Naming
Primary Author
Chara Scroope,
- Swedish naming conventions structure names in a similar format to the English-speaking West, with the surname following the given name(s) (e.g. Olivia Alice ERIKSSON).
- Some Swedes continue the tradition of giving a child a name unique to the family, which is often the name of a relative.
- People are not necessarily referred to by their first name. Some may be referred to by their middle name.
- When writing their name on documents, Swedes will underline the name they are usually referred to by. For example, Isak Jonas ANDERSSON.
- Many Swedish last names end in ‘-SON’ (for example, KARLSSON). This name structure traditionally means “son of -” (e.g. KARLSSON = ‘son of Karl’). However, the tradition of forming surnames in this way ended a long time ago and today most people do not know the relative that their family tree was initially named after.
- Couples can choose which surname a child is given. However, a newly born child is given the mother’s surname by default if no surname is chosen.
