Dictionary Update: Danish Names

NameAPI has expanded its Nordic coverage with 2,600 given names and 8,600 family names, capturing how people in Denmark and Danish communities abroad really name themselves today.

Danish names weave together Old Norse roots, Christian and royal traditions, and modern global influences, with classic names like Søren and Astrid, biblical and noble names like Christian and Margrethe, and newer international choices like Oliver or Alma adapted to Danish language and style. Surnames ending in -sen (Jensen, Nielsen, Hansen) still dominate and preserve the echo of the old “son of” patronymic system.

Our graph database stores relations between different versions of a name. This allows NameAPI to link Danish names appearing in different forms, catching variations that simple string‑matching would miss.

With these enhancements, NameAPI delivers:

• Parsing of traditional and modern name forms such as “Vibeke Diderichsen” or “Mogens Nørgård”.
• Gender recognition for names like “Grethe Frands” (female) and “Aksel Kronback” (male).
• Matching that understands nicknames and short forms, such as “Bjorny Sorensen” with “Bjørn Sørensen”.