Geschichte und Gegenwart Dänischer Familiennamen

Abstract

Danish family names seem to be easy to understand and interpret. The 50 most frequent Danish family names are carried by 70% of the Danish population, all of which end with the typical suffix –sen. Thus, other means than the family name are used to distinguish people carrying the same name, namely the first name and the middle name (e. g. Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the name of the Danish Prime Minister). The history of laws concerning Danish family names is long, starting as early as 1526. Since then, six different laws were passed in 1828, 1857, 1898, 1904, 1961, and most recently, in 2005. All of these aimed at a diversification of the Danish name landscape. Today, every name that is carried by more than 2000 people, can be chosen by those who wish to change their family name. In the first year after the new law has been in force, 40000 Danes changed their family names and the authorities are expecting equally high numbers of applications for name changes in the coming years.