Danish Surnames
Danish names are used in the country of Denmark in northern Europe. See also about Scandinavian names.
151 surnames in our directory
Danish
151Isaksen is a Norwegian and Danish patronymic surname, meaning "son of Isak". The name directly derives from the given name Isak, itself a Scandinavian form of Isaac, which originates from the Hebrew יִצְחָק (Yitsḥaq) mea...
Iversen is a Danish-Norwegian patronymic surname meaning "son of Iver." It derives from the Old Norse personal name Ívarr, which itself originates from elements meaning "yew tree" or "bow" and "warrior" or "spear." The n...
Jacobsen is a Danish surname meaning "son of Jacob." It follows the Scandinavian patronymic tradition, where -sen indicates descent, originating as a patronymic directly from the male given name Jacob, itself from the La...
Jakobsen is a patronymic surname of Danish and Norwegian origin, meaning "son of Jakob." The name Jakob itself is a Scandinavian form of Jacob, a name of biblical significance. The suffix -sen is a common patronymic endi...
Jeppesen is a Danish patronymic surname meaning "son of Jeppe". The given name Jeppe is a diminutive of Jakob, which is a form of Jacob used in several languages. The ultimate root, Jacob, traces back to the Hebrew name...
Jespersen is a Danish patronymic surname, meaning "son of Jesper." It follows the common Scandinavian naming tradition where the suffix "-sen" denotes "son of," equivalent to the Swedish "-son." The given name Jesper is...
Johannessen is a Norwegian, Danish, and Faroese patronymic surname meaning "son of Johannes". The name Johannes is the Latin form of Greek Ioannes, derived ultimately from the Hebrew name Yoḥanan (John). This name is wid...
Johansen is a Scandinavian patronymic surname meaning "son of Johan". It is the second most common Norwegian surname, reflecting the widespread use of the given name Johan in Denmark and Norway. The surname belongs to th...
Johnsen is a Danish and Norwegian patronymic surname meaning "son of John." As a patronym, it derives from the given name John combined with the suffix -sen, which corresponds to the Danish and Norwegian form of the Old...
EtymologyJokumsen is a Danish patronymic surname meaning "son of Jokum." The suffix "-sen" is a common Danish equivalent of the English "-son." The root name Jokum is itself the Danish form of Joachim.Origin and HistoryT...
Jonasen is a Danish surname meaning "son of Jonas." It belongs to the Scandinavian patronymic naming tradition, where the suffix -sen (or -son) indicates filiation. The name Jonas is a Hellenized form of Jonah, deriving...
Jørgensen is a common Danish and Norwegian patronymic surname meaning "son of Jørgen." The given name Jørgen itself is the Danish and Norwegian form of Jürgen, which is the Low German form of George.The ultimate root of...
Karlsen is a Danish and Norwegian patronymic surname meaning “son of Karl”. The name derives from the Old German given name Karl, ultimately a form of Charles, which comes from the Germanic word karlaz meaning “free man”...
Karstensen is a Danish and Norwegian patronymic surname meaning "son of Karsten". The root element Karsten is a Low German form of the name Christian, which itself derives from the medieval Latin name Christianus, meanin...
Kaspersen is a Danish surname with a classic Scandinavian patronymic structure, meaning "son of Kasper". The patronymic suffix -sen (-son) indicates lineage, making Kaspersen the Danish equivalent of the English surname...
Kjær is a Danish surname of topographic origin, derived from the Danish word kær, meaning "marsh" or "wetland," and ultimately from the Old Norse kjarr ("thicket"). The name originally denoted someone who lived near or w...
Kjeldsen is a Danish patronymic surname meaning literally "son of Kjeld". Like many Scandinavian surnames ending in -sen, it originated as a family name denoting descent, with the suffix -sen meaning "son" in Danish. Ety...
Klausen is a surname predominantly found in Denmark, Norway, and Germany, originally a patronymic meaning "son of Klaus". The name Klaus itself is a German short form of the broader name Nicholas, which derives from the...
EtymologyKnudsen is a Danish patronymic surname, meaning "son of Knud." The name typically does not use a space between elements and conforms to Germanic patronymic patterns where -sen denotes lineage. The root Knud itse...
