Nordic patronym forms (-en/datter vs -on/dotter)

Question

Hello,

I'm having a bit of conflict on what patroynms to use on my ancestors.

On my Norwegian ancestors in Hordaland/Rogaland I notice records only use -en/-datter which I've heard is the danish form not actually used by the people (who would have used -on/-dotter, and different name variants like Ole > Ola, Gunder > Gunnar, Knud > Knut)

I'm a bit conflicted on which form to use in this case, and it becomes more confusing to me when I consider my Forest Finn ancestors who lived around the border regions of Norway/Sweden since they sometimes moved across, and used -en/-datter forms in Norway but -on/-dotter forms in Sweden.

What is the best way for me to mark names as I go along in my tree?

Comments

Small comment: Surely you mean -sen & -son and not -en & -on.

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yes! my apologies- i meant as in Nils(-sen) vs Nils(-son) for example!

Answer 1

There's a Wikitree space page on the Norway Project Naming Conventions that provides some guidelines on this topic. Under "General Guidelines":

But if you want to keep your Norwegian ancestors visible for potential matches and merges (which you should, if you have signed the WikiTree Honor Code), you'll do well in sticking to the most common spellings, which are mostly the ones you'll find in the original records. The patronymic forms should be entered as Olsen and Olsdatter, or at your discretion, Olson and Olsdotter. These forms are recognized by the system as the same name, while eg. Olavsdatter isn't.

And relatedly in the same section for spelling given names:

Use common sense, and avoid extreme forms. The spellings found in the 1801 census are usually good candidates for "standard" name forms.

I think I've only used "-sen" and "-datter" for Norwegian profiles (it's by far the dominant form I see in records, and typically how I see them referred to in genealogical publications), and try to use the 1801 census spellings for given names (which might just be more applicable if you're dealing 1600s-1700s records using atypical name spellings).

If you're dealing with individuals who appear in both Swedish and Norwegian records (and maybe especially if they were from Sweden or Finland originally) then the -son/-dotter might be more appropriate. As the guidelines say, it's at your discretion.

Comments

Thanks!

I did look through that page, and "leaving it to my own discretion" left me still a bit conflicted. I think i'll use the -sen/-datter forms for all the Norwegian ones but -son/-dotter for my forest finns around the border regions.

Now I'll just need to figure out some conflicted names. For example one ancestor on many trees (and in the bygdebok) is "Nils Nilsen" but almost every record of him says "Niels Nielsen"

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Nils and Niels were pretty interchangeable in early Norwegian records.

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As the main author of the Norwegian Naming Conventions page, I have to admit that there's a lot more that can be said about the sen/datter vs. son/dotter in Norway. The division has its roots in the 19th century national culture movement, with the intention of establishing or reviving a spesific Norwegian language and naming culture, in opposition to the previous 400 years of Danish rule and massive cultural influence. Thus, the son/dotter preference can be seen in conjunction with the "nynorsk" culture, which had and still has its strongholds in the western counties Hordaland, Sogn og Fjordane, and Møre og Romsdal, as well as in the interior parts of Oppland, Buskerud, and Telemark. About one quarter of the population of Norway today have nynorsk as their preferred language form.

It's worth noting, however, that the patronymic name forms which have survived as surnames in Norway, are totally dominated by -sen endings, even in the "nynorsk" areas.

Answer 2

This answer is not so helpful, but hopefully still somewhat useful. That's because it is not about how to handle this on Wikitree, but about but about the issue regardless of how it is handled on Wikitree:

When records in Norway and Sweden differ in for example -datter/-dotter for women moving across the border it is not because they "changed" names, it's because the records are in different languages. To be "Sune's daughter" is not a name; but a statement of what your father's name is. A person like Katarina Sunesdotter, queen of Sweden in the 1200s, is called Katarina Sunesdatter in Norwegian, for example. That is not a special feature for her, but it would be the same for any daughter of a Sune, etc. Normally we only see variation like that for famous people or for people who move, since otherwise there are maybe only records from one side of the border.

Comments

Good point. But Katarina would probably be called Cathrine in Norway

BTW, Sune is a very unusual name in Norway, and I wouldn't be surprised if a pastor recorded her patronym as Sørensdatter or Svendsdatter.

Answer 3

It is my understanding (and experience) that traditionally Norwegians (&Danes) use _sen and _datter while Swedes use _son and _dotter

Norwegian was traditionally derived from Danish, until the coordinated movement to change features of the language to Nynorsk (and Bokmål). You might find these sources interesting,  

• https://www.ntnu.edu/now/intro/background-norwegian#:~:text=Norwegian%20belongs%20to%20the%20northern,close%20to%20Swedish%20and%20Danish.
• https://www.tribstar.com/news/lifestyles/genealogy-looking-at-danish-swedish-norwegian-surnames/article_59bff629-6466-5292-9d26-98c97d4ebf81.html

Answer 4

Pre ca 1920, it is likely most Norwegians would use son/dotter or similar in their dialect, but records were often kept by people with their own opinion on what was correct.

Some researchers try to pick the "correct" form, but without extensive local knowledge you are better off using what you find in sources. Often the spelling varies between sources, and you can then pick the one you believe is the right one to be the main spelling.