Old Bøyum article page
All articles in this pages are moved from my old website.
Norwegian surnames explained
Old norwegian surnames was given based on ther fathers given name and in many cases the farm where they lived. The surname based on there father's given name had an ending (dotter, datter, dtr [abbreviation] for a daughter and son for a son). The name of the farm could change if a person moved (by marriage or ....) to another farm.
An example could be:
Hans Oleson Bøyum lived on the Bøyum farm. He and his wife had to two sons and one daugther. The eldest son's given name was Nils, the youngest sons name was Ole and the daughter's name was Anna.
The eldest son Nils married and inherit the Bøyum farm. The youngest son Ole married the only daughter on the Mundal farm. The daughter Anna never narried and lived on the Bøyum farm for rest of her life.
In this case theid names would be:
| The eldest son Nils: | Nils Hansson Bøyum | (Father: Hans, Farm name: Bøyum) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| The youngest son: | Ole Hansson Mundal | (Father: Hans, Farm name: Mundal) | |
| The daughter: | Anne Hanssdtr Bøyum | (Father: Hans, Farm name: Bøyum) |
Additional information:
If you read "Balestrand Ættesoge 1" translation you will see that that the farm name often not are included when describing the generations on a farm.