This very interesting and unusual surname is of Scandinavian origin, from Denmark, and is an ornamental name meaning "leaf river". Most Swedes did not adopt hereditary surnames until the 18th Century and the patronymic system was still in active use in rural areas until late in the 19th Century; patronymics were replace by hereditary surnames. The most common source of surnames are the ornamental coinages, which were derived mainly from vocabulary elements denoting natural phenomena and features of the landscape and seascape, words which denote aspects of the world which are held dear by Swedes of all classes and regions. As in the case of Lovstrom, many typical Swedish ornamental names of this kind consist of two elements arbitrarily joined together, without consideration of logic or possibility. The surname is similar to Lo(o)f and Lov, which correspond with the English Leaf, Leafe and Leefe. Among the sample recordings in Denmark are the marriage of Jacob Henrich Lovstrom and Karen Dorthea Bech on October 15th 1803 at Frederiksberg, and baptism of Carol Johan Lovstrom on July 4th 1840 at Kjopinge, Kobenhaun. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Anders Lofstrom, which was dated September 1744, Vastra Hoby Malmohus, Sweden, during the reign of King Frederick of Sweden, 1741 - 1751. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.