Signe Hammarsten-Jansson Signe Hammarsten-Jansson Signe "Ham" Hammarsten-Jansson (née Hammarsten, 1 June 1882 Hannäs, Sweden - 6 June 1970 Porvoo) was a Swedish graphic artist who designed, among other things, around 220 Finnish postage stamps during the course of three decades. She was the mother of Tove Jansson, creator of the highly successful "Moomin" characters. Signe Hammarsten came from a respectable Swedish clerical family and was the child of a pastor's daughter and a court chaplain. Hammarsten's parents were opposed to her becoming an artist, and as a girl she had considered a career as a surgeon. Hammarsten went through 8 years of
Finnish name Thus, the Finnish situation differs considerably from, for instance, Sweden, which has hundreds of thousands of Johanssons and Anderssons. The Swedish patronymics-like surnames are treated as any other surname. Real patronymics are handled like additional first names, i.e., one must still have a surname. An exception is Icelandic citizens resident in Finland, who are allowed to follow the Icelandic name tradition. The native Finnish tradition of first names was lost during the early Christian period, and by the 16th century, only Christian first names were accepted. The popular names were usually the names of saints whose cult was widespread. This