Swedish name change from ANDERSSON to LEVIN

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Ted Gostin

Swedish name change from ANDERSSON to LEVIN

Legg inn av Ted Gostin » 10 mai 2005 23:32:13

I'm trying to figure out a name change for someone in Sweden who was known
as Johannes ANDERSSON up until the time he left his parish to emigrate to
the U.S. in 1880, but was then known as Johann LEVIN when he boarded the
ship a week later.

I have traced Johannes ANDERSSON and his family in clerical surveys for
Tissleskogs parish up until April 24, 1880, when the surveys indicate that
he left for the U.S. At that time, he is still listed as Johannes ANDERSSON
in the surveys, as he was in all previous years and in church records. When
he boards the ship a week later on May 1, 1880, however, he is known as
Johann LEVIN, and in the U.S. he and his family were known by the surname
LEVINE. (The family isn't Jewish.)

I was hoping that the clerical surveys might indicate when and why he
changed his name, but there is no indication of a name change in any of the
Swedish sources I've checked. I did find that a significant number of
Swedes immigrated to the U.S. under the name LEVIN (several hundred), so I'm
assuming that it has some significance in Swedish. There doesn't seem to be
any pattern to where these people came from, so I can't spot any obvious
geographical origin.

Does anyone have any idea of:

1) What significance the LEVIN name has in Swedish, if any?

2) Why and how a Swedish farmer would change his name suddenly from his
patronymic name ANDERSSON to the surname LEVIN in the week between leaving
his parish and arriving at the port of emigration?

Any suggestions appreciated.

Ted Gostin
tedgostin@generationspress.com

Kurt F

Re: Swedish name change from ANDERSSON to LEVIN

Legg inn av Kurt F » 11 mai 2005 10:31:42

"Ted Gostin" <tgostin@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:NDage.639$OU1.415@newsread3.news.pas.earthlink.net...
I'm trying to figure out a name change for someone in Sweden who was known
as Johannes ANDERSSON up until the time he left his parish to emigrate to
the U.S. in 1880, but was then known as Johann LEVIN when he boarded the
ship a week later.

I have traced Johannes ANDERSSON and his family in clerical surveys for
Tissleskogs parish up until April 24, 1880, when the surveys indicate that
he left for the U.S. At that time, he is still listed as Johannes
ANDERSSON
in the surveys, as he was in all previous years and in church records.
When
he boards the ship a week later on May 1, 1880, however, he is known as
Johann LEVIN, and in the U.S. he and his family were known by the surname
LEVINE. (The family isn't Jewish.)

I was hoping that the clerical surveys might indicate when and why he
changed his name, but there is no indication of a name change in any of
the
Swedish sources I've checked. I did find that a significant number of
Swedes immigrated to the U.S. under the name LEVIN (several hundred), so
I'm
assuming that it has some significance in Swedish. There doesn't seem to
be
any pattern to where these people came from, so I can't spot any obvious
geographical origin.

Does anyone have any idea of:

1) What significance the LEVIN name has in Swedish, if any?

It´s just a name...

2) Why and how a Swedish farmer would change his name suddenly from his
patronymic name ANDERSSON to the surname LEVIN in the week between leaving
his parish and arriving at the port of emigration?

At the end of the 19th century the use of patronymic names was more or less
abandoned. This was due to a recommendation from the government that every
family should adopt a family name instead.
When you emigrate, and would like to start fresh in your new country, it
should be tempting to adopt the new name immediately.
I must admit that I´m not familiar with the more legal procedure. That is
something I have to look in to, (sometime).

Kurt F

Gjest

Re: Swedish name change from ANDERSSON to LEVIN

Legg inn av Gjest » 11 mai 2005 20:44:57

On Tue, 10 May 2005 22:32:13 GMT, "Ted Gostin" <tgostin@earthlink.net>
wrote:

Hello Ted

I think it was cirka 1904 that the new nameregulatinons came in
Sweden.

My greatgreatfather on my mothers side changed his name 4 times!

1 Born Illman (a soldier name)
2 Change to Andersson about 20 years later
3 Changed to Bergstedt when he started to work in Motala Werkstad
1872.
4 Changed to Anderson when emigrated to America 1874!

You could basically take any name but the noble protected familynames.

Regards Gunnar


1) What significance the LEVIN name has in Swedish, if any?

2) Why and how a Swedish farmer would change his name suddenly from his
patronymic name ANDERSSON to the surname LEVIN in the week between leaving
his parish and arriving at the port of emigration?

Any suggestions appreciated.

Ted Gostin
tedgostin@generationspress.com

Robert Heiling

Re: Swedish name change from ANDERSSON to LEVIN

Legg inn av Robert Heiling » 11 mai 2005 22:05:12

Ted Gostin wrote:

I'm trying to figure out a name change for someone in Sweden who was known
as Johannes ANDERSSON up until the time he left his parish to emigrate to
the U.S. in 1880, but was then known as Johann LEVIN when he boarded the
ship a week later.

