What Anna & Elsa’s Last Names Are In Frozen

A longtime mystery concerning Anna and Elsa’s last name in Frozen has finally been cracked years after the original movie’s release. In 2013, Frozen debuted in theaters and was quickly recognized as one of the best of Disney’s many animated movies. Since then, the studio has invested in the franchise, building the world, lore, magic, and character arcs. Despite this, the Frozen franchise has refrained from answering a common question: what is Anna and Elsa’s last name?

Anna and Elsa aren’t given last names in the Frozen movies. They just attach the words “of Arendelle” to their first names. The prepositional phrase indicates their kingdom and fits with royal naming traditions. Despite this, the mystery of their last name has remained unsolved. However, in 2014, Tumblr user PaulKellogg came extremely close to answering the question of Anna and Elsa’s last name in Frozen, pointing to important historical context. Since that posting, new information has come out that helps decode the last names properly.

Anna & Elsa’s Last Names Decoded & Explained

In order to figure out Anna and Elsa’s last name, pieces of information from many sources must fuse together. Based on the Roman numerals on the map from Frozen Fever, the Frozen movies take place around the 1860s or 1870s in Norway. As such, the movie’s naming patterns would match the cultural norms at that time. According to the Norway DNA Norgesprosjektet, during this period of Norwegian history, families most frequently used patronymic last names. In this system of naming, the sisters in Frozen would’ve had their father’s first name with the suffix -(s)datter or -(s)dotter, with a spelling variation based on region and dialect.

The book Frozen: Anna & Elsa’s Childhood Times revealed their parents’ names as King Agnarr and Queen Iduna, both of which were later confirmed in the sequel Frozen II. Taking these factors into consideration, Anna and Elsa’s last name was most likely Agnarrsdatter. However, it’s also worth noting that in old Norse tradition, Scandinavian children occasionally used matronymic last names instead of patronymic last names. As such, the characters could instead have the names Anna and Elsa Idunasdatter, keeping the same pattern but replacing their dad’s first name with their mom’s first name.

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Why Frozen Never Confirms Anna & Elsa’s Last Names

Though recent additions have changed this tradition, animated Disney princesses don’t typically have surnames, with other characters only calling them by their first name. The two main exceptions are Fa Mulan and Mirabel Madrigal, and they only differed because their family origins played an important role in their story arcs. If the Frozen franchise included the last name of Anna and Elsa without them playing a central role in the plot, it would set them apart from the other princesses. As such, Frozen leaves audiences to speculate instead of confirming a surname.

Sources: PaulKellogg and Norway DNA Norgesprosjektet