I am Norwegian and do not know the how the Swedes did. In Norway most common people at 1880 still had not adopted the new habit of a family surname. They had two surnames, one patronymic (referring to the father's first name) and one farm name, the address name. When immigrating to US they had to choose one of their two surnames as a family surname. If your great-grandfather had been Norwegian, his father's first name should be Peter, and he came from Nystrøm farm. His Norwegian surnames would be Petersen Nystrøm. When he was in his local village he would use Petersen as a surname, and when he went further away he might use Nystrøm as a surname. When immigrating to US they never changed to a new surname. They chose between the two surnames they already had in Norway. - But they might change the spelling to help the Americans pronounce it. What surname was used in the emmigration records vary a lot. In Bergen port they usually used both surnames, but in other ports I think the patronymic surname was most often used. Harald Storaker <NGroves@aol.com> skrev i melding news:c3.aa18433.2732ffc0@aol.com... > I'm trying to locate records on a great-grandfather who emigrated from Sweden > in the 1880s. He changed his name (Peterson to Nystrom) in the US, and I'm > wondering if it was customary to change your name before you left, or upon > arrival. The answer affects how I search records such as ships' passenger > lists. Although different individuals may have changed their names at > different times, and for different reasons, was there a typical pattern they > followed that would guide me as I look for old records? > > Nancy Groves >