I have traced Johannes ANDERSSON and his family in clerical surveys for
Tissleskogs parish up until April 24, 1880, when the surveys indicate that
he left for the U.S. At that time, he is still listed as Johannes ANDERSSON
in the surveys, as he was in all previous years and in church records. When
he boards the ship a week later on May 1, 1880, however, he is known as
Johann LEVIN, and in the U.S. he and his family were known by the surname
LEVINE. (The family isn't Jewish.)

But neither were many other Swedes with non-patronymic surnames that resemble
Ashkenazic surnames, especially in Americanized spellings. I think the mistake
being made here, although understandable, is to assume that any such name must
be suspected of being of Levitical origin.

I was hoping that the clerical surveys might indicate when and why he
changed his name, but there is no indication of a name change in any of the
Swedish sources I've checked. I did find that a significant number of
Swedes immigrated to the U.S. under the name LEVIN (several hundred), so I'm
assuming that it has some significance in Swedish. There doesn't seem to be
any pattern to where these people came from, so I can't spot any obvious
geographical origin.

That geographical observation is perhaps key in that one would expect a
concentration of emigrants from larger cities if they were Jewish. i.e. I don't
believe that there ever were any shtetls in Sweden. As a professional
researcher of Jewish genealogy, you would know better than I, and I stand to be
corrected, but I don't believe that Sweden had much of a pre-war component of
Jewish people and certainly fewer back in 1880.

Does anyone have any idea of:

1) What significance the LEVIN name has in Swedish, if any?

"LE" is not a Swedish article, but "VIN" has the same meaning and association
that it has in French and, to some extent, in English. There has also sometimes
been a fascination with things French in Sweden and assuming such a name could
be part of that. It could also be that the farmer was associated with grape
growing in some way.

2) Why and how a Swedish farmer would change his name suddenly from his
patronymic name ANDERSSON to the surname LEVIN in the week between leaving
his parish and arriving at the port of emigration?

Cause & effect, when given the opportunity. Others have mentioned their cases
already. As for me, my own g-gf did exactly that when he got his boat ticket in
1879!. He dropped his patronymic and assumed a *fancy* name. In his case, it
was a bit too fancy and no American could pronounce it, so he had to change it
again to Miller.

Any suggestions appreciated.

Ted Gostin
tedgostin@generationspress.com

HTH
Bob

Stein R

Re: Swedish name change from ANDERSSON to LEVIN

Legg inn av Stein R » 12 mai 2005 03:10:12

"Ted Gostin" <tgostin@earthlink.net> wrote in
news:NDage.639$OU1.415@newsread3.news.pas.earthlink.net:

I'm trying to figure out a name change for someone in Sweden who was
known as Johannes ANDERSSON up until the time he left his parish to
emigrate to the U.S. in 1880, but was then known as Johann LEVIN when
he boarded the ship a week later.

I have traced Johannes ANDERSSON and his family in clerical surveys
for Tissleskogs parish up until April 24, 1880, when the surveys
indicate that he left for the U.S. At that time, he is still listed
as Johannes ANDERSSON in the surveys, as he was in all previous years
and in church records. When he boards the ship a week later on May 1,
1880, however, he is known as Johann LEVIN, and in the U.S. he and his
family were known by the surname LEVINE. (The family isn't Jewish.)

I was hoping that the clerical surveys might indicate when and why he
changed his name, but there is no indication of a name change in any
of the Swedish sources I've checked. I did find that a significant
number of Swedes immigrated to the U.S. under the name LEVIN (several
hundred), so I'm assuming that it has some significance in Swedish.
There doesn't seem to be any pattern to where these people came from,
so I can't spot any obvious geographical origin.

Does anyone have any idea of:

1) What significance the LEVIN name has in Swedish, if any?

It is a non-patronymic family name which might have been familiar
to Swedes at the time.

If you did not *have* a family name (you just went by "Anders,
son of Carl", which was good enough if you lived in the same parish
all your life), and had to pick one because you were moving to a
place where people expected you to have a fixed family name, why
not pick some name you knew was already in use as a family name ?

2) Why and how a Swedish farmer would change his name suddenly from
his patronymic name ANDERSSON to the surname LEVIN in the week between
leaving his parish and arriving at the port of emigration?

Pure guess - but he was starting a new life in a new country with new
customs and a new language. Back then emigration was pretty much a one-
way ticket deal. Why not pick a new name, too ?

Grin,
Stein

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Re: Swedish name change from ANDERSSON to LEVIN

Legg inn av Kjell Ove Nybø Hattrem » 24 mai 2005 14:36:21

Ted Gostin:
2) Why and how a Swedish farmer would change his name suddenly from his
patronymic name ANDERSSON to the surname LEVIN in the week between leaving
his parish and arriving at the port of emigration?

My great-grandfather's sister emigrated from Norway to the USA in 1892.
She married a Swede there in 1895 named Karl Joel Levin.

His birthname was Larsson, but he thought there were too many of those
in Chicago and adopted his brother's soldier name instead -- Levin.

The Swedish soldier names are a topic in themselves and probably
something you are familiar with.

--
Kjell Ove Hattrem

I don't consider myself a pessimist at all. I think of a pessimist as
someone who is waiting for it to rain. And I feel completely soaked to
the skin. (L. Cohen)

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