Template:Traditional Norwegian name/doc

Usage
This template takes one required parameter:

There is an optional parameter to specify the sex of the named parent, and thus say "Matronymic" (female).

The template is intended to be used in articles on Norwegian individuals with traditional names consisting of a given name and an (active) patronymic, i.e. mainly Norwegians who lived in the middle ages and the early modern period and in some cases even later. Traditional Norwegian (and Scandinavian) names are similar to Icelandic names. Permanent family names were gradually adopted in Norway between the middle ages and the early 20th century, first by the nobility and clergy (mainly from the 16th century onwards, although family names are sometimes seen earlier), then by the bourgeoisie (mainly from the 17th century onwards), and by most common people around 1900. Especially with reference to medieval persons, they should be referred to in the same way as Icelandic persons today, by the given name or the full name, and never by the patronymic alone.