Norwegian naming traditions

In the small villages in Norway you were known as "so and so's" son or daughter. My name is Janni so I would be called Janni "So and So'sdatter. But they were also known by the name of the farm where they lived.

My spent some time at the Belgum farm in Ulnes in North Aurdal in Valdres. Actually only one of our ancestors was born on that farm but his father was from the neighbouring farm and his mother was the widow of the owner of that Belgum farm who had come from down the valley near the village of Aurdal.

Thore later bought a farm near Aurdal and moved down. The family then were strangers and were called Belgum, though my gr. grandfather was baptized with the current name of the farm where the family lived. When he and his 2 younger brothers left the area for the U.S.A. in about 1868, after their parents had died, they registered on leaving using Belgum as their last name rather than being called by their father's first name though they continued to use his initia as thier middle initial. When the oldest brother came over he, too used Belgum, though he came from this other farm- though he might even have been born on Belgum in Ulnes.

Another relative, Peder Torjuson left Krageo: Telemark with his family in the 1840's and came to Wisconsin. He enrolled the children in school. His daughter, my gr. grandmother was Anna Tomina Pedersdatter (Pederson). Later it seems he found that his name was Peder Pederson as the children and he must have the same last name! He was buried as Peder Pederson. I would think that he did not find it amusing that he was the son of "himself"; but then perhaps he did. I never heard any talk of it. But being born and raised farm from the Midwest and the extended family I never heard anything much about my father's family, though I did know that we were from Valdres, Norway. I knew nothing about my father's mother's family until recently and found that they had roots in many different parts of Norway.