According to Emma Olmon, Per Jonsson took the name "Vickberg"
as a kriegsnamn, or military name. Because of the many similar names such as Jonsson, Petersson, Karlsson, etc. caused by the patronymic or faders namn
method of naming, the army encouraged soldiers to choose another name. Mats Göransson says that in Sweden, Per was known as Per Jonsson.
In Canada he became known as Per Johnson Vickberg, and his children received
the name Vickberg as their surname. The name was variously spelled as Vickberg,
Wikberg, or Wickberg, the latter being the name of Per's brother Erik and
his descendants. Perhaps the variations can be explained by the fact that
"w" and "v" are pronounced the same in Swedish.
In Swedish "vik" means "bay," and "berg"
means "mountain." So the name translates as "mountain bay"
or "bay by the mountain."
Sources: recollections of Emma Olmon's stories, Mats Göransson
