MyDanishRoots.com :: Genealogy and Family History in Denmark / Danmark

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Houses and Citizens after the Copenhagen fire of 1728

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A brief history of Denmark - From Danish prehistory to the 1800s

Danish History
The oldest existing evidence of human habitation in Denmark is traces of reindeer hunters' settlements. They settled on the Jutland Peninsula by the end of the last Ice Age c. 12500 BC, but it was not until the Stone Age, c. 4000 BC, that a peasant culture with organised farming communities emerged. In the Bronze Age (1800 BC) villages emerged and in the Iron Age (500 AD) regular towns.
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A brief history of Denmark - Denmark in the 1800s

Danish History

The shelling of Copenhagen on the night between Sep. 4 and 5, 1807.

During the 1700s, the Danish-Norwegian merchant fleet had become large and rather powerful, and in size only surpassed by the British fleet. Although Denmark tried to keep neutral in the wars subsequent to the French Revolution, Denmark was pulled into the growing conflict between the French-Russian alliance on one side and the English-Swedish alliance on the other. Denmark was not willing to give in to the English demands and kept on calling at ports in France and in French possessions. Twice this lead to an English attack, 1801 and 1807, and after the English shelling of Copenhagen in 1807—the worlds first bombardment of civilians—almost the entire Danish-Norwegian fleet was sieged.

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Surnames deriving from occupation

Surnames - Naming Traditions, Meaning, and Origin
Another group of surnames refer directly to the particular trade, craft or occupation of the first bearer. The group comprises easily recognizable names relating to agriculture, manufacturing, retail or to an office, rank, or status, and will therefore tell us what the first bearer did for a living. In this article you will find a group of the most common occupational names in Denmark.
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Emigration from Denmark - An Introduction

Emigration from Denmark
In the 1800's people across Europe where on the move, and especially after the 1840's many people departed the "Old World" to seek a better life abroad. Along with millions of other emigrants from all over the European continent, many Danes emigrated via the ports in northern Europe. The most important ports of emigration for the Danish emigrants were Copenhagen, Liverpool (as to indirect emigration), Hamburg and Bremen/Bremerhaven. In the Scandinavian countries this emigration began a little later and did not reach sizable proportions until the end of the American Civil War. The Scandinavian contribution to the total European emigration were, however, relatively small—the share didn't amount to more than 4.5% in the period up to the First World War.
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The 100 most common surnames in Denmark

Surnames - Naming Traditions, Meaning, and Origin
This list covers the 100 most common surnames in present-day Denmark. It explains the origin and meaning of the name and provides information on ranking and numerical distribution.
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Surnames deriving from a farmstead

Surnames - Naming Traditions, Meaning, and Origin
A sub-group of the habitation names are those surnames that derive from the name of a farmstead, which often was owned by the family at the time when the surname was taken/formed. There were, of course, some farmhands who acquired surnames from the farmstead where they were employed, but these cases are exceptions.
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Surnames indicating a family's point of origin

Surnames - Naming Traditions, Meaning, and Origin
A group of surnames are the so-called regional names—those names that indicate a families point of origin. You will also find these names in English surnames (e.g. French = from France) and in German surnames (e.g. Berliner = from Berlin). They are all nicknames although they in some way also are related to habitation names.
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Surnames deriving from nicknames/bynames

Surnames - Naming Traditions, Meaning, and Origin
Another group encompasses the surnames deriving from nicknames/bynames, and many of these are among the oldest surnames in Denmark. This is a very broad and miscellaneous group of surnames that usually derive from mythological attributes of certain animals or the characteristics of the first bearer, for example a particular physical feature or the person's appearance (e.g. the color of hair or beard) or character.
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Introduction to Provinces and Regions in Denmark

Place Names in Denmark
This is a Geographical introduction to the different Provinces and Regions in Denmark, and how to specify a place name when inquiring into family history. All countries divide into provinces and regions according to the natural demarcations of the landscape; in a 'Kingdom of Isles' like Denmark, these geographical borders may be even sharper. The peninsula of Jutland [Jylland] is by nature considered a mayor province as are the other two main islands, Funen [Fyn] and Zealand [Sjælland].
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Place Name Etymology: Common Elements in Danish Place Names

Place Names in Denmark
Place names found in the historic Denmark, as well as throughout Scandinavia, are different from other place names in most respects. Most of these place names are very old, and the River Ejder forms a natural and historical boundary between the Old Norse settlements and settlements of Keltic, German, Wendic, Frankish and Slavic origin further south. A few common Germanic place names can be found in the endings -ing, -sted(t) and -bæk (-bek, -bech etc.) but these are exceptions.
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