Origem e História

Patronymic surname meaning 'son of Olof', from the Old Norse 'Oleifr', meaning 'ancestor's descendant' or 'heir'. Olofsson and Olsson derive from the same source name: Olofsson preserves the full form 'Olof', while Olsson uses the contracted everyday form 'Ols'. Olofsson is more common in central and northern Sweden, where the full form of the name was retained in daily speech longer than in the south, where the contracted form became dominant. The surname is associated with the Swedish tradition of the 'allmogekultur', the peasant farming culture of Dalarna and Vasternorrland.