lastnamegenerators

Nordic Last Names

These Nordic last names come from Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland and Iceland, from Andersson and Hansen to Haugen, Virtanen and Jónsson, listed A to Z with meanings so you can tell which country a name most likely comes from.

300 real surnames with meanings, A to Z.

A

  • Aalto

    Wave, Finnish

  • Aaltonen

    From aalto, wave, Finnish

  • Aas

    Ridge, Norwegian

  • Aasen

    The ridge, Norwegian

  • Åberg

    River mountain, Swedish

  • Abrahamsson

    Son of Abraham, Swedish

  • Aðalsteinsson

    Son of Aðalsteinn, Icelandic

  • Ahlström

    Alder stream, Swedish

  • Aho

    Forest clearing, Finnish

  • Ahonen

    From aho, forest clearing, Finnish

  • Åkesson

    Son of Åke, Swedish

  • Alm

    Elm tree, Swedish

  • Amundsen

    Son of Amund, Norwegian

  • Andersen

    Son of Anders, Norwegian and Danish

  • Andersson

    Son of Anders, Swedish

  • Andreassen

    Son of Andreas, Norwegian

  • Antonsen

    Son of Anton, Norwegian

  • Anttila

    Place of Antti, Finnish

  • Arnarson

    Son of Örn, eagle, Icelandic

  • Árnason

    Son of Árni, Icelandic

  • Arnesen

    Son of Arne, Norwegian

  • Arvidsson

    Son of Arvid, Swedish

  • Ask

    Ash tree, Swedish

  • Åström

    River stream, Swedish

  • Aune

    Deserted farm, Norwegian

  • Axelsson

    Son of Axel, Swedish

B

  • Bach

    Brook, Danish

  • Bäckström

    Brook stream, Swedish

  • Bakke

    Hill, slope, Norwegian

  • Bakken

    The hill or slope, Norwegian

  • Bang

    Loud, boisterous, Danish

  • Bech

    Brook, Danish

  • Bengtsson

    Son of Bengt, Swedish

  • Berg

    Mountain, Swedish, Norwegian and Danish

  • Berge

    Mountain, Norwegian

  • Berggren

    Mountain branch, Swedish

  • Berglund

    Mountain grove, Swedish

  • Bergman

    Mountain man, Swedish

  • Bergqvist

    Mountain twig, Swedish

  • Bergström

    Mountain stream, Swedish

  • Berntsen

    Son of Bernt, Norwegian

  • Birkeland

    Birch land, Norwegian

  • Bjarnadóttir

    Daughter of Bjarni, Icelandic

  • Bjerke

    Birch, Norwegian

  • Bjerre

    Hill, Danish

  • Björk

    Birch tree, Swedish

  • Björklund

    Birch grove, Swedish

  • Björnsson

    Son of Björn, bear, Icelandic

  • Bjørnstad

    Bear farmstead, Norwegian

  • Blom

    Flower, Swedish

  • Blomqvist

    Flower twig, Swedish

  • Bø

    Farm, Norwegian

  • Boström

    Dwelling stream, Swedish

  • Brandt

    Fire, sword, Danish

  • Brekke

    Steep slope, Norwegian

  • Bruun

    Brown, Danish

  • Bundgaard

    Farmer's farm, Danish

C

  • Carlsen

    Son of Carl, Danish

  • Christensen

    Son of Christen, Danish

  • Christiansen

    Son of Christian, Danish

  • Clausen

    Son of Claus, Danish

D

  • Dahl

    Valley, Norwegian

  • Dahlberg

    Valley mountain, Swedish

  • Dahle

    Valley, Norwegian

  • Dalgaard

    Valley farm, Danish

  • Dam

    Pond, Danish

  • Damgaard

    Pond farm, Danish

  • Danielsson

    Son of Daniel, Swedish

E

  • Eide

    Isthmus, Norwegian

  • Einarsdóttir

    Daughter of Einar, Icelandic

  • Einarsson

    Son of Einar, Icelandic

  • Eiríksson

    Son of Eiríkur, Icelandic

  • Ek

    Oak, Swedish

  • Ekberg

    Oak mountain, Swedish

  • Eklund

