Christensen
A Scandinavian patronymic surname meaning “son of Christian.”
The #433 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 4,109 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Christensen is a patronymic surname built from the personal name Christian, ultimately from Latin Christianus, meaning “a Christian.” The ending -sen is the Scandinavian “son of” suffix, so the name originally meant “son of Christian.” Historical sources also show related forms such as Christiansen, reflecting the same basic formation with a slightly different personal-name base.
History
The surname is especially common in Denmark and Norway, and it also appears in North German border regions where Scandinavian naming habits overlapped. In older reference works, it is grouped with other Scandinavian patronymics derived from Christian names. The modern family name became hereditary as patronymics gradually fixed into surnames.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Because the base name Christian was popular across Christian Europe, related surnames like Christensen and Christiansen developed independently in several places with very similar meanings.
From the historical record
“CHRISTIANSEN) Scand. forms of Christ- CHRISTENSEN J ianson, q.v. in Diet. CLERC l(Fr.)- Clerk [Fr. cUrc, Lat. CLERGUE; cleric-us] COQUARD (Fri) Old Gallant, Old Beau [Fr. caq, a coek -1- the intens. suif. -ard, O.lerxt. hard] COUDRAY (Fr.) Hazel-Grove [see Cowdrey,”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)