| ewersi | NAMETRADITIONS
Until about1900 the name traditions in Norway was that in addition to the christian name, the child got the father’s first name with the ending sen/son/søn (son) or datter/dotter (daughter). The name of the farm or the place where the child lived was added to this. A complete name would be e.g. Anne Nilsdotter Berg. If the family moved from Berg to Holm, the surname would be changed to Anne Nilsdotter Holm. The last part of the surname, in this case Berg / Holm, could be looked upon as an address. If Anne married Anders Hansson Mo and they got a son, the son’s name would be Hans Andersson Mo. He would be named after his father’s grandfather. This followed very strict traditions, especially in inland Norway. Son number two had to be named after his grandfather on the mother’s side; Nils Andersson Mo Persons who did not change their surnames belonged to the higher social levels. Their names often originates from Denmark or Germany.
In towns the name traditions were different. If Nils Andersen Mo moved to Stavanger, his name would be Nils Andersson or Andersen. His wife and children’s names would also change to Andersson or Andersen. If he had a daughter, Liv Andersdatter Mo, her name would change to Liv Andersson or Andersen. A few kept the “farm” name Mo and used that as their surname in the city.
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