Help with Norwegian LNAB

Question

Considering the way Norwegians did their naming, do you think Alexander Berntson should be listed as Alexander Andreassen ??

He is listed on the ship's passenger list as Alexander Berntson when he emigrated, as well as every other record in the US.  Except his birth record in Norway, which doesn't list a last name -only that he is son of Andreas Berntson and Martha Rasmusdatter.  (His grandfather is [[Torkildsen-53|Berent Torkildsen]].)

https://www.wikitree.com/photo.php/f/f9/Berntson-23.png

Comments

My cousin has added: 

I found his brother’s marriage record in Norway.  His whole name is spelled out and they used Berentsen, so maybe Berntsen would be correct.  

I wonder if this is the time period in which they were starting to do away with using the paternal surnames.

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A brother using Berentsen is nice evidence.

I looked for Alexander's confirmation, and couldn't find it, but the lists for Stavanger at the time (when they don't show first names only due to laziness or space) show the mix of true surnames, including some derived from patronyms, and true patronyms.

Typically the first few on the list, often the more affluent ones, have true surnames, and after that patronyms dominate.

Andreas' burial record show him as "fattiglem kontorist" i.e. "pauper and office worker", which to me indicates that yes, they could have been using a real surname, but also they could have not. :)

http://urn.digitalarkivet.no/URN:NBN:no-a1450-kb20050923030649.jpg

Answer 1

As he emigrated to America, Norwegian name rules don't really apply. Besides, it's obvious that he called himself Berntsen from early on. Until 1923, Norwegians didn't have "official" surnames, and that's why you generally won't find one in the baptism records. Basically, they could call themselves whatever they wanted.

I see that he's born in Stavanger, a pretty large city by Norwegian standards, and many city dwellers by the 1830s had already abandoned patronymics for inheritable surnames. In particular, if the father was a burgher, ie. a merchant, sea captain, or certified craftsman, the family was expected to have an inheritable surname. So, the rule of patronymic for LNAB is not that hard-and-fast, even in the early 19th century.

Comments

You probably mean "...even in the early 20th century.", rigth?

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No, I did mean the early 19th century - the early 1800s. That should be pretty clear from the context. See for instance my own ggg-grandfather Isach Abrahamsen, who was the son of the farmer Abraham Jonsen. He became a sea captain, and the patronym "Abrahamsen" became a fixed surname for his descendants.

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See also How to enter Norwegian Names in WikiTree