Has anyone heard

[Ammanda Schutz]

of German women taking the surname of the mother and not the father?
The Grandmother of OH was known only by her mothers' surname. In no document that I have is her fathers' name mentioned though I do not have a birth cert.
Wondering if this is an odd occurrence.

[kiterunner]

I haven't come across it. Perhaps she was illegitimate?

[Nell]

My knowledge is limited as I only know of the German woman who married my late uncle, but she had her father's surname. I'd guess that your OH's grandmother was illegitimate. It's possible that she took her mother's surname later in life because she preferred it or maybe came into an inheritance but I'd bet the illegitimacy idea is the most likely.

[DaveK]

I also go with, well, "out of wedlock" as it's typical in those cases for the baby to take the mother's family name.

[Ammanda Schutz]

Thanks to all.
I don't think she was illegitimate but as I say I have no documentation.
The only thing I can think of is that perhaps she used the name of her mother when she emigrated to the US as she was to marry her first cousin and perhaps they didn't want any questions, both having the same last name.
If I can ever get access to German records I may find the answer.

[Kit]

Maybe the father took the mother's surname for some reason. I know a family that had the surname Gay, but once gay started to mean homosexual they changed it to the wife's maiden name.

Or in the case of my cousin, she married someone with the same surname as her own, no relation though.

Do you know the name of the father, or just that she used her mothers name?

[HarrysMum]

I have a couple of Greman women who kept their maiden names after marriage and very many Danish ones. The children had different surnames depending on whether they were male or female. I did a session on it at one of the FH groups I used to belong to. Actually Ammanda, Julie remembers how it works I think....

[Durham Lady]

I know a family that had the surname Gay,
One of my g g granny's surname was Gay and Gay used to be a popular girls name years ago. One of my friends eldest daughter was given the name.

[Olde Crone]

My friend from Finland had her mother's surname, which I believe is quite common in Russian/Scandanavian countries. She told me that she possessed a scroll which gives her matrineal line back to the year dot - the father's name in all cases is optional on the scroll, lol.

This practice seems to go along with their inheritance laws which mean that no female can disinherit a child, so it is important to have an official record of the children of a mother.

OC

[Ammanda Schutz]

Ah! These are very interesting answers. Thank you all.
Libby if I knew of any male children born to the family I could check if it was true that Martha kept her mothers name and perhaps a son took the father. I am trying to make some headway with OH's family so maybe I can find siblings.
OC, it would seem that the further North one goes the more enlightenment there is.
Daphne, I am all for being Gay and Merry but we all know there is only one Merry!
Thanks again. Food for thought.

[tenterfieldjulie]

Toni, This is what Libby was referring to: :D So father and children have different surnames, but don't know whether wife changed to her husband's.

Prior to about 1850 all of the Scandinavian countries used a form of patronymics. The given name of a father was used as a surname for each of the children. The son's used the father's given name and a suffix that meant "son" and the daughter's used the father's given name and a suffix meaning "daughter".

Following are examples from the four largest of the Scandinavian countries:
Denmark- Norway Sweden-Finland

Lars Andersen (father)
Hans Larsen (son)
Anna Larsdatter (daughter)
Anders Hansen (grandson)
Maren Hansdatter (granddaughter)

Olof Svensen (father)
Mons Olofsson (son)
Stina Olofsdotter (daughter)
Sven Monsson (grandson)
Katharine Monsdotter (granddaughter)

[Kit]

Julie do they always follow that naming pattern?

Also in yugolsav type countries the surnames can end in an 'i' or 'a' depending on the sex of the child - 'i' for boys, 'a' for girls.

[tenterfieldjulie]

Hi Toni, This was supposed to be a general rule prior to 1850. Whether they always did I couldn't say but I think it was pretty well what happened usually.
Have you tried googling "naming patterns" for a particular country"? Or patronymics?