Syversen - Name

This most interesting and unusual surname is a variant of "Siever(t)sen", a Low German patronymic of "Siegfried", itself deriving from a Germanic personal name composed of the elements "sigi", victory, and "-fridu", peace. The name is also found in the Church Registers of Scandinavian countries. Patronymic surnames are usually denoted with the suffixes "-s", "-son" and "-sen", meaning "son of". The name is found as "Sivertsen" in Denmark and Norway, and "Siever(t)s, Siefers, Siewers, Siewertsen and Siever(d)ing" in Germany. Early examples of the surname in German and Scandinavian Church Registers include: the christening of Zivert, son of Zivert and Boel Sivertsen, on February 21st 1694, at Vrejiev-Haestrup, Hjorring, Denmark; the marriage of Andreas Sievertsen to Gode Suenksen on June 5th 1705, at Hattstedt, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany; and the marriage of Halver Sivertsson and Anna Olofsson in 1726, at Bergsjo in Sweden. A Coat of Arms granted to a Siversen family in Holstein in 1402 depicts a shield divided per pale silver and black with a black star in the silver half and a demi silver fleur-de-lis in the other half. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Matts Sefferson, which was dated August 16th 1656, christened at Venjan in Kopparberg, Sweden, during the reign of King Charles X of Sweden, 1654 - 1660. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.