EtymologyKristensen is a Danish patronymic surname, meaning "son of Kristen" (or Kristian). The root name Kristen is the Danish and Norwegian form of Christian, which derives from the medieval Latin Christianus, meaning...
Kristiansen is a Danish and Norwegian patronymic surname meaning "son of Kristian." It is a cognate of the English surnames Christiansen and Christianson. The name Kristian itself is a Scandinavian form of Christian, whi...
Kristoffersen is a Danish and Norwegian patronymic surname, meaning "son of Kristoffer"—the Scandinavian form of Christopher. The name ultimately derives from the Late Greek Christophoros (Χριστόφορος), meaning "bearing...
Lang is a surname with multiple origins and meanings across European and East Asian cultures. In German, Danish, and Norwegian, it is a cognate of the English surname Long, derived from a descriptive nickname for a tall...
Lange is a surname of German, Danish, and Norwegian origin. It is a cognate of the English surname Long, all deriving from a Germanic root meaning “tall” or “long.” The name originally functioned as a descriptive nicknam...
Etymology Larsen is a surname of Danish and Norwegian origin, meaning "son of Lars." It is a patronymic surname formed by adding the suffix -sen to the given name Lars, which is the Scandinavian form of Laurence 1. The r...
Larson is an English surname originating as a derivation from the Middle English pet form of Lawrence, combined with the suffix -son, literally meaning "son of Lawrence." In the United States, it commonly represents an A...
Etymology and HistoryLauridsen is a Danish patronymic surname, meaning "son of Laurids." It follows the common Nordic naming tradition of adding -sen (or -son) to the father's given name to create a surname for the son....
Lauritsen is a Danish patronymic surname meaning "son of Laurits." The given name Laurits itself is a Danish and Norwegian form of Laurence 1, which ultimately derives from the Latin laurus meaning "laurel." EtymologyThe...
EtymologyLaursen is a Danish-Norwegian patronymic surname meaning "son of Laurs", where Laurs is a short form of Laurits, the Danish and Norwegian form of Laurentius (see Laurence 1). The root name Laurence ultimately de...
Lind is a surname of Scandinavian and Estonian origin. In Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish, it is derived from the Old Norse element lind meaning "linden tree". In Estonian, Lind means "bird", reflecting a different etymol...
Lorenzen is a predominantly Danish and Low German patronymic surname meaning "son of Lorens". The name Lorens itself is an Old Scandinavian form of Laurence 1, ultimately deriving from the Roman cognomen Laurentius, mean...
Ludvigsen is a Danish patronymic surname meaning "son of Ludvig". Patronymics were common in Scandinavia, where surnames often indicated the father's name by adding a suffix like -sen (Danish, Norwegian) or -son (Swedish...
Lund is a Scandinavian surname of topographic origin, derived from the Old Norse element lundr (grove). The name originally indicated a person who lived near a grove of trees. As an hereditary surname, it is common in De...
Madsen is a Danish and Norwegian patronymic surname meaning "son of Mads". The name Mads is a Danish short form of Mathias, itself a variant of Matthias, which derives from the Greek Ματθίας (Matthias), a variant of Ματθ...
Martinsen is a Danish and Norwegian patronymic surname meaning "son of Martin." The name Martin itself derives from the Roman name Martinus, which originates from Martis, the genitive case of Mars, the Roman god of war....
Mathiasen is a Danish and Norwegian patronymic surname meaning "son of Mathias," itself a variant of Matthias, derived from the Greek name Ματθαῖος (Matthaios), which shares origins with Matthew. This surname family incl...
Matthiasen is a Danish patronymic surname meaning "son of Matthias." Patronymics were once widespread across Scandinavia, where children took their father's first name followed by a suffix indicating descent (–sen for so...
Mikkelsen is a Danish patronymic surname meaning "son of Mikkel". It is cognate with the Norwegian and Icelandic form Mikkelsen and the Swedish Mikaelsson. The name ultimately derives from the Hebrew name Michael, meanin...
Mogensen is a Danish patronymic surname meaning "son of Mogens". As a patronymic, it was historically formed by adding the Danish suffix sen (meaning "son") to the father's given name Mogens, which itself is the Danish f...
Møller is a Danish surname that originated as an occupational name for a miller. It is the Danish cognate of the German Müller, and ultimately derived from the common English surname Miller. The name comes from Middle Hi...
