Titel: Malmstrom name origin
Skrivet av: Ingela Martenius skrivet 2010-01-22, 01:21
Malmström is typical of the names assumed by people moving in from the countryside to towns; we call them burgher names or town names. The names are usually a concatenation of two words, both referring to something in nature. Malm = can have several meanings; either ore (as in iron ore) or a sandy, wooded headland or a (wooded) common area immediately outside a village ström = stream, current
While not being among the most popular names in Sweden, it's still a common name with 3827 persons having Malmström as their family name (Lindgren - linden tree branch - is one of the most common town names; 23221 people use it as a family name). Far, far from all Malmström people are even tenuously related.
People usually changed into a proper family name (from a patronymic) if they moved into town (though servants kept their patromynics) or if they had a job in the country which was better than a common farmer's - a forest ranger for an important estate e.g. or a smith. Emigrating was equated with moving into town, and many people changed names on emigration. A town name could also be a soldier name, although it wasn't very common. Read more about Swedish name customs.
There is no way of telling where your ancestor had the idea of selecting Malmström from all the possible natural combinations. Perhaps he was born by a stream on the common ground outside a village. Or he just thought the name sounded nice. Except for noble families, a few old clerical families and old smithing families (all in all much less than 10% of the population) Swedes have no feeling for their family name. To change family names is one of the most popular pastimes in Sweden - last year more people than ever changed names.