Have you thought about Swedish surnames? Swedish last names are pretty interesting because of how they are formed – and maybe you've wondered why so many end with "son?"
Around 2.7 million Swedes have surnames with this typical ending, around a third of all Swedish surnames. The system that Swedish last names are based on is called the patronymic system. This means that a person's last name is derived from their father's first name. This system was initially introduced by King Charles XII in 1726 to eliminate family names and make it easier for people to find out who they are related to.
For example, if the father's name was Lars Nilsson, the sons were then given the last name of Larsson (literally: the son of Lars), and the daughters were given Larsdotter (the daughter of Lars.) However, this tradition was abandoned in the 19th century, so last names ending in –dotter are almost non-existent in Sweden nowadays.Here are the top 10 most common last names in Sweden.
1. Johansson2. Andersson
3. Karlsson
4. Nilsson
5. Eriksson
6. Larsson
7. Olsson
8. Persson
9. Svensson
10. Gustafsson
Linnea, OLS Community Manager – Swedish