Herkunft & Geschichte

Patronymic surname meaning 'son of Ols', a short form of Olof — the Swedish form of the Old Norse 'Oleifr' or 'Anleifr', meaning 'ancestor's descendant' or 'heir of the ancestors'. Olof was borne by the first Christian king of Sweden, Olof Skotkonung (c. 980–1022), and by several subsequent rulers, giving it royal prestige. The name Olof and its derivatives were especially prevalent in western Sweden, and Olsson is correspondingly concentrated in the provinces of Vastergotland, Bohuslan, and Halland.