Danish Surnames

Danish names are used in the country of Denmark in northern Europe. See also about Scandinavian names.
usage
Abel 1 English, French, Danish, Spanish, Portuguese
Derived from the given name Abel.
Adamsen Danish, Norwegian
Means "son of Adam".
Akselsen Norwegian, Danish
Means "son of Aksel".
Andersen Danish, Norwegian
Means "son of Anders". A noteworthy bearer was the Danish author Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875).
Andreasen Danish
Means "son of Andreas".
Anker Dutch, Danish, Norwegian
Metonymic surname for a sailor, meaning "anchor" in Dutch, Danish and Norwegian.
Antonisen Danish
Means "son of Anton".
Antonsen Norwegian, Danish
Means "son of Anton".
Axelsen Danish, Norwegian
Means "son of Axel".
Bach 2 Danish
Variant of Bak.
Bager Danish
Danish cognate of Baker.
Bak Danish
Means "slope, hillside" in Danish, from Old Norse bakki "bank".
Beck 1 English, German, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian
From Middle English bekke (from Old Norse), Low German beke or Old Norse bekkr all meaning "stream".
Bendtsen Danish
Means "son of Bendt".
Bentsen Danish
Means "son of Bent 1".
Berg German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
From Old High German, Old Dutch and Old Norse berg meaning "mountain".
Berntsen Norwegian, Danish
Means "son of Bernt".
Bjarnesen Danish
Means "son of Bjarne".
Bodilsen Danish
Means "son of Bodil".
Brams Danish
Derived from the given name Bram.
Brun French, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish
Means "brown" in French, Danish, Norwegian and Swedish. It was originally a nickname for a person who had brown hair or skin.
Carlsen Danish, Norwegian
Means "son of Carl".
Carstensen Danish
Means "son of Carsten".
Clausen Danish
Means "son of Claus".
Clemensen Danish
Means "son of Clemens".
Dahl Norwegian, Swedish, Danish
From Old Norse dalr meaning "valley". A famous of this surname was author Roald Dahl (1916-1990) who is mostly remembered for children's stories such as Matilda and Henry Sugar.
Dalgaard Danish
From Old Norse dalr meaning "valley" and garðr meaning "yard, farmstead".
Dam Dutch, Danish
Means "dike, dam" in Dutch and Danish. In modern Danish it also means "pond".
Davidsen Danish
Means "son of David".
Eliassen Norwegian, Danish
Means "son of Elias".
Eriksen Danish, Norwegian
Means "son of Erik".
Ernst German, Dutch, Danish
From the given name Ernst.
Falk Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, German
From Old Norse falki or Old High German falco meaning "falcon".
Feldt German, Danish, Swedish
North German, Danish and Swedish variant of Feld.
Fisker Danish
Means "fisherman" in Danish.
Frank 3 German, Dutch, Danish, Norwegian
Name for a person from Franconia in Germany, so called because it was settled by the Frankish people. A notable bearer was the German-Jewish diarist Anne Frank (1929-1945), a victim of the Holocaust.
Frederiksen Danish
Means "son of Frederik".
Friis Danish, Norwegian, Swedish
Scandinavian (mostly Danish) form of Fries.
Giese German, Danish
Derived from a short form of the given name Giselbert or other Old German names beginning with the element gisal meaning "pledge, hostage".
Guldbrandsen Norwegian, Danish
Means "son of Gulbrand" in Norwegian and Danish.
Hall English, German, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish
Means simply "hall", given to one who either lived in or worked in a hall (the house of a medieval noble).
Hansen Norwegian, Danish
Means "son of Hans". This is the most common surname in Norway, and the third most common in Denmark.
Henningsen Danish
Means "son of Henning".
Hjort Danish, Swedish
Danish and Swedish cognate of Hart.
Holm Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
From Swedish, Danish and Norwegian holme, holm meaning "islet" (Old Norse holmr).
Holst Danish, Low German, Dutch
Originally referred to a person from the region of Holstein between Germany and Denmark. A famous bearer of this name was the English composer Gustav Holst (1874-1934).
Holt English, Dutch, Danish, Norwegian
From Old English, Old Dutch and Old Norse holt meaning "forest".
Horn English, German, Norwegian, Danish
From the Old English, Old High German and Old Norse word horn meaning "horn". This was an occupational name for one who carved objects out of horn or who played a horn, or a person who lived near a horn-shaped geographical feature, such as a mountain or a bend in a river.
Ibsen Danish
Means "son of Ib". A famous bearer was the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906).
Isaksen Norwegian, Danish
Means "son of Isak".
Iversen Norwegian, Danish
Means "son of Iver".
Jacobsen Danish
Means "son of Jacob".
Jakobsen Danish, Norwegian
Means "son of Jakob".
Jensen Danish, Norwegian
Means "son of Jens". This is the most common surname in Denmark.
Jenson Danish (Anglicized)
Americanized form of Jensen.
