Quote Originally Posted by Johnny Selkie View Post
Being a true Norwegian viking I have no direct Scottish links that I know of, but my paternal lines comes from the lands of Ragnvald Earl of Moeri, known today as the county of Moere og Romsdalen in Western Norway. My surname is at least 400 years (first recorded in a early 17th century tax report) and is connected to a certain place in Moere, Western Norway thats on UNESCOs world heritage list and is also the name of an old parish on Mainland, Orkney.

I can trace my familly history back to a Ragnvald Jarl (Ragnvald Jarl=Rognvald Earl) mentioned in a well known (but somewhat dubious) Norwegian document from the 17th century which is supposed to be written in the 14th century. I'm also a descendant of a nobleman in the 15th century from the island of Vigra (also in Moere and Romsdalen) situated about 257 miles from the coast of the island of Unst, Shetland through another document.

As Shetland and Orkney belonged to Norway until ca 1468 and the fact that Isabella Heiress of Caithness (a descendant or the Norse earls of Orkney) married into the Sinclair familly I feel connected enough to wear tartan (the Sinclair hunting sett and Caithness District) without having any Scottish ancestry.
You have a fascinating ancestry. I too have some Norwegian and some Swedish ancestry. I cannot be certain that any of my Scandinavian ancestors were Vikings, however my Norwegian ancestors came to the U.S. from Arendal, Norway and I think they may have had a farm there originally. My understanding is that the area of modern day Arendal was a "Viking" area...so perhaps. Still a very interesting lineage in my opinion.

Our family surnames were probably more recent unlike your surname. Perhaps you could tell me what the surname Guldbrandsen means?