help! confused about last name
Echo	Hey there. I have a quick question for you guys. I was just wondering about my last name, Rudenberg. My Grandfather, Francis Rudenberg, is a full-blooded Norwegian. But the name itself is odd to me. Sounds more German than Norwegian, doesn't it? Rumor has it that the family changed the name from something else around the 1820s (?). But, unfortunately, information about that sort of thing is hard to come by, Can anyone tell me if Rudenberg is even a remotely Norwegian name? I would really like to know. Thanks a bunch.
Borge	It is a Norwegian name, the meaning is someting similar with "Round Rock". It is a descriptive name for a place where the farm by that name was located. There are several places in Norway by that name (more commonly: Rundberg).
jwiborg	Hi, I think it was a pretty quick decision to say that "Rudenberg" is a norwegian name...!! [url="http://www.ssb.no/emner/00/navn/"]Statistics Norway[/url] states that there is noone ("less than 3 persons") with the name of "Rudenberg" living in Norway now. And the spelling of "Rudenberg" can neither be found as farm name, nor as last name, in the 3 censuses 1801, 1865 or 1900! And there is no place in Norway called Rudenberg today! I haven't found any place called Rundberg either, but there is one farm by that name in Kåfjord. But who can say that Rudenberg=Rundberg? In addition; a search on Rudenberg in Google gives no hits in Norwegian, but a lot of hits in German... [:)] Jan
Borge	You are right about that Jan, thanks for arresting me, I did not make notice of the "n". However, as I said "Rundberg" is a Norwegian name. [:I]
NancyC	Rudenberg is not a Norwegian surname, and a connection to Rundberg is not likely. The name Rudenberg is found in Sweden, however, as well as in Germany. If the name was changed to Rudenberg from a Norwegian name, it is not easy to figure out which one without additional information. It might have been changed from Rudberg. That is more likely than Rundberg. If you know where in Norway your ancestors came from, it might be easier to find possible names, as place names (habitational or farm names) are often connected to a certain area. Nancy
bodil	There is a norwegian surname Rudeberg. I used to know somebody with that name. I think it's from southeastern Norway. Maybe the n was added to make it less "rude" ?
NancyC	It is possible that Rudenberg might have been used as a synonym for Rudberg, in order to give other associations. Rudeberg would be a form of Rudberg. Norsk etternamnleksikon, written by my husband, Olav Veka, is the best source of Norwegian surnames. (You can find information at www.samlaget.no. Search using Veka.) There is a name Ruden, found in Oppland and Akershus. It developed from the farm name Rua in the dative form., rudi. The written form Ruden dates back to 1667. But there is no compound form "Rudenberg". Nancy
askeroi	A bit late, probably, but HOW do you know he was norwegian. Rudenberg sounding not norwegian is one thing, but Francis is not a common name in Norway, either. In the 1801 cencus there are ONE Francois - that's the closest I could find except from Frants/Frantz/Frans - living at a fortress, 80 yeras old. And he doesn't have a norwegian sounding surname either, seems more like being an old soldier coming from a french speeking country to me...
askeroi	I've also looked at the 1865 cencus. There are nine people in Norway carrying the names Francis, Franzis and Fransis/zkus. The two latter are born in Norway, one of the others are a lady and the rest give their birthplace as England or London. They all live in port towns. This could mean that Francis is an americanizing of a norwegian name - (though I can't imagine which), but still your source for him being norwegian would be interesting. And where in Norway he came from even more so...
rwb27	I have a Berith (Kjøs) Nielsdatter d. Jan 16 1892. buried Park Center Lutheran Cemetery, ND, who is Berit Rude per son's (Nels A Kjøs) death certificate. Will get other son's death certificates if possible to see if they clear this up. Until I do or if they show same "Rude" I'm wondering what it means. I suspect Berith was born near Vang, Valders Norway. I suspect she emigrated in 1880. I'm new at this - is it possible Rude is a farm name? thanks for any help. Bob
Hopkins	You really should have started a NEW posting. The thread you tacked this onto was a poor choice. Yes, Rude is very likely a farm name - although it may be spelled differently than original Norwegian styles. Concerning Berith - when was she born? Vang is the name of a district in Oppland, Norway. It is part of a region often called Valdres - and I've seen that spelled as Valders many times. The 1865 Norwegian census shows a number of farms named "Kjøs" in Vang. On one of these Kjøs farms we find a 45 yr old Berith Nielsdtr with a son name Niels Andersen -- http://digitalarkivet.uib.no/cgi-win/webcens.exe?slag=visbase&filnamn=f60545&gardpostnr=315&sokefelt=skjul Looking at earlier records concerning her life, like her marriage record to Anders Olsen or records such her baptism or confirmation in the church may clarify her possible link to a farm with a name similar to 'Rude'.