r/Norway • u/Puzzleheaded_Fuel787 • 11d ago

Language Surnames that end with "Stad"

Watching a bunch of Anne Bjørnstad shows and I'm on Beforiegners now. I've noticed alot of the crew have "Stad" at the end of their names. Google says it means "place". Is that true. So would she be "Bearplace"?

Lots of 'Dottirs" as well but that one I understand.

Any assistance with this would be greatly appreciated. I love her shows and reading all the interesting surnames between them. Thank you in advance for any assistance.

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u/Orph8 10d ago

There are different naming traditions. British surnames were often associated with their occupations (Thatcher, Smith, Miller, Baker, etc.), old Norse surnames were often paternal. Norwegian surnames are often place bound (often farms). My surname (xxxxxstad), for example, means "The place by the river xxxxx", which is a small collection of farms situated where a glacier used to run into the sea. Everyone that knows of this particular cluster of farms would know that that's where my family is from (and though I never lived there, and have a very different dialect from this place, I am fairly frequently asked if my family is from there).

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u/Puzzleheaded_Fuel787 10d ago

My family was the same way. The Scottish side was MacFhearguis and then it got Anglecized to Ferguson. "Son of Fergus".