Naming System

IN the past Norwegians had a very different system of names. They did not have a
family or last name which was passed from one generation to another, as for
example Arndt Bremseth would have been Arndt Johanson (his father was Johan
Olson. Arndts son Alvin would have been Alvin Arntson, Alvins son James would
have been James Alvison and James son Jay would have been Jay Jamison.
Norwegians in the rural area also used the name of the farm on which they lived as
part of their name. For instance, Grandmas name was Beret Guttormsdatter
Nordvegan Bremset. Her father was Guttorm, therefore her name was
Guttomsdatter, (Guttorms Daughter), she was from the area of Nordvegan, and she
lived on the Bremset Farm