    Oak grove, Swedish

  • Ekman

    Oak man, Swedish

  • Ekström

    Oak stream, Swedish

  • Ellingsen

    Son of Elling, Norwegian

  • Engen

    The meadow, Norwegian

  • Engström

    Meadow stream, Swedish

  • Eriksen

    Son of Erik, Norwegian

  • Eriksson

    Son of Erik, Swedish

  • Evensen

    Son of Even, Norwegian

F

  • Falk

    Falcon, Swedish

  • Fjeld

    Mountain, Norwegian

  • Forsberg

    Rapids mountain, Swedish

  • Foss

    Waterfall, Norwegian

  • Frandsen

    Son of Frands, Danish

  • Frederiksen

    Son of Frederik, Danish

  • Fredriksen

    Son of Fredrik, Norwegian

  • Fredriksson

    Son of Fredrik, Swedish

  • Friðriksson

    Son of Friðrik, Icelandic

  • Friis

    Frisian, Danish

G

  • Gíslason

    Son of Gísli, Icelandic

  • Guðmundsdóttir

    Daughter of Guðmundur, Icelandic

  • Guðmundsson

    Son of Guðmundur, Icelandic

  • Gundersen

    Son of Gunder, Norwegian

  • Gunnarsdóttir

    Daughter of Gunnar, Icelandic

  • Gunnarsson

    Son of Gunnar, Icelandic

  • Gustafsson

    Son of Gustaf, Swedish

H

  • Haaland

    Farm name, possibly high land, Norwegian

  • Hagen

    The enclosure or garden, Norwegian

  • Hägglund

    Bird cherry grove, Swedish

  • Hakala

    Place by a pasture, Finnish

  • Håkansson

    Son of Håkan, Swedish

  • Hallberg

    Rock mountain, Swedish

  • Halldórsson

    Son of Halldór, Icelandic

  • Hallgrímsson

    Son of Hallgrímur, Icelandic

  • Halonen

    From halo, log of wood, Finnish

  • Halvorsen

    Son of Halvor, Norwegian

  • Hämäläinen

    Person from Häme region, Finnish

  • Hänninen

    Possibly from Hannes, Finnish

  • Hansen

    Son of Hans, Norwegian and Danish

  • Haraldsson

    Son of Haraldur, Icelandic

  • Harju

    Ridge, esker, Finnish

  • Haug

    Hill, mound, Norwegian

  • Hauge

    Hill, mound, Norwegian

  • Haugen

    The hill or mound, Norwegian

  • Hedegaard

    Heath farm, Danish

  • Hedlund

    Heath grove, Swedish

  • Hedström

    Heath stream, Swedish

  • Heikkilä

    Place of Heikki, Finnish

  • Heikkinen

    From the personal name Heikki, Finnish

  • Heinonen

    From the personal name Heino, Finnish

  • Helgason

    Son of Helgi, Icelandic

  • Hellström

    Flat rock stream, Swedish

  • Henriksen

    Son of Henrik, Danish

  • Henriksson

    Son of Henrik, Swedish

  • Hermansson

    Son of Herman, Swedish

  • Hiltunen

    Possibly from a Germanic personal name, Finnish

  • Hjorth

    Deer, stag, Danish

  • Hoff

    Pagan temple site, Norwegian

  • Holm

    Small island, Swedish and Danish

  • Holmberg

    Island mountain, Swedish

  • Holmgren

    Island branch, Swedish

  • Holst

    Person from Holstein, Danish

  • Holt

    Small wood, Norwegian

  • Honkanen

    From honka, pine, Finnish

  • Hovland

    Temple land, Norwegian

  • Hyvönen

    From hyvä, good, Finnish

I

  • Isaksen

    Son of Isak, Norwegian

  • Isaksson

    Son of Isak, Swedish

J

  • Jacobsen

    Son of Jacob, Norwegian and Danish

  • Jakobsen

    Son of Jakob, Norwegian

  • Jakobsson

    Son of Jakob, Swedish

  • Jansson

    Son of Jan, Swedish

  • Järvinen

    From järvi, lake, Finnish

  • Jensen

    Son of Jens, Danish

  • Johannessen

    Son of Johannes, Norwegian

  • Jóhannsson

