title: Arctander (family)
text: # Arctander (family)
  
  Arctander is the name of two Norwegian families: one from Trondheim and a Nordland family.
  
  ## History
  
  The family Arctander in Trondheim descends from Niels Lauritzen the elder (b. ca. 1490), Mayor of Trondheim. His grandchildren, among them Niels Lauritzen the younger, who was a bishop in Viborg, Denmark, adopted the name Arctander.
  
  The Nordland family Arctander begins with Peder Pedersen (b. ca. 1626), a farmer in Lødingen, Nordland. His grandson, Aron Pedersen, adopted the name Arctander when attending the University in Copenhagen, whereafter he returned to Norway and became a priest in Ofoten. Many prominent people belong to this family, among them cabinet minister Sofus Arctander, Signy Arctander, and Evan Arctander.
  
  ## Name
  
  The name is in Latinised Greek and means "Norwegian". The first part means arctic, and the second part derives from the word andros (man), i.e. "north man".
  
  