yrkesnamn

Yrkesnamn is a term used in onomastics to describe names adopted or assigned to individuals as a result of their occupation. In Swedish, the phrase literally means "occupational names" and refers to surnames or family names that originated from a trade or craft rather than from a place or a given name.

Historically, such names emerged in medieval Europe as people were identified by their work, especially in urban centers and among guilds. When surnames became hereditary, the trade-based descriptor passed from one generation to the next, long after the original occupation ceased to define the bearer.

Formation patterns include direct use of the trade term or epithet associated with it; some names derive from nicknames of workers or from descriptions of the workshop.

In modern contexts, yrkesnamn are mostly fixed family names. They may reveal ancestral livelihoods and are often of interest in genealogical research, but they typically no longer indicate what a person does for a living.

Regional variation exists in the prevalence and forms of yrkesnamn, mirroring broader patterns in European naming practices. They sit alongside other surname types such as patronymics and toponyms, and their study helps illuminate social history, craft guild structures, and migration patterns.