99 Popular Norwegian Last Names Or Surnames With Meanings

List Of Popular Norwegian Surnames Or Last Names

1. Aaberg

It means ‘on the hill by the river’ and it is a toponymic name denoting someone who lived at the so-called place.

2. Aaby

This is derived from a place called ‘Aaby’ or ‘Aby.’ It consists of the word ‘a’ that represents ‘river,’ and the Old Norse element ‘byr’ meaning ‘farm.’

3. Aakre

This is a toponymic name taken from any of the several places named ‘Akre.’ The word likely comes from the Old Norse element ‘akr’ meaning ‘plowed field.’

4. Aamodt

It refers to someone who lived in a place where two streams gather. This is derived from the Old Norwegian term ‘a’ meaning ‘river’ and the Norwegian word ‘mote’ meaning ‘meeting.’

5. Arud

It is a combination of the Old Norwegian word ‘a’ meaning ‘stream’ or ‘river’ and the Archaic Norwegian word ‘rud’ meaning ‘clearing.’

6. Aune

It reflects a farm name found in several places in Norway. The name originated from the Old Norse word ‘aun’ meaning a ‘wasteland.’

7. Bang

It is likely an Old Norwegian word for ‘terrace’ or ‘flat hill-top.’ It is a toponymic name for those who lived at a farm that lay on a terraced land or a flat hill-top.

8. Becken

This is a cognate of ‘Beck’ that is derived from Middle English word ‘bekke’ or Old Norse ‘bekkr,’ both referring to a ‘stream.’

9. Calland

It is from any of the many farmsteads named ‘Kalland’ or ‘Kaland’ in Norway. The name is derived from the Old Norse word ‘Kalfaland,’ which is a combination of ‘kalfr’ meaning ‘calf’ and ‘land’ for ‘land.’

10. Dahl

It is from Old Norse root word ‘Dalr’ which means ‘valley.’ It is a popular name for the Author Roald Dahl, who is known for popular children’s books, like ‘Henry Sugar’ and ‘Matilda.’

11. Dale

It comes from the Old Norse word ‘dali’ that itself is derived from the Old Norse word ‘dalr’ meaning a valley. The name refers to those who lived on a farm or a place within a valley.

12. Dammen

It likely comes from the name of a place called Drammen located in southeastern Norway. The name comes from the Norwegian word ‘dam’ meaning ‘pond.’

13. Dybdahl

This toponymic surname refers to someone from any of the several places by the name in Norway and Denmark. The name means ‘deep valley’ in Norwegian.

14. Ege

It is a variant of Eike, a village in southwestern Norway. The name of the places from the Old Norse word ‘eiki’ meaning ‘oak grove.’

15. Elden

This is a toponymic name taken from a name of a river or place. The name comes from the Old Norse word ‘eldr’ meaning ‘fire’ or ‘flame.’

16. Elstad

This is a toponymic name that comes from the name of several places by this name. The name is a combination of the male name ‘Eilifr’ or the female name ‘Eldfridr’ with the Old Norse word ‘stadr’ meaning ‘farmstead.’

17. Enberg

It is derived from Old Norse elements ‘einir’ meaning ‘juniper’ and berg meaning ‘hill’ or ‘mountain.’ The name is thus a toponymic one.

18. Fadness

This surname comes from the name of place in Hordaland county of Norway. It contains the Norwegian words ‘ferga’ meaning ‘to ferry’ and ‘nes’ meaning ‘headland.’

19. Falla

It refers to a farm that was named so because it was likely a location for landsides. The name is derived from the Norwegian word ‘fall’ meaning ‘fall.’

20. Fehn

It is derived from a place called Fen in Norway. The name likely comes from the Old Norse word ‘Favin,’ where the first element ‘vin’ means ‘meadow.’ The first element is of unknown origin.

21. Fiske

It is derived from Old Norse elements ‘fiskr’ meaning ‘fish’ and ‘vin’ meaning ‘meadow.’ It denotes someone from a farm with the name or could be an occupational name for a fisherman.

22. Flaa

It originated from Old Norse elements ‘fla’ meaning ‘plain’ or ‘terrace.’ It is a toponymic name referring to someone who lived on a farm of that name.

23. Fure

It refers to ‘pine’ or ‘fir’ in Norwegian and denotes someone who lived along a farmstead of that name.

