101 Norwegian Last Names With Meanings And History

Norwegian culture is among the richest in tradition, and that's why Norwegians have the most distinct  Norse last names.

Family names define one's origin, and all last names have a meaning behind it.  We have come across traditional Norwegian names,  common Norwegian last names, names that end in son,  which we list here, each one having an interesting story behind it.

Norwegian surnames culture is very elaborate and unique from other Scandinavian last names like Swedish surnames. Earlier, it consisted of a three-way process broken down into a combination of the name of the child followed by the patronymic family name and finally the address. However, this process is now inspired by new trends and modernization, evolving into an easier process similar to other Viking last names but yet staying true to their cultural Norway style surnames. In Norwegian last names, you will find the essence of old Norse language. Some names refer to farm names and follow a process of names beginning with 'son', denoting 'the son of' followed by family name and names starting with 'datter', denoting 'the daughter of' followed by the last name. This is usually followed by the region the family has originated from, but families no longer follow this pattern. Now, names are directly skipped to the 'place of origin' or the landscape of the region.

If you are looking out for historic Nordic last names, Norway origin names based on farm names and other Norwegian last names, simply refer to our list of top Norway surname and Norwegian name varieties. The names are inspired by the region itself, keeping in mind its breathtaking beauty.

For more last name inspiration, take a look at Hungarian Last Names and Ukrainian Last Names.

You hear it, and you know this given name is derived from Norway's family names. Usually named after farm names, here's our list of popular Norwegian last names. The list is a directory of all the names you might come across if you visit the country or for a Norwegian who wants to know more about their name meaning.