    Son of Jóhann, Icelandic

  • Johansen

    Son of Johan, Norwegian

  • Johansson

    Son of Johan, Swedish

  • Johnsen

    Son of John, Norwegian

  • Jonasson

    Son of Jonas, Swedish

  • Jónsdóttir

    Daughter of Jón, Icelandic

  • Jonsson

    Son of Jon, Swedish

  • Jónsson

    Son of Jón, Icelandic

  • Jørgensen

    Son of Jørgen, Danish and Norwegian

K

  • Karhu

    Bear, Finnish

  • Karjalainen

    Person from Karelia, Finnish

  • Kärkkäinen

    Possibly from kärkäs, eager, Finnish

  • Karlsen

    Son of Karl, Norwegian

  • Karlsson

    Son of Karl, Swedish

  • Kauppinen

    From kauppa, trade, merchant, Finnish

  • Kettunen

    From kettu, fox, Finnish

  • Kjeldsen

    Son of Kjeld, Danish

  • Knudsen

    Son of Knud, Danish

  • Knutsen

    Son of Knut, Norwegian

  • Koivisto

    Birch grove, Finnish

  • Korhonen

    Possibly from korho, deaf or proud, Finnish

  • Koski

    Rapids, Finnish

  • Koskinen

    From koski, rapids, Finnish

  • Kristensen

    Son of Kristen, Danish

  • Kristiansen

    Son of Kristian, Norwegian

  • Kristinsson

    Son of Kristinn, Icelandic

  • Kristjánsson

    Son of Kristján, Icelandic

  • Kristoffersen

    Son of Kristoffer, Norwegian

  • Krogh

    Corner, nook, Danish

L

  • Laakso

    Valley, Finnish

  • Lahtinen

    From lahti, bay, Finnish

  • Laine

    Wave, Finnish

  • Laitinen

    Of uncertain origin, possibly from laita, edge, Finnish

  • Lampinen

    From lampi, pond, Finnish

  • Larsen

    Son of Lars, Norwegian and Danish

  • Larsson

    Son of Lars, Swedish

  • Lehtinen

    From lehti, leaf, Finnish

  • Lehtonen

    From lehto, grove, Finnish

  • Lie

    Hillside, Norwegian

  • Lind

    Linden tree, Swedish and Danish

  • Lindahl

    Linden valley, Swedish

  • Lindberg

    Linden tree mountain, Swedish

  • Lindblom

    Linden flower, Swedish

  • Lindgren

    Linden tree branch, Swedish

  • Lindholm

    Linden island, Swedish

  • Lindqvist

    Linden tree twig, Swedish

  • Lindström

    Linden tree stream, Swedish

  • Löfgren

    Leaf branch, Swedish

  • Lund

    Grove, Norwegian and Swedish

  • Lundberg

    Grove mountain, Swedish

  • Lundgren

    Grove branch, Swedish

  • Lundqvist

    Grove twig, Swedish

M

  • Madsen

    Son of Mads, Danish

  • Magnúsdóttir

    Daughter of Magnús, Icelandic

  • Magnusson

    Son of Magnus, Swedish

  • Magnússon

    Son of Magnús, Icelandic

  • Mäkelä

    Place on a hill, Finnish

  • Mäkinen

    From mäki, hill, Finnish

  • Manninen

    Possibly from Magnus, Finnish

  • Månsson

    Son of Måns, Swedish

  • Martinsen

    Son of Martin, Norwegian

  • Mathisen

    Son of Mathis, Norwegian

  • Mattila

    Place of Matti, Finnish

  • Mattsson

    Son of Matts, Swedish

  • Miettinen

    Eastern Finnish, of uncertain origin

  • Mikkelsen

    Son of Mikkel, Danish

  • Moen

    The heath or sandy plain, Norwegian

  • Mogensen

    Son of Mogens, Danish

  • Møller

    Miller, Danish

  • Mortensen

    Son of Morten, Danish

  • Mustonen

    From musta, black, Finnish

  • Myklebust

    Large farm, Norwegian

N

  • Nielsen

    Son of Niels, Danish

  • Niemi

    Peninsula, cape, Finnish

  • Nieminen

    From niemi, peninsula, Finnish

  • Nilsen

    Son of Nils, Norwegian

