One third of all Swedish surnames end with –son. Svensson, Johansson, Gustavsson belong to the most common last names in Sweden. (Source: SCB.) Those names are so common, that you can expect to find at least one of them on a door in each Swedish apartment building. If not there, then at least on one of the mailboxes of the houses next door.
By the way, the most common Swedish last names that do not end with -son, are Lindberg, Lindström and Lindgren. What those names mean, and the reason why so many Swedish last names end with -son, read further below. Including a video with the correct Swedish pronunciation of the top 10 last names in Sweden.
Read more about names in Sweden
- Most common Swedish boys names, Top 100
- Most common Swedish girls names, Top 100
- Swedish names lists and statistics overview
List of 100 Most Common Swedish Surnames
The 100 most popular surnames in Sweden according to SCB, Statistiska Central Byrå, (counting day 31 December 2019). Here are the Smiths, Johnsons, Williams and Jones of Sweden.
Minor name variations, such as Karlsson and Carlsson are collected under the variation that is most common. For example, the amount of Carlsson is added to Karlsson.
| Rank | Lastname | Count |
| 1 | Andersson | 238 843 |
| 2 | Johansson | 238 259 |
| 3 | Karlsson | 212 126 |
| 4 | Nilsson | 163 029 |
| 5 | Eriksson | 141 745 |
| 6 | Larsson | 119 454 |
| 7 | Olsson | 108 599 |
| 8 | Persson | 102 721 |
| 9 | Svensson | 96 369 |
| 10 | Gustafsson | 93 399 |
| 11 | Pettersson | 91 137 |
| 12 | Jonsson | 71 130 |
| 13 | Jansson | 47 858 |
| 14 | Hansson | 42 174 |
| 15 | Bengtsson | 32 923 |
| 16 | Jönsson | 30 506 |
| 17 | Lindberg | 27 569 |
| 18 | Jakobsson | 26 262 |
| 19 | Magnusson | 25 964 |
| 20 | Olofsson | 25 480 |
| 21 | Lindström | 24 849 |
| 22 | Lindqvist | 22 878 |
| 23 | Lindgren | 22 805 |
| 24 | Axelsson | 22 307 |
| 25 | Berg | 21 677 |
| 26 | Bergström | 21 118 |
| 27 | Lundberg | 21 025 |
| 28 | Lundgren | 20 376 |
| 29 | Lind | 20 277 |
| 30 | Lundqvist | 20 025 |
| 31 | Mattsson | 19 523 |
| 32 | Berglund | 19 088 |
| 33 | Fredriksson | 18 108 |
| 34 | Sandberg | 17 662 |
| 35 | Henriksson | 17 340 |
| 36 | Forsberg | 16 568 |
| 37 | Sjöberg | 16 414 |
| 38 | Wallin | 15 939 |
| 39 | Engström | 15 518 |
| 40 | Eklund | 15 299 |
| 41 | Danielsson | 15 228 |
| 42 | Håkansson | 15 090 |
| 43 | Lundin | 15 052 |
| 44 | Gunnarsson | 14 349 |
| 45 | Björk | 14 282 |
| 46 | Bergman | 14 232 |
| 47 | Holm | 14 192 |
| 48 | Samuelsson | 14 030 |
| 49 | Fransson | 13 915 |
| 50 | Wikström | 13 888 |
| 51 | Isaksson | 13 735 |
| 52 | Bergqvist | 13 422 |
| 53 | Nyström | 13 257 |
| 54 | Arvidsson | 13 232 |
| 55 | Holmberg | 13 099 |
| 56 | Löfgren | 12 862 |
| 57 | Ali | 12 754 |
| 58 | Söderberg | 12 662 |
| 59 | Mohamed | 12 607 |
| 60 | Nyberg | 12 578 |
| 61 | Blomqvist | 12 493 |
| 62 | Claesson | 12 471 |
| 63 | Mårtensson | 12 194 |
| 64 | Nordström | 12 143 |
| 65 | Lundström | 11 807 |
| 66 | Eliasson | 11 479 |
| 67 | Pålsson | 11 460 |
| 68 | Viklund | 11 427 |
| 69 | Björklund | 11 357 |
| 70 | Berggren | 11 157 |
| 71 | Sandström | 10 804 |
| 72 | Lund | 10 769 |
| 73 | Nordin | 10 659 |
| 74 | Ström | 10 567 |
| 75 | Åberg | 10 459 |
| 76 | Hermansson | 10 407 |
| 77 | Ekström | 10 240 |
| 78 | Holmgren | 10 143 |
| 79 | Hedlund | 9 984 |
