Selected name columns

Far out in the North Atlantic there are two groups of green islands: the Shetland islands, which today form a part of Great Britain, and the Faroe Islands, which now form a part of the Danish federation of states.…

On a runestone found at Snoldelev to the south of Roskilde we can find the oldest written form of a place-name that can with certainty be linked to a place in present-day Denmark. The brief runic inscription, however,…

On July 3rd 1721 Hans Egede and his family, together with the crews of the two ships Haabet and Anne Christine, reached their destination on the west coast of Greenland. July 2021 thus marked the 300th anniversary of th…

In the Danish landscape there are many place-names showing traces of old heathen gods such as Odin, Freyr, Freyja, Njord, Balder and – in particular – Thor. Whether or not there are also traces of the half-god Loki is…

Most of us recognise Dannebrog as the ensign for all the Danes and the meaning of the name is something such as "the flag of all the Danes". Both of these, however, are a kind of a subsequent rationalisation.

When Denmark's participant went on stage at the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest in Lisbon it was under the stage-name Rasmussen. Although this is the artist's actual surname, it is surprising that such a common name should…

The island in the Pacific known as Christmas Island is called the same in the language of the natives – while at the same time being called something different.

The name of the lake in West Sjælland probably is connected to the old heathen gods – and a large and wealthy complex of buildings from the Iron Age and the Viking Age.

As an historical location Jelling has formed the centre of rotation for many investigations and at the present time an important archaeological and interdisciplinary project, financed by the Bikuben foundation, is in it…

Odense is only the third largest city in Denmark but nevertheless perhaps the one that is most well-known. The meaning of the name is "Odin's shrine".

The High German surname Zornig is making frequent appearances in Danish media at the moment, a name that is generally categorized by name scholars as a derisive name.

On 14th April 2011 it was revealed that the new Danish prince was in future to be referred to as Prince Vincent, and it is to be expected that in the coming years the name will become increasingly popular.

Tristan has been included in Statistics Denmark’s list of the 50 most popular boys’ names since 2008. In earlier years it was a very rare name in Denmark.

The girls' name Majbritt is the one that has been authorised by the Nation Social Appeals Board in the most numerous different spellings. It is also a rather complicated name.

The name has given rise to many variants in different languages, including Persian and Arabic. Many celebreties have carried the name – and several cities carry it as well!

Most Danes have heard about the two rune stones in Jelling – only a few of them, however, know anything about the third one. It is of course nowhere near as exciting but nevertheless it contains the oldest known record…

The Mayor of Århus in 2010 proposed to change the spelling Århus to Aarhus. Cases like these are decided by the Danish Place-Name Committee.

The roots of the masculine name Asger go more than one thousand years back in time and it can thus be considered to be an old Nordic name.

The name Johannes is probably the name that has given rise to the largest number of variants and short-forms in Denmark.

The popularity of the name in Denmark first became obvious in the middle of the 1990s. What is particularly interesting, however, is that it is not just in Denmark that the name has achieved great popularity.

In its present form the name à rhus would seem to be a compound of the words åre 'oar' and hus 'house'. This is, however, not the case.

The newly-appointed Danish Minister of Finance has brought the surname Corydon into the limelight.

Ribe is the first Danish town we know by name. There is no consensus on the meaning of the name, though.

How the Danish capital København has come to end up by being called Copenhagen in English is uncertain.