The legacy of names. Persistence in social status in Sweden 1865–2015

Abstract

This study explores how social origin, reflected by occupation and family name from both parents, has been passed down over the past 150 years in Sweden. It finds that intergenerational rank-rank associations in occupational status – a typical measure of social mobility – have remained surprisingly constant at levels around 0.27 – as in the US (Song et al., 2020). However, intergenerational correlations are substantially higher among those with surnames reflecting high historical prestige. Surname type reflects a heritable social status dimension at the group level (such as ethnicity), which persists strongly across generations. By comparing occupational and surname-based social status, this study offers new insights into the persistent nature of social inequality and the factors that influence it over time. It offers a new perspective on the transition from “ascribed” (surname) to “achieved” (occupational) status as Sweden industrialized, modernized, and became a welfare state.