| 80 | Falk | 9 948 |
| 81 | Sundberg | 9 931 |
| 82 | Dahlberg | 9 886 |
| 83 | Hellström | 9 879 |
| 84 | Sjögren | 9 804 |
| 85 | Abrahamsson | 9 591 |
| 86 | Ek | 9 488 |
| 87 | Blom | 9 485 |
| 88 | Martinsson | 9 483 |
| 89 | Öberg | 9 431 |
| 90 | Ahmed | 9 361 |
| 91 | Andreasson | 9 266 |
| 92 | Hassan | 9 183 |
| 93 | Månsson | 9 157 |
| 94 | Strömberg | 9 082 |
| 95 | Åkesson | 8 964 |
| 96 | Hansen | 8 804 |
| 97 | Jonasson | 8 790 |
| 98 | Norberg | 8 751 |
| 99 | Åström | 8 696 |
| 100 | Sundström | 8 679 |
Why So Many Swedish Surnames End with “-son”
Until 1901, it was very common that a patronymic was used when people received their last names. This means that the first name of the father is the base for the creation of a person’s last name. For example, was your father’s first name Anders, your last name would consequently be Andersson, “Ander’s son“. This was the case even if your father’s surname was totally different, like Pettersson.
1901, a new law prohibited this procedure. And since 1982 it is allowed (again) to use a patronymic or matronymic, meaning you can use your mother’s first name as your last name nowadays. This is not uncommon in Iceland. E.g. …dóttir, dóttir meaning “doughter”. But still not very common in Sweden though.
Meaning of Typical Swedish Surnames
The following words appear often in Swedish names and refer mostly to nature.
- Ström – stream (river)
- Berg – mountain/hill
- Lind – linden
- Ek – oak
- Sjö – lake/sea
- Sund – sea gate/strait
- Å – small stream/creek
- Ö – island
- Björk – birch
- Ny – new
- Söder – south
- Lund – small forrest
- Gren – branch
- Fors – cataract
- Vik – bay
- Holm – little island
- Qvist/Kvist – twig
(Source for Swedish surnames: SCB)
Swedes have a special relationship to nature. Maybe that is the reason why so many Swedish names are related to it.
Swedish Pronunciation of the Top 10 Last Names in Sweden
Check How Common Your Name is in Sweden
Would you like to check how popular your name is in Sweden? You can check how many Swedes have the same first name or surname as you. On the website of SCB you can check any name: scb.se/namnsok
More about Sweden
- Swedish names lists and statistics overview
- Basic Sweden knowledge and fun facts
- Traditional Swedish Food – What to Try and Avoid in Sweden
My Grandfather came from kristinstad sweden in the early 1900 and came to Canada. His surname was Hogan, I believe he changed it from some other name. Is there a Swedish name that is similar.
Hej Brad! I haven’t met or heard about anyone called by a name that’s similar to “Hogan”. But there are many people in Sweden, called “Hogan”. A Swedish town is called “Högån”, but no Swede carries that lastname.
Perhaps it was changed from something related to Håkan? Håkan is a popular first name in Sweden (and therefore Håkansson/Håkansdotter could be a last name found in family trees).
Due to Swedish pronunciation of the å (which sounds similar to the English o), to non-Swedish speakers it could be easy for someone to hear it as Hokan (and therefore Hogan).
Hej Brad,
I wonder if his given (förenamn) name was Håkan or Hakon and it got spelled as Hogan and turned into a last name (efternamn) upon immigrating to Canada. Perhaps it was Håkansson and got shortened and spelled according to English phonetics.
