October 27, 2023
My maiden name is Fernelius. Since it’s not a common name, I’ve spent a lifetime spelling it and explaining its origins.
I’ve always known that Fernelius is a Swedish name, but it wasn’t until I became a genealogist that I realized just how unusual it is.
As most genealogists know, Swedish surnames were patronymic until the beginning of the twentieth century. Children were given their father’s first name followed by son or dotter, depending on gender. A man named Anders would have children named Andersson and Andersdotter, for example. Surnames changed with each generation.
Patronymic surnames meant that most folks with the same surname were not related. It also meant that some names such as Andersson and Jonsson became extremely common. Around the end of the nineteenth century, most Scandinavian countries ended the patronymic naming tradition, although most families kept the final patronymic name going forward. Some took place names as surnames. These were often farm names such as my Norwegian grandmother’s maiden name of Rustad. Although she grew up in an apartment in Oslo, her surname was taken from the last farm the family had lived at.
There were, however, some other naming patterns in Sweden. Aristocratic families had stable surnames that were unique to them. The names often included words such “gyllen” which means gold or “stierna” which means star. This led to surnames such as Gyllenstierna (golden star) and Gyllensvärd (golden sword). Swedish genealogists immediately recognize an aristocratic name, although American genealogists may not.
Finally, there were occupational groups who had stable surnames from an early period. This was especially common for clergy. Since the clergy were typically educated and knew Latin, they tended to adopt Latinized versions of their surnames. This is where at least part of the Fernelius name comes from; “elius” is Latin for “son of.” Although the name didn’t change from generation to generation, it was a type of patronymic. The only problem with this explanation for my Fernelius name is that there are absolutely no clergymen in my family. I can trace the Fernelius name back to the 1700s, but none of them or any of their collaterals were pastors.
Instead, the Fernelius Family were iron makers from an early period. Iron makers tended to consider themselves as special people. They married among themselves and may have been more educated than many. Hence the use of the Latin suffix. The first part of my Fernelius name may have been adapted from the town of Farna. Farna was an area where many iron workers lived and worked.
Whatever the reason for the name, there were never very many Ferneliuses in Sweden, and they are comparatively rare in the United States, as well. It used to irritate me to have to spell or explain my name every time I used it, but nowadays I just consider it an interesting sidelight to my genealogy.
Carol Stetser
Researcher