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.
