Surnames, Naming Traditions, Meaning and Origin
The 100 most common surnames in Denmark
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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 partly SCHMIDT, BACH and BECH) 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.
| Rank | Surname | Origin / Meaning | Occurrence |
| 1. | Jensen | Danish surname of patronymic origin deriving from the given name Jens. | 312,396 |
| 2. | Nielsen | Danish surname of patronymic origin deriving from the given name Niels. | 304,509 |
| 3. | Hansen | Danish surname of patronymic origin deriving from the given name Hans. | 255,892 |
| 4. | Pedersen | Danish surname of patronymic origin deriving from the given name Peder. | 191,144 |
| 5. | Andersen | Danish surname of patronymic origin deriving from the given name Anders. | 175,607 |
| 6. | Christensen | Danish surname of patronymic origin deriving from the given name Christen. | 135,979 |
| 7. | Larsen | Danish surname of patronymic origin deriving from the given name Lars. | 132,441 |
| 8. | Sørensen | Danish surname of patronymic origin deriving from the given name Søren. | 127,078 |
| 9. | Rasmussen | Danish surname of patronymic origin deriving from the given name Rasmus. | 106,249 |
| 10. | Jørgensen | Danish surname of patronymic origin deriving from the given name Jørgen. | 100,376 |
| 11. | Petersen | Danish surname of patronymic origin deriving from the given name Peter. | 95,232 |
| 12. | Madsen | Danish surname of patronymic origin deriving from the given name Mads. | 71,448 |
| 13. | Kristensen | Danish surname of patronymic origin deriving from the given name Kristen. | 65,680 |
| 14. | Olsen | Danish surname of patronymic origin deriving from the given names Ol/Ols/Ole. | 55,461 |
| 15. | Christiansen | Danish surname of patronymic origin deriving from the given name Christian. | 41,005 |
| 16. | Thomsen | Danish surname of patronymic origin deriving from the given name Thom/Tom. | 40,796 |
| 17. | Poulsen | Danish surname of patronymic origin deriving from the given name Poul. | 34,731 |
| 18. | Johansen | Danish surname of patronymic origin deriving from the given name Johan. | 33,500 |
| 19. | Knudsen | Danish surname of patronymic origin deriving from the given name Knud. | 32,567 |
| 20. | Mortensen | Danish surname of patronymic origin deriving from the given name Morten. | 31,846 |
| 21. | Møller | Danish surname deriving from an occupational name for a miller - the man who operated the mill (from Dan. "mølle" = mill). | 31,024 |
| 22. | Jakobsen | Danish surname of patronymic origin deriving from the given name Jakob. | 28,820 |
| 23. | Jacobsen | Danish surname of patronymic origin deriving from the given name Jacob. | 26,852 |
| 24. | Olesen | Danish surname of patronymic origin deriving from the given name Ole. | 24,043 |
| 25. | Mikkelsen | Danish surname of patronymic origin deriving from the given name Mikkel. | 23,250 |
| 26. | Frederiksen | Danish surname of patronymic origin deriving from the given name Frederik. | 21,791 |
| 27. | Laursen | Danish surname of patronymic origin deriving from the given name Laur/Laurs. | 19,044 |
| 28. | Henriksen | Danish surname of patronymic origin deriving from the given name Henrik. | 18,776 |
| 29. | Lund | Danish surname deriving from a topografic name for someone living in or near a grove. | 16,747 |
| 30. | Schmidt | Danish (German) surname deriving from an occupational name for a worker in metal. In Denmark it is most often a Germanized form of Smed (meaning Smith) but can also be of German origin (from Ger. Schmied). | 15,923 |
| 31. | Eriksen | Danish surname of patronymic origin deriving from the given name Erik. | 15,693 |
| 32. | Holm | Danish surname deriving from a topografic name for someone living on a islet/small island. | 15,029 |
| 33. | Kristiansen | Danish surname of patronymic origin deriving from the given name Kristian. | 14,489 |
| 34. | Clausen | Danish surname of patronymic origin deriving from the given name Claus. | 13,653 |
| 35. | Simonsen | Danish surname of patronymic origin deriving from the given name Simon. | 13,110 |
| 36. | Svendsen | Danish surname of patronymic origin deriving from the given name Svend. | 12,529 |
| 37. | Andreasen | Danish surname of patronymic origin deriving from the given name Andreas. | 12,305 |
| 38. | Iversen | Danish surname of patronymic origin deriving from the given name Iver. | 11,209 |
| 39. | Jeppesen | Danish surname of patronymic origin deriving from the given name Jeppe. | 10,376 |
| 40. | Mogensen | Danish surname of patronymic origin deriving from the given name Mogens. | 9,651 |
| 41. | Lauridsen | Danish surname of patronymic origin deriving from the given name Laurids. | 9,511 |
| 42. | Østergaard | Danish surname deriving from a nickname for a person living on the farmstead named "Østergaard" (literal meaning "the eastern farmstead"). | 9,423 |
| 43. | Nissen | Danish surname of patronymic origin deriving from the given name Nis. | 9,398 |
| 44. | Jespersen | Danish surname of patronymic origin deriving from the given name Jesper. | 9,318 |
| 45. | Jepsen | Danish surname of patronymic origin deriving from the given name Jep. | 8,876 |
| 46. | Frandsen | Danish surname of patronymic origin deriving from the given name Frands. | 8,781 |
| 47. | Vestergaard | Danish surname deriving from a nickname for a person living on the farmstead named "Vestergaard" (literal meaning "the western farmstead"). | 8,181 |
| 48. | Kjær | Danish surname deriving from a topografic name for someone living near a pond. | 8,154 |
| 49. | Nørgaard | Danish surname deriving from a nickname for a person living on the farmstead named "Nørgaard" (literal meaning "the northern farmstead"). | 7,702 |
| 50. | Jessen | Danish surname of patronymic origin deriving from the given name Jes. | 7,657 |
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