Stang-Gjertsen

Double barrelled surnames, usually created following a marriage between two families, have no overall meaning as a unit, but the separate parts have their own history and derivation. In the case of "Stang", the name is a derived form of the ancient Norse (pre 10th Century) "Stongr", and is habitational for one who lived by a pole or cross, or possibly a nickname for a tall, thin person! The usual spelling in England is "Stanger", a name found originally in Northumberland. The second element of Gjertsen, is a metronymic, based upon the Old Germanic "Gertrude", a pre 7th Century female personal name which translates as "spear-friend". There are many surname variations including: Gjermundsen, Gjerde, and Gjertsen. Early recordings include Daardie Gjertsen, who married Giert Angvig at Tingvoll, Norway, on September 9th 1683. The marriage of Hans Stang and Elen Gundersdr was recorded in borre, Norway, on December 10th 1748. A Coat of Arms granted to a Stang family depicts, on a blue shield, a gold griffon holding a silver sword, supported by a gold tree-stump, bent in a semi-circle. The Crest is a tree-stump, proper, in pale, between two blue elephants' trunks, coupee, on silver. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Andreas Stang, which was dated March 1st 1717, christened at Ofwansjo, Gavleborg, Norway, during the reign of King Charles X11 of Sweden, 1697 - 1718. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.