1. Aaby, a name inspired by two words, 'a' which stands for river and the traditional old Norse last lame 'byr' meaning farm.
2. Aamodt a traditional last name and a combination of two Norwegian top landscapes, river and meeting, denoting 'where' two rivers meet.
3. Arud a popular surname with the old Norse farm name  'rud' meaning clearing and the rest of the surname, meaning a stream of a river.
4. Aune a popular farm origin found at many family places in Norway, and the word 'aun' means wasteland farm.
5. Bang a popular surname for a Norway family who has lived on a terrace farm.
6. Berg denoting mountains of the region.
7. Calland refers to the origin of farm 'Kalland', meaning calf land.
8. Dybdahl family origin name of deep valleys in Norway.
9. Ege derived from the old Norse word 'eiki,' meaning oak grove and denoting the top Southern villages in Norway.
10. Elden derived from the farm name 'eldr,' meaning fire or flame.
11. Fadness a Norwegian last name from the origin Hordaland.
12. Flaa family names named behind families who lived on the terrace farms.
13. Hagen a popular European name meaning the protected region.
14. Hove derived from Norwegian names denoting 'place of worship.'
15. Johnson means 'gift of God' in Hebrew and is a common word for Norwegian son.
16. Kvam, a popular name, also pointing towards the small valleys of the country.
17. Lund among the popular names meaning trees.
18. Nerby, a name standing for low farm areas.
19. Okland, just as the name suggests, people from Okland or Aukland.
20. Rike among the popular names that stand for 'rule.'
21. Rosdahl, a popular name named behind the clearing valleys.
22. Stien stands for farmstead pathway names in the region.
23. Sund a name referring to the farmsteads in the country.
24. Tanck a popular German name for 'good spirit.'
25. Ure a name that resonates with the rocky slope meadows.
26. Wahl the most popular name meaning farmsteads in the country.
27. Beken a Middle English word meaning stream.
28. Dahl inspired by the children book's author Roald Dahl.
29. Elstad inspired by a farm's last name 'stadr,' meaning farmstead.
30. Enberg a combination of two top names 'einir'  and 'berg' both combining as juniper mountain.
31. Fehn meaning the meadows of Norway.
32. Gaarder, an Old Norse given name to the son and daughter derived from 'gard' meaning farm.
33. Granberg, a combination of two words 'gran'  stands for spruce, and 'berg' stands for a mountain.
34. Greseth old Norse word meaning farmstead.
35. Grinde named after a top sight village farm of the country.
36. Gronlund derived from the Norwegian names 'gronn,' which means green and 'lund'  means groves.
37. Hagen a name meaning enclosure.
38. Ihle inspired by Norway's top word for 'spring.'
39. Island, a combination of Norwegian name words of the name 'is' standing for ice and the name 'land' standing for land.
40. Jordahl a unique Norway name meaning shining river valley.
41. Kalberg, a unique Norway name meaning cold mountains.
42. Kjos Nowary names for people coming from the narrow valleys of Norway.
43. Kleve, a name that stands for the cliffs of Norway.
44. Kolden denoting the rounded mountain location names of Norway.
45. Losnedahl meaning valley location in Norway.
46. Malmen, a name meaning farmstead.
47. Morken derived from the word 'mork,' which stands for wood.
48. Narse a unique name standing for the nose like rare mountain structures of Norway.
49. Odden denoting people who lived in the headlands of the country.
50. Oyen derived from the word 'oy,' meaning island names.
51. Pollen a name that stands for ponds of the country.
52. Selland a name meaning willow farms.
53. Solberg among the unique names denoting sun and mountain.
54. Stenberg among the rare names denoting stone mountains.
55. Tanberg refers to the bushy mountain names.
56. Teig, a name meaning strip of land.
57. Vallen inspired by the shallow waters of the country.
58. Velde a name denoting meadow.
59. Velten derived from the word 'Velte,' which means long pile.
60. Wang derived from the word 'vangr,' which means grassy meadow.
61. Westrum a spin-off word for the Western origin citizens of the country.
62. Aaberg referring to the hills by the river.
63. Aakre meaning plowed field.
64. Dale referring to a family who lived at a farm in the valley of Norway.
65. Dammen a toponymic old Norse last name referring to the Southeastern origin pond.
66. Falla derived from the old Norse given name 'fall' referring to the landslides in the region.
67. Fiske a family last name for a Norwegian with the profession of 'fisherman'.
68. Fure a family origin for son names denoting families who lived by the farmsteads of Norway.
69. Gill a popular name for farmsteads in Norway.
70. Grimsrud refereeing to the top name of a man wearing a helmet.
71. Groven among the most traditional names for farmstead origin in Norway.
72. Gulseth names of the suburban region in the city of Skien.
73. Hall among the most traditional Norwegian worker names referring to people who worked in a hall.
74. Horn Norwegian families and son who had the profession of playing the horn or craving things out of a horn.
75. Hoye names based out of the farmstead of Hoye in Norway.
76. Jahr a farm name referring to people who hail from the place called 'Jar.'
77. Kile among ancient old family names denoting wedgy narrow bay farm locations in Norway.
78. Kise a farm name for gravel farmland names.
79. Klepp named after a popular location name in Norway.
80. Korsmo named after a sandy meadow name location in Norway.
81. Landvik named after a popular destination in Norway.
82. Manger a location-oriented name for people origination from this traditional town in Norway.
83. Narum a name derived from the word names 'nor' and 'heimr,' meaning narrow passage homes.
84. Ness denoting families who lived at the headlands.
85. Omdahl refers to families hailing from the elm valley.
86. Ottum named after the Otta river name.
87. Ranum traditional Norwegian family name.
88. Rinde a name denoting people from 'Rind' farms.
89. Skagen a traditional farm name.
90. Skjeggestad the name stands for a beard like a place.
91. Storstrand a traditional toponymic name for farmsteads.
92. Tande among the traditional farm names of the country.
93. Tenold a farm name of the country.
94. Ulberg a family name derived from the words 'ulfr,' meaning wold and 'berg' meaning mountain.
95. Ulven refers to a popular meadow name in the region.
96. Urness a traditional name for the headland families of the country.
97. Valle Norwegians hailing from Valle region.
98. Vik Norwegians originating from the place Vik.
99. Waag denoting people who lived by the bay of the region.
100. Watland a name referring to the water lands of the country.
101. Westby meaning people from the west region.

Kidadl has lots of great names articles to inspire you. If you liked our suggestions for Norwegian Last Names then why not take a look at Last Names Beginning With G, or for something different take a look at Names That Mean Blue.