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Society

Watch out Johansson, Andersson's on the rise

Published: 13 May 12 12:35 CET | Print version
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/40808/20120513/

Swedes bearing the surname Johansson are in for a tough match if they wish to defend their title as Sweden’s most common surname. After 60 years on the top, the name Andersson is now gaining speed rapidly.

Next year, Anderssons may be more populous than Johanssons in Sweden, according to statistical institute SCB.

And the trend is likely to grow even stronger, as Johansson is most common among Swedes aged 80 and above, while Andersson is more common among children under the age of ten, according to national newspaper Dagens Nyheter.

Last year, 255,205 people bore the surname Johansson in Sweden. Those named Andersson were just 296 people fewer.

The year before, Johansson beat out Andersson by 791.

The reason why Johansson and Andersson have been Sweden’s most common surnames for aeons is, logically, that Johan and Anders were the most common first names for men in the early and mid-nineteenth century, when children were given their father’s first names as surnames.

Johansson and Andersson literally translate to “Johan’s son” and “Anders’s son”.

The practice was abandoned in the late nineteenth century, when surnames became fixed.

This is also why the “-son” ending is so common among Swedish surnames.

According to SCB’s ranking of common Swedish surnames, the sixteen top spots in the list are currently held by names ending in “-son”.

TT/Clara Guibourg (news@thelocal.se)

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23:19 May 13, 2012 by tr2001
i can't argue on which one is the best and its not my duty but somehow i get irritated by these surnames, maybe because of the word "son" or having two s's coming together. but i like ericsson.
11:20 May 14, 2012 by JerseyTjej
Changing mine to Bernadotte, just because I can, lol.
11:26 May 14, 2012 by Dave N
It won't be long before they are both trailing Hussein.
01:42 May 15, 2012 by ctinej
In another 20 years, some Muslim name will top the list. Having 8 kids in a generation gets you to the top pretty fast, destroys Sweden pretty fast, and destroys the entire planet pretty fast.

Wake up people!!! How can you NOT see what is happening??? Why dont you insist on some kind of permanent birth control of the immigrants, who have taken on the name of Malignant Breeders.
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