Swedish genealogy

If you ancestor worked within the Swedish church system, chances are you will find a biography in a Herdaminne, which is a collective personal history...

Family names do more than differentiate one person from another – they also connect us to our ancestral roots and help us learn more about our families and culture. For example, have you ever wondered why so many surnames end with “-son” in Sweden? The origins of Swedish surnames tell a unique story because they are often tied to an individual’s identity within the community.

If you have Swedish ancestry, there is one record set you will NEED to know: the Husförhörslängder, or Household Examination Records. These books will allow you to trace your Swedish genealogy back hundreds of years. Click the link to learn more!

Beginning Swedish genealogy can be daunting. But don’t let language barriers or unfamiliar naming traditions deter you! Check out these getting-started tips from an expert and get started on finding your Swedish roots.

Were your ancestors from Sweden? There is a long tradition of careful recordkeeping in Sweden, which Swedes continued after emigrating to North...

Research Guides: Genealogy- Old: Immigration & Ships Passenger Lists

While there were likely more Norwegians and Danes than Swedes during the Viking Age, the Swedish Vikings still managed to spread their influence far a

Until quite recently, Sweden have not commonly used family surnames. Instead we have had a patronymic tradition, which means that all children got their fathers first name as their surname, with the suffix -son (for men) or -dotter (for women). So if a man named Lars Andersson had children, his sons would automatically had their surname as Larsson and his daughters would have Larsdotter as their surname. It was first in the late 1800 and early 1900 that we stopped using patronymic surnames…

Starting your Swedish genealogy research doesn’t have to be daunting - and it is okay if you don’t know any Swedish! This blog will walk you through how to start with the resources you’re already familiar with (Ancestry and FamilySearch) and introduce you to a free Swedish genealogy database, Riksarkivet, to help you trace your Swedish ancestors.

An Amazing Free British Genealogy Resource: The Gazette. This post looks at the often overlooked family history resource covering 350 years.