What's in a Name like Lilligren?

Lars Andersson of Sweden recently wrote to us about our name.  Although, the spelling of "Lilligren" is not common in Sweden, it's phonetic equivalent, "Liljegren," is quite common there.  In fact, in his mid-sized town of about 140,000, there are over 50 entries in the phonebook with the last name Liljegren. 

In writing, he provided some English translations of a few Swedish last names that start with Lilje (from Lilja, which is the flower we call "lily").

Lilje-gren  -  Lily + Branch
Lilje-berg  -  Lily + Hill
Lilje-bladh  -  Lily + Leaf
Lilje-dahl  -  Lily + Valley
Lilje-quist  -  Lily + (a small) Branch

He says that the Swedes took their names from nature because they lived so close to it.  Living in Minnesota, it is very common to see last names that end with -gren, -berg, -blad, -dahl, and -quist.  So, Lars' translations are very relevant to us Minnesotans.

Thanks, Lars, for your insights!