Nielsen may soon top the list of the most common Danish surnames

Expert argues, Jensen, the current number one may be overtaken by the end of this year

Lucie Rychla

Having topped the list of the most common Danish surnames for years, Jensen may soon be replaced by Nielsen, suggests Danmarks Statistik.

Nielsen family is growing
Over the past few years, Nielsen has been gradually catching up with Jensen, with about 600 new people added to the Nielsen-group annually.

At the turn of 2015, there were only eight Jensens more than Nielsens.

At the speed ‘the Nielsen family’ is growing, their surname will probably overtake Jensen in the battle of the most common Danish surname by the end of this year.

Favouring more original middle names
According to Peder Gammeltoft, a professor at the Nordic Research Institute, a significant number of Danes called Jensen have chosen a more special surname – normally their middle name.

“We live in a very individualistic time, and therefore there are many people who change their surname or drop a name like Jensen in favour of their more original middle name. In this way they stand a little apart from the crowd,” Gammeltoft told Søndagsavisen.

Names ending in ‘sen’ topping the list
Despite the decline, well over half of the Danish population has a surname ending in ‘sen’.

According to Danmarks Statistik, there were 216,007 people with the surname Hansen, while 162,629 people were called Pedersen and 159,085 Andersen.

The first surname that does not end in ‘sen’, Møller, ranks 19th, with 30,157 Danes having that last name.

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