  • Nilsson

    Son of Nils, Swedish

  • Niskanen

    From niska, neck or ridge, Finnish

  • Nissen

    Son of Nis, Danish

  • Norberg

    North mountain, Swedish

  • Nordby

    North farm, Norwegian

  • Nordin

    From north, Swedish

  • Nordqvist

    North twig, Swedish

  • Nurmi

    Meadow, grass, Finnish

  • Nyberg

    New mountain, Swedish

  • Nygård

    New farm, Norwegian

  • Nyström

    New stream, Swedish

O

  • Öberg

    Island mountain, Swedish

  • Ødegård

    Deserted farm, Norwegian

  • Oksanen

    From oksa, branch, Finnish

  • Ólafsdóttir

    Daughter of Ólafur, Icelandic

  • Ólafsson

    Son of Ólafur, Icelandic

  • Olsen

    Son of Ole, Norwegian and Danish

  • Olsson

    Son of Olof, Swedish

  • Oskarsson

    Son of Oskar, Swedish

P

  • Pálsson

    Son of Páll, Icelandic

  • Pedersen

    Son of Peder, Norwegian and Danish

  • Peltonen

    From pelto, field, Finnish

  • Persson

    Son of Per, Swedish

  • Petersen

    Son of Peter, Danish

  • Pettersen

    Son of Petter, Norwegian

  • Pettersson

    Son of Petter, Swedish

  • Pétursson

    Son of Pétur, Icelandic

  • Pitkänen

    From pitkä, tall, Finnish

  • Poulsen

    Son of Poul, Danish

R

  • Rantanen

    From ranta, shore, Finnish

  • Räsänen

    Eastern Finnish, of uncertain origin

  • Rasmussen

    Son of Rasmus, Danish and Norwegian

  • Ravn

    Raven, Danish

  • Rønning

    Clearing, Norwegian

  • Ruud

    Clearing, Norwegian

S

  • Saarinen

    From saari, island, Finnish

  • Sæther

    Mountain pasture, Norwegian

  • Salminen

    From salmi, strait, Finnish

  • Salo

    Wilderness, forest, Finnish

  • Salonen

    From salo, wilderness, Finnish

  • Samuelsson

    Son of Samuel, Swedish

  • Sandberg

    Sand mountain, Swedish

  • Sandström

    Sand stream, Swedish

  • Sandvik

    Sandy bay, Norwegian

  • Savolainen

    Person from Savo region, Finnish

  • Schou

    Forest, Danish

  • Seppälä

    Smith's place, Finnish

  • Seppänen

    From seppä, smith, Finnish

  • Sigurðardóttir

    Daughter of Sigurður, Icelandic

  • Sigurðsson

    Son of Sigurður, Icelandic

  • Simonsen

    Son of Simon, Danish

  • Sjöberg

    Lake mountain, Swedish

  • Söderberg

    South mountain, Swedish

  • Solberg

    Sun mountain, Norwegian

  • Solheim

    Sun home, Norwegian

  • Sørensen

    Son of Søren, Danish

  • Stefánsson

    Son of Stefán, Icelandic

  • Steffensen

    Son of Steffen, Danish

  • Strand

    Shore, beach, Norwegian

  • Ström

    Stream, current, Swedish

  • Strøm

    Stream, current, Norwegian

  • Sundberg

    Strait mountain, Swedish

  • Sundqvist

    Strait twig, Swedish

  • Sveinsson

    Son of Sveinn, Icelandic

  • Svendsen

    Son of Svend, Danish

  • Svensson

    Son of Sven, Swedish

T

  • Tangen

    The spit of land, Norwegian

  • Thomsen

    Son of Thomas, Danish

  • Toft

    Homestead plot, Danish

  • Torgersen

    Son of Torger, Norwegian

  • Tuominen

    From tuomi, bird cherry, Finnish

  • Turunen

    Person from Turku, Finnish

V

  • Virtanen

    From virta, stream, Finnish

W

  • Wallin

    From vall, grassy bank, Swedish

  • Wikström

    Bay stream, Swedish

Generate random nordic surnames

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Results (6)

