, the city of Örebro. As suffix, the closest I could think of when it comes to bigger places is "Kungsör", though this suffix is obviously "ör", not "öre".
I just checked: The suffix -ør(e) means gravel/stony beach/shore although I know of none that aren't also small protusions into the sea. Source: denstoredanske.dk
Swedish ör(e)' s. Try ' Skanör' in skåne/Scania. It litterly means Skånes/Scania ör. And what is an ör/öre? It is a Viking term for 'Sandy or small-pebbled beach good for dragging up longships' - a landingground.
The the Öresund is 'the Sound of the Ør' s' - landingground. From South to North ( ö=Swedish/ø= Danish) : Skanör, Dragør, Hvidøre, Helsingør (Elsinore).
The Swedish ones has been exemplified, by how about Kongsør in Norway. Like i. KONGSØR VÅPENFABRIKK (Kongsør Amouries/Armaments)
Love from peninsula-bay😄 nah sounds better in norwegian Nesvik.
Team Lar’s sen, where you at?
Really wish the audio wasn't so low.
Small corrections:
(1.) Berg/Borg does not mean ’hill’. (2.) Gard/Gaard/Gård does not only nean ’yard’. (3.) Osp = Aspen. (4.) øx/öx = axe.
1. Berg (SWE) / Bjerg (DEN) / Fjell (NO) = mountain.
Borg (the same in all three languages) = castle.
Kulle (SWE) / Bakke (DEN) / Ås (NO) = hill.
2. Gård (SWE) / Gård (DEN) / Gård/Gard (NO) = farm/yard.
3. Osp is only the Norwegian version of it. There’s also Asp (in Swedish) and Bævreasp (in Danish).
4. Øx (old Danish and old Swedish) / Öx (Icelandic -nordic but not Scandinavian-) are old ”Scandinavian” words for ’axe’. The modern words would be: Øks (NO) / Yxa (SWE) / Økse (DEN).
I might be slightly wrong about something in these ”corrections” because i’m not a professor or anything like that but i’m Swedish (i.e. Scandinavian) so i think that’s good enough qualification. I might have also misunderstood the point or something of the video but i don’t think i did... i hope so atleast hahahaha!
Putin said a quote "Those destined to hang will never drown." This reminded me of Othin and the rivers associated with the afterlife, I was wondering what you thought about the Quote.
Why is the volume so low on this video?
A short history of last names in Sweden: During the medieval times, last names, as we know them, did not exist. If you needed to be distinguished from someone else, a by-name was used or your patronymic was used, i.e Erik Svarte (if you were swarthy) or Erik Sverkersson (son of Sverker). This was not "official", as it was not your "official" last name, people simply didn't have any "offical" last names, during this time. The patronym as an offical last name only began in the 1700s, and became very popular during the 1800s, however this fell out of favor and was banned in 1966. It's now allowed again to use patronyms when naming your child.
Then, during the 1500s, that changed and the nobility began to officially use last names, often constructed from their heraldic shield, i.e Erik (Sverkersson) Leijonhufvud (old spelling, Lions-head), to further distinguish between families that shared the same (noble) last name, "af" was used, meaning "of", i.e Erik (Sverkersson) Leijonhufvud af Eksta. However, last names had little practical use, and thus first names were instead used regularly up until the 1600s. During this time there was a massive increase of noble families (due to the fact that officiers had to be noble, etc. etc.) and such people were just given invented names, or invented themselves last names. Ma
During this time, soldiers were also given last names, to help the officiers and record keeping to distinguish between thousands of Anderssons, Svenssons and Karlssons. They were given names that related to soldiering, such as Frisk (Lively), Svärd (Sword), Stark (Strong), or other names that had something relatable. These names were not inheritable, but would later be.
Priests, also during this time, began to take latinized names of their home region, i.e or . These were later shortened and frenchified (Wallén).
During the 1800s, the newely rich and powerful bourgouise began to tread on noble-ground and wanted names to distinguish themselves, first this began as to take a last name pertaining to their home-town/place: Erik (Sverkersson) Lindberg (Lindesberg). However this tradition went out of favor and was replaced by what Dr. Crawford explains: names relating to nature and places, as to ape the nobility. These names became increasingly nonsensical as they went on (Erik (Sverkersson) Granlöv (Pineleaf). Later, the peasants began this practice too.
Sound check, please. Hard to hear it.
take it from a swede berg does not mean hill in Swedish it means mountain hill in Swedish is kulle or backe , by means village bo means nest as in home or bird nest .other words in last names include : gran=spruce tree , alm =elm tree , bok=meaning either beech tree or book most commonly the first one , järn = iron (not that common) ,malm =ore (not that common ) . all of these are put whit other words so as an example i had a teacher in school that had the last name Järnberg .
Many words have either changed meaning or have several meanings, though. Quoting SAOB on 'malm', one meaning is: "skogbevuxen (högländt) grus- l. sandmark, sandig skogsmark; rullstensås; mo; äv.: sandig slätt, hed". (So basically forested sand ridge.) Example from 1890 (about when most of today's surnames were formed): "En vid mo eller malm, bevuxen med höga slätstammiga tallar." This is probably the most common meaning of 'malm' in surnames. This is also the meaning in for example Malmö (ON Malmhaugr '"Malm" Mound'), Södermalm (ON Suðrmalmr 'South "Malm"') etc.
bo har haft betydelse ett hem (ellr ett bo för människor) sedan länge. Nuförtiden är det inte använt särskilt ofta, men det finns kvar exempel på hur det ordet använts i tidigare tider. Det är därför det finns många platser idag som kan beskrivas som "namn+bo", exempelvis olsbo, eller persbo. dvs. platsen heter persbo eftersom det är där som per bor. Nu är det inte särskilt vanligt att beskriva någons hem med ordet "bo" men det finns kvar i finns artefakter som de jag precis beskrivit. Verbet "bor" finns även också kvar.