Norwegian genealogy research can involve naming patterns, farm names, foreign languages…our experts can help you navigate all these things to extend your Norwegian ancestry.
Norwegian Genealogy Research
In order to begin Norwegian genealogy research you must know specifically which town/city/village your ancestors came from. There are not national indexes to records, so if this information is unknown you’ll first need to take steps to learn it. This can be done by talking to other relatives, researching records about more recent ancestors, finding immigration records (if applicable), etc.
Norwegian Genealogy Records
Once the specific town is known the best source for Norwegian genealogy research is church records. With records dating back to 1623, plus the fact that beginning in 1686 there were two copies made of each record, church records can be invaluable in tracing your Norwegian heritage. Many of the records are written in Norwegian (with some Latin terms interspersed), but towns/villages that were near other countries will often have other languages added to the mix as well.
Because of variations in name spellings and the fact that many names are interchangeable with one or more other names, it can be difficult to distinguish which ancestor is yours in the record collections. In earlier time periods, children were given a surname based on their father’s given name (ie: a man named Olaf might have a son named Johan Olaffson and a daughter named Anna Olaffsdatter. Johan might then have son named after his father – but his name would be Olaf Johanson). Also, a second surname was often used, and this name designated the farm that the family lived on. If they moved to another farm their second surname would change. It is important to be aware of these naming traditions when trying to identify ancestral families. However, it is also important to know that not all families followed the naming traditions, so you can’t ever assume that yours did!
Our Team of Professional Genealogists Can Help
There are several things you can do to be sure you have identified the correct ancestral family, including comparing occupations, building full families and mapping out where they lived. Our team of experts have experience in Norwegian genealogy research, reading the Gothic script handwriting of pre-1900 records, and tracing ancestral lines as far back as possible.