I was named after my father and both my grandfathers. My maternal grandfather was named Olav Johan and my paternal grandfather was named Peter Benjamin Johan, so giving me Johan as a middle name was a way to satisfy both sides of the family. My paternal grandfather was named for three older brothers who died in a fever before he was born.

My father's name Sverre is the name of a medieval king of Norway, a common enough name in Norway, NOT what you wanted to be called in LA in the 1950s...I decided that being called Swear or JOE-han was not cool, so I went by the name John. My family still calls me that even though we now all live in Norway.

Bassen
which was my first nickname