Scandinavian Surnames

At what time period did the Scandinavians start to use surnames? And when they did start to use surnames did they take the first name of the father and use it as the last name? I know in many instances the first name was used as the last name with the suffix "son" or "sen" to represent "the son of first name" but I also realize that not every surname has son or sen. Are there any instances of the suffix "er"?

Thank you.

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Originally Posted by Tuck

At what time period did the Scandinavians start to use surnames? And when they did start to use surnames did they take the first name of the father and use it as the last name? I know in many instances the first name was used as the last name with the suffix "son" or "sen" to represent "the son of first name" but I also realize that not every surname has son or sen. Are there any instances of the suffix "er"?

Thank you.

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I always thought most names ending in *er* were more closely associated with German.

Example: The most recent German surname in my family tree is Schlitter

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Originally Posted by byrnecres

I always thought most names ending in *er* were more closely associated with German.

Example: The most recent German surname in my family tree is Schlitter

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yes, many Anglo-Saxon surnames used "er" at the end of the surnames, especially for occupational surnames. However, I wondered if Scandinavian surnames used this as well.

It was very common to take a surname after the village or a farm you were from. This actually accounted for some 70% of surnames in Norway at one point.