Was it common place for

[sherry]

was it common for fathers to name there sons after them in the 1800's sweden?
thank you

[Bo Johansson]

Do you mean when for example Anders Svensson has a son named Anders Andersson?
 
My impression is that in many (most?) such cases the son is not named after the father, but after an older relative who happens to have the same name as the father.
 
// Bo Johansson

[Christina Backman]

In the course of the nineteenth century ordinary people become free to choose whatever name they like for their children and you get some very fanciful names. The odd parson is still very conservative. One refused to allow Monica as Maria was good enough for common people.
 
However, very often at least one of a child?s given names was that of a very close relative.

[Ingela Martenius]

By the end of the 19th century people are less traditional and give their children very fanciful names. Before abt 1850 at least rural people still followed the traditions and it was not unusual that the following applied (though it was by no means mandatory):
the first son was named after the paternal grandfather (we get the classic chain of Anders Svensson - Sven Andersson - Anders Svensson), the second son after the maternal grandfather, the third son after the father (this is how we get Anders Andersson) and the remaining sons after other relatives and friends;
the first daughter was named after the maternal grandmother, the second after the paternal grandmother, the third after the mother and the remaining daughters after other relatives and friends.
But other considerations could easily interfer and it is - even in the 18th century - not at all unusual to see names that do not exist in the family or among the sponsors.
 
Ingela