Great information on our family name Our Lundevall family name began in 1855 with Johan Munter Lundevall born in Sparrsätra which is a little north of Enköping, Uppsala, Sweden. Prior to this time, a man named Anders would have sons with the surname Andersson, and daughters with the surname Andersdotter. This naming practice was being phased out by the time Johan was born. It is likely that the surname Lundevall was chosen by his parents, or by clergy, and that this name may have been chosen because of the topographical features of the family home or because it just sounded nice. Lund means "grove (of trees)," and vall means "wall (or a mound, or bluff)," so the family may have lived next to a bluff with a grove of trees. There may be other reasons for choosing the name, because most people with the Lundevall surname seem to have similarly come from areas surrounding Uppsala. Johan Lundevall was not the first generation to break with traditional patronymics, his father was Eric Jansson Munter. Eric, however, was given the surname Munter as an adult when he served in the army. Munter means "cheerful," and the name was probably given to him because it reflected his personality. Military names were given to soldiers by their captains to help communication on the battle field. Can you imagine trying to give specific directions to a group of 100 men, with 5 Eric Andersson's and 8 Johan Andersson's, 7 Anders Ericsson's, 9 Anders Johansson's, etc. Find more about the naming practices used in Sweden at: http://www.algonet.se/~hogman/Naming%20practice_eng.htm