Finn ancestory

[Happy Times]

Originally Posted by Rockstar

I was doing some family history research awhile back. On my dads side there are Norwegians and Finns. His dad was Norwegian (Sorensen), his mom was Finn (Pajala).

When I looked up Pajala on Ancestory.com there is no reference to it either as a geographical location or use as a surname. So I was wondering if any of you barbarians from the northern parts have any idea of the origins of Pajala.


Thanks

Great to hear you are part barbarian.
Hard to point one geographical location to the name Pajala, but they probably are more common in some areas.
Finnish surames can be tricky but im guessing Pajala comes from paja=blacksmith's shop.
In that case you could get pretty far with your research if some ancester was a blacksmith and payed taxes.
Thsi is all guessing but i can guarantee you will get to know a lot more if you want to follow up on the family.
Almost all the church records in the country are preserved down to the middle ages.