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Page 1 of 2  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.
Of the following 100 surnames, as many as 64 derive from the patronymic naming tradition (names ending with "-sen"), 23 from nicknames, 9 from topographic features, and 2 from an occupation. Due to the natural immigration over the years many foreign surnames have appeared in Denmark, however, only one surname of German origin (SCHULTZ) and one of Swedish origin (NILSSON) have made it to the top 100 list. Among the 5.3 mill. Danes present day JENSEN is the most common lastname, carried by 312,396 individuals comprising 5.84 percent, followed by HANSEN, NIELSEN, PEDERSEN and ANDERSEN. The 15 most common names account for as many as 40 percent of the Danish population - all of them of patronymic origin - and all top 100 surnames account for as many as 57,22% of all Danes.
Over the years the top surnames have remained consistent and there has only been little change in the distribution of the more common surnames in the Danish population.
| 1. |
Jensen |
Danish: patronymic name deriving
from the given name Jens. |
312,396 |
| 2. |
Nielsen |
Danish: patronymic name deriving
from the given name Niels. |
304,509 |
| 3. |
Hansen |
Danish:
patronymic name deriving from the given name Hans. |
255,892 |
| 4. |
Pedersen |
Danish: patronymic name deriving
from the given name Peder. |
191,144 |
| 5. |
Andersen |
Danish: patronymic name deriving
from the given name Anders. |
175,607 |
| 6. |
Christensen |
Danish: patronymic name deriving
from the given name Christen. |
135,979 |
| 7. |
Larsen |
Danish: patronymic name deriving
from the given name Lars. |
132,441 |
| 8. |
Sørensen |
Danish: patronymic name deriving
from the given name Søren. |
127,078 |
| 9. |
Rasmussen |
Danish: patronymic name deriving
from the given name Rasmus. |
106,249 |
| 10. |
Jørgensen |
Danish: patronymic name deriving
from the given name Jørgen. |
100,376 |
| 11. |
Petersen |
Danish: patronymic name deriving
from the given name Peter. |
95,232 |
| 12. |
Madsen |
Danish: patronymic name deriving
from the given name Mads. |
71,448 |
| 13. |
Kristensen |
Danish: patronymic name deriving
from the given name Kristen. |
65,680 |
| 14. |
Olsen |
Danish:
patronymic name deriving from the given names Ol/Ols/Ole. |
55,461 |
| 15. |
Christiansen |
Danish: patronymic name deriving
from the given name Christian. |
41,005 |
| 16. |
Thomsen |
Danish: patronymic name deriving
from the given name Thom/Tom. |
40,796 |
| 17. |
Poulsen |
Danish:
patronymic name deriving from the given name Poul. |
34,731 |
| 18. |
Johansen |
Danish:
patronymic name deriving from the given name Johan. |
33,500 |
| 19. |
Knudsen |
Danish:
patronymic name deriving from the given name Knud. |
32,567 |
| 20. |
Mortensen |
Danish:
patronymic name deriving from the given name Morten. |
31,846 |
| 21. |
Møller |
Danish: occupational
name for a miller - the man who operated the mill (from Dan. "mølle" =
mill). |
31,024 |
| 22. |
Jakobsen |
Danish:
patronymic name deriving from the given name Jakob. |
28,820 |
| 23. |
Jacobsen |
Danish:
patronymic name deriving from the given name Jacob. |
26,852 |
| 24. |
Olesen |
Danish:
patronymic name deriving from the given name Ole. |
24,043 |
| 25. |
Mikkelsen |
Danish:
patronymic name deriving from the given name Mikkel. |
23,250 |
| 26. |
Frederiksen |
Danish:
patronymic name deriving from the given name Frederik. |
21,791 |
| 27. |
Laursen |
Danish:
patronymic name deriving from the given name Laur/Laurs. |
19,044 |
| 28. |
Henriksen |
Danish:
patronymic name deriving from the given name Henrik. |
18,776 |
| 29. |
Lund |
Danish:
topografic name for someone living in or near a grove. |
16,747 |
| 30. |
Schmidt |
Danish
(German): occupational name for a worker in metal. Most often a Germanized form
of Smed (meaning Smith) but can also be of German origin
(from Ger. Schmied). |
15,923 |
| 31. |
Eriksen |
Danish:
patronymic name deriving from the given name Erik. |
15,693 |
| 32. |
Holm |
Danish:
topografic name for someone living on a islet/small island. |
15,029 |
| 33. |
Kristiansen |
Danish:
patronymic name deriving from the given name Kristian. |
14,489 |
| 34. |
Clausen |
Danish:
patronymic name deriving from the given name Claus. |
13,653 |
| 35. |
Simonsen |
Danish:
patronymic name deriving from the given name Simon. |
13,110 |
| 36. |
Svendsen |
Danish:
patronymic name deriving from the given name Svend. |
12,529 |
| 37. |
Andreasen |
Danish:
patronymic name deriving from the given name Andreas. |
12,305 |
| 38. |
Iversen |
Danish:
patronymic name deriving from the given name Iver. |
11,209 |
| 39. |
Jeppesen |
Danish:
patronymic name deriving from the given name Jeppe. |
10,376 |
| 40. |
Mogensen |
Danish:
patronymic name deriving from the given name Mogens. |
9,651 |
| 41. |
Lauridsen |
Danish:
patronymic name deriving from the given name Laurids. |
9,511 |
| 42. |
Østergaard |
Danish:
nickname for a person living on the farmstead named "Østergaard" (literal
meaning "the eastern farmstead"). |
9,423 |
| 43. |
Nissen |
Danish:
patronymic name deriving from the given name Nis. |
9,398 |
| 44. |
Jespersen |
Danish:
patronymic name deriving from the given name Jesper. |
9,318 |
| 45. |
Jepsen |
Danish:
patronymic name deriving from the given name Jep. |
8,876 |
| 46. |
Frandsen |
Danish:
patronymic name deriving from the given name Frands. |
8,781 |
| 47. |
Vestergaard |
Danish:
nickname for a person living on the farmstead named "Vestergaard" (literal
meaning "the western farmstead"). |
8,181 |
| 48. |
Kjær |
Danish:
topografic name for someone living near a pond. |
8,154 |
| 49. |
Nørgaard |
Danish:
nickname for a person living on the farmstead named "Nørgaard" (literal
meaning "the northern farmstead"). |
7,702 |
| 50. |
Jessen |
Danish:
patronymic name deriving from the given name Jes. |
7,657 |
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