[1][2][3] Söderwall was born 1842 in Drängsered parish, Halland County.

He was the son of the parish priest Per Söderwall and Margareta Johanna von Wachenfeldt.

Söderwall received a Bachelor of Arts in 1863 and a PhD in 1865.

Söderwall's work mainly concerns Old Swedish.

The work on this dictionary had stalled in the 18th century, but was restarted in the 1880s.