My surname is Josefsson. I am from Australia, I always am told that my surname is very swedish. Though I have German heritage, just wondering how common my surname is in Sweden.
Hello Tyler! There are 7 647 people with the surname “Josefsson” in Sweden.
Is Gryr a Swedish surname?
I have checked on scb.se as well as on eniro.se. I haven’t found any Gryr, but there are several Gry, Grym, Gryn and Gryt.
My great – grandfather’s last name was Johanson, but, we have been told that when he joined the Swedish navy in the late 1800’s, his last name became Nordstrom. Can someone explain the reason for this? My family has always asked this question. He had many children at the time. Some kept the last name of Johanson, and others, like my grandfather, adopted the last name of Nordstrom. Thank you.
Prior to coming to America, tradition had many Scandinavian generations taking the name of a parent to form a new last name. These patronyms were generally derived from the father’s given name, with the addition of a suffix meaning ‘son’ or ‘daughter’, or by occupation like Møller – ( Miller).
For example, my G-G-G grandfather Anders Önnarsson’s son took the last name of Anderson (son of his father, Anders). His son, Jöns Andersson then named his offspring Anders Gustaf Jönsson (son of Jöns) The Swedish government finally put a stop to the confusion in 1901 (the Names Adoption Act was passed, abolishing this patronymic practice). After 1901, everyone had to have a family name that was passed down to the next generation.
As confusing as this naming practice was, it got worse when in 1840 my Great-Great grandfather Jöns Andersson went into the Swedish military. He was given a new surname, being assigned the last name of “Badman” as he came from Bada village. For others, their assigned name could have been based on characteristics, such as Stark (strong) or Modig (brave). Yet when Jöns “John” J. Sundquist emigrated from Sweden in 1869, the military name Badman had become the family surname. The story has it that the ship’s captain counseled this first Badman son to change his name during the emigration process, since “Badman” suggested a negative personality.
Hello. My grandmother was born in the U.S. Her name is listed on her marriage certificate as “Margaret M. Fredaund.” Her father is listed as “Israel Fredaund” and her mother as “Mary Kristina.” Is Fredaund a Swedish name? My mother mentioned Swedish and German background. I’d love to find out. Thank you!
Hej! I have checked the Swedish name database, and there is no one called Fredaund (first- or lastname) living in Sweden. (See here.)
My grandmother came to England between 1900 and 1930 her name was angnes read swinscow. She died when I was three years old in 1954.😕
looking for Augustus “Weston”, who, when coming to the states, shortened his last name from something in comparison to what he went by….his father’s first name was Nelce ??????, and they came from somewhere near Stockholm. Thought it might be Westerberg, Westenberg, or something to that effect….
Trying to get a correct spelling of great Grandparent from Sweden. Last name is Troetson or Truetson?
Thank you! It was probably a misspelling on the old document.
Doing our family history have found my great grand parents came from sweden a island off the coast. Their surname was brumberg.
I am hoping to find family their since records showed siblings stayed behind. When they came to the US. How common is the surname brumberg ?
There are currently 247 people carrying the lastname Brunberg in Sweden. https://www.scb.se/hitta-statistik/sverige-i-siffror/namnsok/Search/?nameSearchInput=brunberg
There is no BruMberg though.
Hello, I’m in Australia & my g-g-grandfather was William Nord. He was from Sweden according to his marriage & death certificates. He came to Australia about 1860 & is listed as a seaman. On his death certificate his mother is listed as Mary Thomson. Is Thomson a Swedish name? His father is listed as “unknown”. Am I to assume that his father’s name was Nord? The closest I can find is Nordin & Nordstrom. Can you offer any information on these surnames?
Hello Loretta! Unfortunately, I can’t give you any helpful information on this matter. Maybe this site ancestry.co.uk can help you. Good luck and best wishes!
Is your book available anywhere else besides Amazon? Their privacy rape policy has just been upgraded. I got a text message from Alexa… No way. Thank you.
Hello Kerry, thank you for your interest in my book How to be Swedish! Apart from Amazon and Swedish book stores it is available in my own online shop https://shop.matthiaskamann.com/.