name variants.

[wolson]

My last name is olson. I have also seen olsson and oleson. I am not certain whether or not my great grandparents changed the name when they came over or not, because I have seen people born in sweden with no american relatives that spell their last name olson as well, without 2 Ss. Can anyone shed any light on this? My aunt married into the carlson family too(like almost everyone in moline illinois last name ends with son i swear) and they have swedish heritage as well. mainly i wanna know how there is swedes with the last name of olson and olsson who have never been outside of sweden their whole lives.

It happens.

Normally, you see it spelled, here in Sweden, with 2S's, but you can see it with one.

Olson/Olsson - Anderson/Andersson.. etc

Normally, 1S is a Danish name, but Danes would normally spell it Olsen/Andersen.

I would think, though, that Oleson is a different name since Ole is a common first name in this part of the world.

[Greeneyes]

Hi W Olson !
Yes, the spelling varies and common is -son or -sson. The reason goes back in time, when people were identified by whos child they were, because 'son' means son (boychild). If I'm not mistaken, it goes as far back as the time of the Vikings. For an example, Johnsson meaning Johns' son or Olsson meaning Ols' son. Likewise in Iceland where many names end with 'dottir' which means daughter.
And as for why there are many Swedes having these -son names, though they haven't been outside Sweden ?
-Son and -sson names are VERY common in Sweden, Norway and in Denmark, and has been passed down from generation to generation to ...
As for finding relatives in Sweden, there seems to be many helpful websites posted here. Also, Ellis Island in New York (where most Immigrants came through) has information too. I hope this sheds some light.

[Mamie]

hmm know any other details like where in Sweden ancestors may be from?

There is loads of info available but it is best to have some idea which parish they were born in especially with names like Olson.

My understanding is the sson is Swedish usually
sen is Norwegian or Danish and son Norwegian with exceptions especially once they emigrate to North America.

In some Norwegian families the first son ended his name with sen and any others used son. Many Norwegians also tacked the farm name on. For instance my mormor could have been named Lava Pedersdotter Skåle or just Lava Pedersdotter and even possibly Lava Pederson(sen).

Once people emigrated over time there names could have had the spellings changed or not. Or sometimes they adopted whole different names. One of the fellows I work with has a last name of Tessem which is a river somewhere in Norway.

Some of the variations may be due to the fact that people often moved from one country to the other. Mine certainly did.

[TobyOlson]

Yeah, if your goal is to find relatives in Sweden, it would be best if you know when one of your great grandparents' birth date is and the parish they were born in. For what it's worth my Great grandfather immigrated to the US in 1908 and dropped one of the s'. He even changed his first and middle names from Nils Sigfrid to Nels Siegfred.

Good Luck!

Toby Olson

[1svenskaflicka]

Hi,

My grandfather emigrated around 1908. He was Fritz Werner Olsson. He dropped an "s" also. I believe his port was Boston, MA. He married Carla Ingrid Maria Edberg. They both were originally from Gottenborg, Sweden. They settled in City Mills, Norfolk, Massachusetts.

Does this catch any one's attention?

I am also looking for general information about swedish immigrants, web photos, purpose of immigration, life in the old country compared to the new country. Any recommended websites would be appreciated.

Thanks

[juniper]

How about this? I understand how the use of the father's name, somtimes was the children's last name..Ola Jonsson, had son Magnus Olsson. BUT, How come Magnus Olsson's children weren't "Magnusson", and are Olsson instead?? Lori