We want to hear readers views on what the most Norwegian words, phrases, things, places, foods and habits are.
Have you ever seen, eaten, heard or done something and thought, “that’s so Norwegian”?
We’d love to hear your thoughts on what the most typically Norwegian things in the world are.
Let us know in the short survey below whether it’s brunost (brown cheese) or the trusty cheese knife you use to slice it or whether it’s something else entirely.
The best answers may be used in a future article where we list the most Norwegian things in existence.
Thanks for taking part! Frazer at The Local.
Most Norwegians you will meet will have two surnames, with this tradition dating back hundreds of years. Over time, the reason why Norwegians have two surnames has changed to keep up with the times.
In Norway, as in most countries worldwide, the naming system is a blend of tradition and modernity.
READ MORE: What are locals in Norway’s different regions called?
However, unlike many Western countries, where inherited family names have long been the norm, Norway’s approach to surnames has somewhat unusual roots.
The traditional three-part naming system
Historically, most Norwegians were farmers and did not use inherited family names, according to the Norwegian Interest Group for DNA in Genealogy (NIDNA), a non-profit organisation that promotes DNA as a source and method in genealogical research.
Instead, they followed a three-part naming system.
The first name was the given name of the person.
The second part, known as the patronymic, indicates the father’s first name, such as Sigurdsdatter, meaning “daughter of Sigurd,” or Nilsen, meaning “son of Nils.”
The third part of the name referred to the farm where the person was born or lived. This farm name served as a form of address and would change if the person moved to a different farm.
In this traditional system, neither the patronymic nor the farm name were inherited family names.
What changed between the 19th and 20th centuries?
A whole lot.
Before 1850, most Norwegians adhered to the traditional naming system outlined above.
However, between the mid-19th century and the early 1920s, there was a gradual shift towards using inherited surnames, especially in urban areas.
This change was formalised with the Norwegian Names Act of 1923, which required everyone to have a surname, as the The Genealogy Society of Norway – the largest of its kind in Norway – writes on its website.
Typically, Norwegians in cities chose patronymics as their surnames, while families from rural areas often opted for their farm names.
Norwegian surnames today
Just several generations ago, names often changed when people moved.
A person might have a patronymic and a farm name, such as Jon Persson Haugen, which would change to Jon Persson Skaar if he moved from the Haugen farm to the Skaar farm.
This practice was relatively common until the turn of the 20th century, when fixed European-style surnames became mandatory, mainly for census purposes but also due to streamlined tax and hospital payments, as name expert and researcher Ivar Utne told ung.forskning.no in a recent interview.
A few years back, around 70 percent of Norwegian surnames were derived from farm names, such as Ås, Li, and Hagen, while around 30 percent are solidified patronymics, like Olsen, Larsen, Hansen, and Johansen, according to the NIDNA.
As of 2018, Hansen, Johansen, and Olsen remained the three most common surnames in Norway, with about 150,000 people bearing these names. However, as more Norwegians choose unique surnames, the traditional practice of using a father’s first name as a surname – a patronymic – is gradually fading.
Figures from national data agency Statistics Norway (SSB) reveal a long-term decline in the prevalence of surnames ending in -sen.
A 2021 SSB report highlighted this trend, noting that the proportion of such surnames in the population had dropped to 19.6 percent.
The rise of two surnames
According to the Norwegian Names Act (Navneloven), every person is required to have a first name and either a single or double surname, with the option to include a middle name as well.
In recent decades, it has become increasingly common for Norwegians to use two surnames, reflecting both the mother’s and the father’s surnames.
This trend aligns with broader societal changes in the country, where married couples often retain their birth surnames.
In Norway, a middle name is usually a surname, not an additional given name.
For instance, if a child’s legal name is Kristian Olaf Rutten Carlsen, “Rutten” could be the middle name, and “Carlsen” the surname.
First names are given names, like Ivar or Sven Kristian.
Wondering why some child names are banned in Norway? Make sure to read our explainer on the topic.
You can find last year’s overview of the most popular baby names in Norway here.
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