# Swedish: Åkerlund



## Rainbowlight

Hello everyone, 

I would like to know if the Swedish surname Åkerlund has any meaning and its etymology.

Thank you very much.


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## winenous

Breaking the name down...
Åker = Ploughed field
Lund = Grove - a small group of trees
So Åkerlund presumably means "grove in a field"?


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## Rainbowlight

winenous said:


> Breaking the name down...
> Åker = Ploughed field
> Lund = Grove - a small group of trees
> So Åkerlund presumably means "grove in a field"?


Thank you very much.


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## AutumnOwl

winenous said:


> Breaking the name down...
> Åker = Ploughed field
> Lund = Grove - a small group of trees
> So Åkerlund presumably means "grove in a field"?


More likely "the grove by the field". The word "lund" can also have the meaning of "place of worship/place of sacrifice" to the old Nordic pagan gods. Groves had been considered sacred in pagan times.
Surnames became more common in Sweden during the 18th and 19th century, and sometimes a family could take a surname that was connected to where they lived. If there had been a grove/place of worship by a field, then it could have became Åkerlund.


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## Rainbowlight

AutumnOwl said:


> More likely "the grove by the field". The word "lund" can also have the meaning of "place of worship/place of sacrifice" to the old Nordic pagan gods. Groves had been considered sacred in pagan times.
> Surnames became more common in Sweden during the 18th and 19th century, and sometimes a family could take a surname that was connected to where they lived. If there had been a grove/place of worship by a field, then it could have became Åkerlund.


Thank you very much.


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## Ben Jamin

AutumnOwl said:


> More likely "the grove by the field". The word "lund" can also have the meaning of "place of worship/place of sacrifice" to the old Nordic pagan gods. Groves had been considered sacred in pagan times.
> Surnames became more common in Sweden during the 18th and 19th century, and sometimes a family could take a surname that was connected to where they lived. If there had been a grove/place of worship by a field, then it could have became Åkerlund.


It was once fashionable for wealthy families in Sweden to create fancy surnames, which were neither patronymics nor toponymic as in other Scandinavian countries. That's why there are many such surnames in Sweden like Åkerlund, Liljegren, Lundgren, etc. Noble families had often even more fancy names like Rosenkrantz (rose wreath), Lövenskjold (lion shield) and the like.


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## winenous

Ben Jamin said:


> It was once fashionable for wealthy families in Sweden to create fancy surnames, which were neither patronymics nor toponymic as in other Scandinavian countries. That's why there are many such surnames in Sweden like Åkerlund, Liljegren, Lundgren, etc. Noble families had often even more fancy names like Rosenkrantz (rose wreath), Lövenskjold (lion shield) and the like.


Åkerlund is not strictly speaking toponymic (agronymic I think), but wouldn't it have it origins in the location of a family farm, rather than being a fancy creation?

I can see that the "gren"  names might be different.


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## Ben Jamin

winenous said:


> Åkerlund is not strictly speaking toponymic (agronymic I think), but wouldn't it have it origins in the location of a family farm, rather than being a fancy creation?
> 
> I can see that the "gren"  names might be different.


It think it could be both toponymic (in a broad sense) or a fancy creation, but there are 21 places in Sweden that are called Åkerlund, so the toponymic origin is here very plausible. 
Ortnamnsregistret | Sök i hela registret (sprakochfolkminnen.se)


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## Rainbowlight

Ben Jamin said:


> It was once fashionable for wealthy families in Sweden to create fancy surnames, which were neither patronymics nor toponymic as in other Scandinavian countries. That's why there are many such surnames in Sweden like Åkerlund, Liljegren, Lundgren, etc. Noble families had often even more fancy names like Rosenkrantz (rose wreath), Lövenskjold (lion shield) and the like.


Thank you very much.



Ben Jamin said:


> It think it could be both toponymic (in a broad sense) or a fancy creation. We will probably never know.


Thank you very much.


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## AutumnOwl

Ben Jamin said:


> It was once fashionable for wealthy families in Sweden to create fancy surnames, which were neither patronymics nor toponymic as in other Scandinavian countries. That's why there are many such surnames in Sweden like Åkerlund, Liljegren, Lundgren, etc. Noble families had often even more fancy names like Rosenkrantz (rose wreath), Lövenskjold (lion shield) and the like.


I wouldn't call Åkerlund, Liljegren, Lundgren "fancy surnames", in Swedish they are seen as surnames from nature, De naturliga efternamnen , nor do I think that all of those who took these kinds of surnames were wealthy. I would guess it was people who lived in, or moved to towns, and done so they could be distinguished from other people with the same -sson surname.

In English there are many surnames connected with occupations, that kind of surnames almost doesn't exist in Sweden (I haven't met any). The only surnames that have any connection with profession are the old solider surnames (Frisk, Rask, Dolk, Svärd, Sköld).


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## Ben Jamin

AutumnOwl said:


> I wouldn't call Åkerlund, Liljegren, Lundgren "fancy surnames", in Swedish they are seen as surnames from nature, De naturliga efternamnen , nor do I think that all of those who took these kinds of surnames were wealthy. I would guess it was people who lived in, or moved to towns, and done so they could be distinguished from other people with the same -sson surname.
> 
> In English there are many surnames connected with occupations, that kind of surnames almost doesn't exist in Sweden (I haven't met any). The only surnames that have any connection with profession are the old solider surnames (Frisk, Rask, Dolk, Svärd, Sköld).





AutumnOwl said:


> I wouldn't call Åkerlund, Liljegren, Lundgren "fancy surnames", in Swedish they are seen as surnames from nature, De naturliga efternamnen , nor do I think that all of those who took these kinds of surnames were wealthy. I would guess it was people who lived in, or moved to towns, and done so they could be distinguished from other people with the same -sson surname.
> 
> In English there are many surnames connected with occupations, that kind of surnames almost doesn't exist in Sweden (I haven't met any). The only surnames that have any connection with profession are the old solider surnames (Frisk, Rask, Dolk, Svärd, Sköld).


I used the word "fancy" to express the idea of making a new surname that was created by someone who intended to use it himself, not choosing any patronymic, existing toponymic (these were usually related to the birth or residence place), or occupational, not in the meaning of "posh".


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