The old Nordic tradition of patronymic/matronymic names is still in use in Iceland and by some people in the Faroe Islands. This means that surnames are not fixed and cannot be inherited from the preceding generation. To build a surname, one adds a suffix to the first name of one of the parents, usually the father. Surnames like these are called patronymic or matronymic names. Patronyms are names based on the first name of the father, matronyms are based on the first name of the mother.
New name laws introduced in Denmark in 1828, in Sweden in 1901 and in Norway in 1922 forced the citizens to have inheritable surnames, so real patronyms/matronyms were forbidden in those countries.
Gunnar Eriksson and Elsa Magnusdotter have a son (Arne) and a daughter (Astrid).
Their children's surnames would have been Arne Gunnarsson (= Arne, son of Gunnar) and Astrid Gunnarsdotter (= Astrid, daughter of Gunnar) in patronymic times.
From 1901 onwards, this tradition has been forbidden and children have had to inherit their fathers' surnames. Our example children would become Arne Eriksson and Astrid Eriksson, even though Arne is not the son of Erik and even though Astrid is not a "son" at all.
Interestingly enough, to the farthest back on his one side of the family, he actually started out as a Johnsen; Martin Johnsen 1778-1862 (Jeremy's 4th Great Grandfather)
*taken from NordicNames
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