Jeppesen Danish
Means "son of Jeppe".
Jespersen Danish
Means "son of Jesper".
Johansen Norwegian, Danish
Means "son of Johan". This is the second most common Norwegian surname.
Johnsen Norwegian, Danish
Means "son of John".
Jokumsen Danish
Means "son of Jokum".
Jonasen Danish
Means "son of Jonas 2".
Jørgensen Danish
Means "son of Jørgen".
Karlsen Danish, Norwegian
Means "son of Karl".
Kaspersen Danish
Means "son of Kasper".
Kjær Danish
Topographic name for someone living near a wetland, from Danish kær "marsh", from Old Norse kjarr "thicket".
Kjeldsen Danish
Means "son of Kjeld".
Klausen Danish
Means "son of Klaus".
Knudsen Danish
Means "son of Knud".
Koppel Estonian, Danish
From Low German koppel meaning "paddock, pasture" (a word borrowed into Estonian).
Kristensen Danish
Means "son of Kristen 1".
Lang German, Danish, Norwegian
German, Danish and Norwegian cognate of Long.
Lange German, Danish, Norwegian
German, Danish and Norwegian cognate of Long.
Larsen Danish, Norwegian
Means "son of Lars".
Lauridsen Danish
Means "son of Laurids".
Lauritsen Danish
Means "son of Laurits".
Laursen Danish
Means "son of Laur", a short form of Laurits.
Lind Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
Derived from Old Norse lind meaning "linden tree".
Ludvigsen Danish
Means "son of Ludvig".
Lund Danish, Swedish, Norwegian
Indicated a person who lived near a grove of trees, from Old Norse lundr meaning "grove". There are towns in Sweden named Lund.
Lykke Danish
Means "happiness" in Danish.
Madsen Danish
Means "son of Mads".
Mathiasen Danish
Means "son of Mathias".
Matthiasen Danish
Means "son of Matthias".
Mikkelsen Danish
Means "son of Mikkel".
Mogensen Danish
Means "son of Mogens".
Møller Danish
Danish form of Müller.
Nielsen Danish
Means "son of Niels 1".
Nikolajsen Danish
Means "son of Nikolaj".
Nissen Danish
Means "son of Nis".
Nordskov Danish
Means "north woods" in Danish.
Nørup Danish
From the name of Danish villages named Nørup or Norup.
Norup Danish
Variant of Nørup.
Olesen Danish
Means "son of Ole".
Olsen Norwegian, Danish
Means "son of Ole".
Øster Danish
From Danish øst meaning "east", originally denoting a dweller on the eastern side of a place.
Østergård Danish
From Danish øst meaning "east" and gård meaning "enclosure, farm".
Ottosen Danish, Norwegian
Means "son of Otto".
Pallesen Danish
Means "son of Palle".
Paulsen Norwegian, Danish
Means "son of Paul".
Pedersen Danish, Norwegian
Means "son of Peder".
Petersen Danish, Norwegian
Means "son of Peter".
Poulsen Danish
Means "son of Poul".
Randrup Danish
From the name of homesteads in Denmark (in Viborg or Rebild municipalities).
Rask Danish, Swedish
Means "energetic, quick, healthy" in Danish and Swedish.
Ravn Danish
Means "raven" in Danish, from Old Norse hrafn.
Reenberg Danish
Meaning unknown. The second element is probably from Old Norse berg "mountain" (modern Danish bjerg).
Riber Danish
Originally indicated a person from the county or town of Ribe in southwestern Denmark.
Robertsen Danish
Means "son of Robert".
Sander German, Danish
Derived from the given name Alexander.
Skov Danish
Topographic name meaning "forest, wood" in Danish, from Old Norse skógr.
Skovgaard Danish
From a place name, derived from Danish skov "forest, wood" and gård "farm, yard".
Steensen Danish
Means "son of Steen".
Stefansen Danish
Means "son of Stefan".
Steffensen Danish
Means "son of Steffen".
Stenberg Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
Derived from Scandinavian sten (Old Norse steinn) meaning "stone" and berg meaning "mountain". As a Swedish name it is ornamental.
Strand Norwegian, Swedish, Danish
From Old Norse strǫnd meaning "beach, sea shore". It was originally given to someone who lived on or near the sea.
Strøm Norwegian, Danish
Means "stream" in Norwegian and Danish.
Svendsen Danish, Norwegian
Means "son of Svend".
Thorn English, Danish
Originally applied to a person who lived in or near a thorn bush.
Thorsen Danish, Norwegian
Means "son of Thor".
Troelsen Danish
Means "son of Troels".
Vernersen Danish
Means "son of Verner".
Vestergaard Danish
From a place name, derived from Danish vest "west" and gård "farm, yard".
Vinter Danish, Norwegian, Swedish
Scandinavian variant of Winter.
Wang 3 German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
From Old High German wang or Old Norse vangr meaning "grassy slope, meadow".
Winther Danish, Swedish
Danish and Swedish variant of Winter.