According to Anna Hong's book, Our Norwegian Ancestors, our earliest Lyseng relative recorded goes back to 1641. This was the birth year of Engebret Evenson (Holdal) Lyseng. He died in 1707. In older times, Lyseng was spelled, Ljøseng. It means light in the valley.

The Lyseng homestead is located near Skrautvål, which is in the province/state of Valdres. The church in Skrautvål is where many Lysengs are buried.