  • Korhonen

    Possibly from korho, deaf or proud, Finnish

  • Vilhjálmsson

    Son of Vilhjálmur, Icelandic

  • Kinnunen

    Of uncertain origin, eastern Finnish

  • Lauritsen

    Son of Laurits, Danish

  • Lilja

    Lily, Swedish

  • Åberg

    River mountain, Swedish

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    How to tell Nordic last names apart by country

    The ending is the best clue. Swedish patronymics usually end in -sson, with a double s, as in Andersson and Karlsson, while Danish and Norwegian ones end in -sen, as in Andersen and Hansen. Icelandic names end in -son or -dóttir and still change with each generation. Finnish names are different again, since Finnish is not a Scandinavian language, and endings like -nen and -la, as in Virtanen and Mattila, point straight to Finland.

    Letters help too. Å appears in Swedish, Norwegian and Danish, but ä and ö are Swedish and Finnish, while æ and ø are Danish and Norwegian. So Sjöberg and Åberg look Swedish, Jørgensen and Sæther look Danish or Norwegian, and Mäkinen looks Finnish. Icelandic names add þ, a letter no other Nordic language uses today, and ð, which Icelandic shares only with Faroese, as in Sigurðsson and Þórðarson.

    Nature names from Sweden and farm names from Norway

    Many Swedish names in the list are compounds of two nature words, adopted by families who wanted something more distinctive than a -son name. Lind is linden, berg mountain, ström stream, qvist twig, holm islet, sjö lake and gren branch, so Lindberg is linden mountain, Bergström mountain stream and Sjöberg lake mountain. The combinations rarely describe a real place; they were chosen for sound and feel, often in the nineteenth century.

    Norwegian names often come from farms instead. Haugen means the mound, Bakken the slope, Berge the hill, Eide an isthmus, Lie a hillside, Moen the sandy plain and Solberg sun hill. Many rural Norwegians took the name of the farm they lived on, and families that moved kept the farm name as a surname. That is why so many Norwegian names are short landscape words, often with the definite ending -en, meaning the.

    Danish, Finnish and Icelandic names in the mix

    Danish names in the list include the familiar -sen patronymics and landscape names such as Holm, Skov and Lund, along with -gaard names like Vestergaard and Kirkegaard, meaning west farm and church farm. Finnish entries such as Korhonen, Virtanen and Nieminen come from lakes, streams and headlands, and Icelandic entries such as Jónsson and Guðmundsdóttir are true patronymics. Together they make the list useful when you need a cast drawn from several Nordic countries.

    The search box ignores accents and dots, so typing sjoberg finds Sjöberg and makinen finds Mäkinen. Some special letters, such as ð, are not converted, so for names with them, type the part you are sure of, such as rgensen or mundsson. The letter bar follows the English alphabet, so Å and Ä names sit under A. Searching meanings helps too: typing farm, mountain or stream brings up names from several countries that share the same idea.

    Frequently asked questions

    Are Nordic last names the same as Scandinavian ones?

    Not quite. Scandinavia usually means Denmark, Norway and Sweden, while the Nordic countries also include Finland and Iceland, along with the Faroe Islands and Greenland. This list covers the five main Nordic countries, so it includes Finnish and Icelandic names that are not Scandinavian in the strict sense.

    Why do Swedish names end in -sson and Danish ones in -sen?

    Both mean son. Swedish keeps the genitive s of the father's name and then adds son, so Anders becomes Andersson. Danish and Norwegian spelling reduced the ending to -sen. Some families simplified the Swedish double s abroad, which is why Anderson is so common in America.

    What does Lindqvist mean?

    Lindqvist combines lind, linden tree, with qvist, an old spelling of kvist, meaning twig or branch. Like many Swedish names, it was chosen as an ornamental name rather than describing a real place. The spelling with qv is a traditional form that many families have kept.

    Which letters should I keep when writing these names?

    Keep them whenever you can, since they change pronunciation and are part of the legal name. If a system cannot handle them, Swedish and Finnish ä and ö usually become a and o, or ae and oe, Danish and Norwegian ø becomes o or oe, and å can become aa.

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