Before Nils Petter, Jöns and Lars each emigrated from Sweden, they changed their last name from Bengtsson (son of their father Bengt Nilsson) to Liljengren (which means “branch of the lily flower”). In Swedish, this name would have been pronounced “Lil-yen-gren.”

Some children of these immigrants changed the spelling, probably because they were weary of their English-speaking friends mispronouncing it as “Lil-jan-gren.” Five of Nils Petter’s children changed the spelling to Lilligren, which was more phonetically correct. The descendants of one son (Enroth), however, still use the Liljengren spelling today.

Some of the descendants of Jöns changed the spelling to Lillegren. I am sure that there are other spelling variations out there (saw “Lilygren” in a few records).

NOTE: There are others in the U.S. with the last name Lilligren that are not descended from Nils Petter. Not sure of the original spelling, but these Lilligrens settled near Stillwater, MN, and several of them live in California. But they are not relatives.