Prefixes to Surnames eg Berg becomes Ahlberg

[Scott Wagner]

G'day from Australia,
My 2nd great-grandfather Anders Ahlberg, a blacksmith from
Sköna who migrated to Australia in the 1860's, had the patronymic Berg and adopted the prefix Ahl- at some point, perhaps after finishing his apprenticeship?
His grandfather was a Bergren, his father a Berg, and a paternal uncle used the surname Löfberg?
Can anyone please give me a better understanding of the use of the prefixes, and why they may have changed?
Scott

[Leif Lundkvist]

Hi Scott,


At that time you could adopt any name you liked (well, almost any). Thus if Berg said that "I will be named Alhberg", then he was Ahlberg, and Ahl is not a prefix to Berg. Swedish names often was/is a combination of two natural phenomena, Ahl (or Al) is a kind of tree and Berg is Mountain/Rock, Gren is Branch (of a tree) and Löf (Löv) is Leaf. Only Berg/Ahlberg knows why he changed. Soldiers should have different names as it would be difficult among 125 men if maybe 10 of them were Andersson and got names of that kind, mine is a soldiers name from 1823. Berg could also be the name of some property and soldiers from there could be named Berg (or Berg-something) without any kinship.


Regards
Lundkvist