Can someone familiar with Norway records please help?

Question

I have a Ivor (Olsen) Kopperud b 28 Feb 1882 in Fåberg, Oppland, Norway. He was baptized Ivor Olsen (parents Ole Andreassen & Kristina Semensdatter). I’m not sure where the Kopperud last name came from but Ivor and his sister Magnhild Olsdatter both use it in the US and Canada. I will be adding the family to WT this weekend during the Connect-A-Thon and I just want to make sure I use the correct LNAB.

Comments

For your info: His mother's LNAB was Simensdatter (not Semensdatter)

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Thank you Aksel! I have seen both spellings and wasn’t sure which one was correct.

Answer 1

You would enter the patronymic name "Olsen" as the last name at birth (see Norway Project Naming Conventions). "Kopperud" would likely be his farm name, so he likely was born at Kopperud or lived there later in his life. Immigrants would often use either their patronymic name or their farm name for their surname. Or, in some cases they would use their father's patronymic name. Here you can see the family at Kopperud in Fåberg in the 1900 census: https://www.digitalarkivet.no/en/census/person/pf01037088004261. Since Kopperud was his last name in North America, you should enter "Kopperud" in the current last name field.

Hope that helps!

Comments

That helps a lot! Thank you very much!

Answer 2

Norwegians commonly assumed the name of a place with which they were associated--often a farm that they or their family lived on.  For example, one of my great-grandmothers was born on the Strømme farm in Telemark, so her name was [[Ellefsdatter-102|Ingebor Ellefsdatter Strømme (1821-abt.1884)]].  I went there in 2022 and it is still called Strømme--although there is an East Strømme and a West Strømme.  Your Ivor Olsen Kopperud may have been born at a place called Kopperud--or else he lived at that place long enough to be associated with it.