Danish Baby Names

Danish names have a clean, crisp quality, and several of them have become familiar in the United States without many people realizing where they came from. Karen is the Danish form of a Greek classic meaning pure, and Kirsten is a Danish form of a name with early religious roots. Kristen, Kiersten and Keirsten are English spellings that grew out of it, and Karyn and Caren are alternate spellings of Karen.

Denmark also shaped surnames. For centuries Danes used patronymics, so a son of Jens became Jensen, and Andersen was formed the same way. Those surnames now work as first names on their own, and Jenson and Jensyn are newer spellings in the same style. Jens itself is a short Danish form of a biblical name, and Ole is a traditional Danish form of an old Norse name. Carsten is a Danish and North German form of an old name with religious roots.

Spelling and pronunciation deserve attention. Danish uses letters such as ø and å, which are usually changed when a name is written in English. Soren, for example, is written Søren in Denmark, and the vowel sound changes as well. The English pronunciation is often quite different from the Danish one, so decide which version you want before you commit.