> The family had lived on the farm for so many generations, they adopted the place name as their own. Well, it didn't take that many generations, necessarily.

> The family had lived on the farm for so many generations, they adopted the place name as their own. Well, it didn't take that many generations, necessarily. People in Norway used to use patronyms (like Olsen, son of Ole, Sjursdatter, daughter of Sjur), and tack on the name of the farm they lived on if there was need for further differentiation. The farm names could easily change several times through a lifetime, and you didn't necessarily even own the farm you were named after. There was a push for fixed last names, with various legal requirements starting in 1920. Whatever name people used around then, stuck.