24. Gaarder

It is a toponymic surname for someone from any of the several places of this name in Norway.  The name comes from the word ‘Garder’ that comes from the Old Norse word ‘gard’ meaning ‘farm.’

25. Gill

It comes from the names of the several farmsteads in Norway. The name ‘Gill’ comes from the word ‘Gil,’ which is derived from Old Norse and means ‘ravine.’

26. Granberg

This is derived from Old Norse elements gran meaning ‘spruce’ and ‘berg’ meaning ‘hill’ or ‘mountain.’ This surname is likely a toponymic one.

27. Greseth

It comes from the names of a few farmsteads located in Norway. The name is from the Old Norse word ‘grjot’ meaning ‘stone’ and ‘setr’ meaning ‘farmstead.’

28. Grimsrud

This surname is derived from the Old Norse personal name ‘Grimr’ meaning ‘man with a helmet or mask’ and ‘rud’ meaning ‘field.’

29. Grinde

It is a toponymic name for someone from a Norwegian village of the same name. The name is taken from the Old Norse element ‘grind’ meaning ‘gate.’

30. Gronlund

It is a combination of the Norwegian words ‘gronn’ meaning ‘green’ and ‘lund’ meaning ‘grove.’

31. Groven

It comes from the Old Norse element ‘grof’ meaning ‘hollow’ or ‘pit.’ It is likely a toponymic name for someone who came from a farmstead of the same name.

32. Gulseth

It is derived from the Old Norse personal name ‘Guli’ meaning a ‘farmstead.’ Gulseth is also the name of a suburd in Skien, a city in Norway.

33. Hagen

This last name is either derived from the Old Norse element ‘Hagi’ or Old Dutch ‘Hago,’ both referring to ‘pasture’ or an ‘enclosure.’

34. Hall

It refers to a hall. The name was adopted by those who lived or worked in a hall or a manor, a house of a medieval noble.

35. Haugen

It is a toponymic name and comes from the Old Norse element ‘haugr’ meaning a ‘hill.’

36. Horn

This is derived from the Germanic word ‘horn’ meaning a ‘horn.’ It refers to a family line whose profession was to carve objects out of a horn, or who those played a horn.

37. Hove

It is from the Old Norse element ‘hof’ meaning a ‘place of worship.’ The name was quite commonly given to farmsteads.

38. Hoye

The name is derived from the Old Norse word ‘haugr’ meaning a ‘mound’ or ‘hill.’ This name was likely of those who lived on farmsteads of the same name.

39. Ihle

This surname is derived from the Old Norse word ‘ila’ meaning ‘spring’ or ‘well.’

40. Island

It is of uncertain origin and is believed to be a combination of the Norwegian words ‘is’ meaning ‘ice’ and ‘land’ meaning ‘land.’

41. Jahr

It is a toponymic name for someone from the place called ‘Jar’ in Norway. The name is derived from the root word ‘jadarr’ of Old Norse origin meaning ‘rim’ or ‘edge.’

42. Jordahl

This surname is derived from the Old Norse elements ‘Hjo’ meaning ‘the shining river’ and ‘dalr’ meaning ‘valley.’

43. Kalberg

It denotes a farm name that is derived from the Norwegian words ‘kald’ meaning ‘cold’ and ‘berg’ meaning ‘mountain.’

44. Kampen

It is a toponymic name referring to someone from the city of Kampen in Norway. The name comes from the Norwegian element ‘kamp’ meaning ‘boulder’ or ‘round.’

45. Kile

This surname is derived from Old Norse word ‘kill’ meaning ‘wedge’ or ‘narrow bay’ or ‘inlet.’

46. Kise

It is a toponymic name derived from Old Norse word ‘Kisi’ meaning ‘gravel.’

47. Kjos

This is a derivative of Old Norse word ‘kjoss’ meaning ‘narrow valley’ or ‘narrow bay.’ The name is a toponymic one since it is also the name of a place in Norway.

48. Klepp

It is a toponymic name derived from ‘kleppr’ of Old Norse origin meaning ‘cliff’ or ‘bluff.’ Klepp is the name of several locations in Norway.

49. Kleve

A toponymic name derived from the Old Norse word ‘kleif’ meaning ‘cliff.’

50. Kolden

It is derived from the Old Norse word ‘kollr’ meaning ‘rounded mountain top.’ It is also the name of a place in Norway.