EtymologyMortensen is a patronymic surname of Danish and Norwegian origin, meaning "son of Morten." The name Morten is itself a Danish and Norwegian form of Martin, which derives from the Roman name Martinus, ultimately...
Nelson 2 is an Americanized form of the Scandinavian surnames Nilsson, Nilsen, and Nielsen, all meaning "son of Nils." It arises from the widespread emigration from Scandinavia to the United States in the 19th and early...
Nielsen is a Danish and Norwegian patronymic surname, meaning "son of Niels". The name Niels itself is the Danish form of Nicholas, derived from the Greek name Nikolaos, which combines the elements nike (victory) and lao...
Nikolajsen is a Danish patronymic surname meaning "son of Nikolaj". It follows the common Scandinavian naming tradition where the suffix -sen indicates "son of". The given name Nikolaj is a Danish and Slovene form of Nic...
Nissen is a Danish patronymic surname meaning "son of Nis". It is a variant of the much more common Danish surname Nielsen. Etymology and Family Roots The name Nissen traces its ultimate origin to the Greek name Νικόλαος...
Nordskov is a Danish surname of toponymic origin, meaning "north woods" (from Danish nord, "north", and skov, "wood" or "forest"). Likely it originally referred to a person who lived near or in a forest located north of...
Norup is a Danish surname, a variant of Nørup. The root name Nørup derives from the name of several Danish villages, such as Nørup or Norup, with typical topographic or locative origins common in Scandinavian surnames. O...
Nørup is a Danish surname of toponymic origin, derived from the name of several Danish villages called Nørup or Norup. The most prominent of these is the village of Nørup in Vejle Municipality, Region of Southern Denmark...
Olesen is a Danish patronymic surname meaning "son of Ole." The name Ole is a Danish and Norwegian form of Olaf, which derives from the Old Norse name Áleifr. This name is composed of the elements anu "ancestor" and leif...
Etymology and OriginOlsen is a Danish and Norwegian patronymic surname meaning "son of Ole." Ole is a Danish and Norwegian given name that itself derives from Olaf, from the Old Norse Áleifr, composed of elements meaning...
Olson is an English-language surname that primarily represents an Americanized form of two Scandinavian patronymic surnames: Olsson (Swedish) and Olsen (Danish and Norwegian). Both of these names mean 'son of Olaf,' link...
Øster is a Danish surname meaning "east," derived from the Danish word øst ("east"). It originally referred to someone who lived on the eastern side of a settlement or geographical feature, functioning as a topographic s...
Østergaard is a Danish surname meaning “east farm,” from the Danish words øst for “east” and gård for “enclosure” or “farm.” It is a variant of Østergård, where the double aa reflects the pre-1948 orthography still used...
Østergård is a Danish topographic surname derived from the elements øst meaning "east" and gård meaning "enclosure, farm" or "homestead." Thus, the name literally translates to "eastern farm," referring to a farmstead lo...
Ottosen is a Danish and Norwegian patronymic surname meaning "son of Otto." The name Otto itself derives from Old Frankish aud or Old High German ot, meaning "wealth, fortune," and was originally a short form of various...
Etymology and OriginPallesen is a Danish patronymic surname, meaning "son of Palle." The name Palle itself is a Danish diminutive of Paul, which derives from the Roman family name Paulus, meaning "small" or "humble" in L...
Paulsen is a Danish, Norwegian, and German patronymic surname meaning "son of Paul". The given name Paul itself derives from the Roman family name Paulus, meaning "small" or "humble" in Latin. As a surname, Paulsen follo...
Pedersen is a patronymic surname of Danish and Norwegian origin, meaning "son of Peder." It is the fifth most common surname in Denmark, borne by about 3.4% of the population, and the sixth most common in Norway.Etymolog...
Petersen is a common Danish and Norwegian patronymic surname, meaning "son of Peter". The name is formed by the combination of the root name Peter and the Danish/Norwegian suffix -sen, which denotes "son of".Etymology an...
Poulsen is a Danish patronymic surname meaning "son of Poul." Poul itself is the Danish form of Paul, which derives from the Latin Paulus meaning "small" or "humble." As a patronymic, Poulsen reflects the Scandinavian tr...