In Scandinavian languages (mostly Swedish) torp means a small dwelling, such as a cottage

Cottage

__toc__In modern usage, a cottage is usually a modest, often cozy dwelling, typically in a rural or semi-rural location. However there are cottage-style dwellings in cities, and in places such as Canada the term exists with no connotations of size at all...

, with a small leased farm area cultivated by its inhabitants, similar to a croft

Croft (land)

A croft is a fenced or enclosed area of land, usually small and arable with a crofter's dwelling thereon. A crofter is one who has tenure and use of the land, typically as a tenant farmer.- Etymology :...

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Today, most of those still existing in Scandinavia serve as summer homes for city dwellers.

The word is cognate to Anglo Saxon Thorp

Thorp

Thorp is a Middle English word for a hamlet or small village, from Old English /Old Norse þorp . There are many place names in England with the suffix "-thorp" or "-thorpe". Most are in East Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and Norfolk but some are in Surrey.Old English þorp is cognate...

 or Thorpe

Thorpe

Thorpe is a variant of the Middle English word thorp, meaning hamlet or small village. It may also refer to one of the following:-Places in England:*South Thorpe, County Durham*Thorpe, Cumbria*Thorpe, Derbyshire*Thorpe, East Riding of Yorkshire...

and also exists as surname or a place name.

In Danish and Norwegian the common noun for an inhabitant of a torp is husmann/husmand - a man with a house. Husmenn used to own their houses, but not the land.

Torp is also sometimes used as a surname in Scandinavia.