Denmark
A surname most often taken from the country name, used for someone identified as being from Denmark.
The #9,859 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 94,101 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is generally understood as a locational or ethnic name meaning “from Denmark” or “the Dane.” The place-name Denmark comes ultimately from Old Norse elements referring to the Danes, so the surname is tied to national origin rather than to a trade or personal characteristic. In English records, it appears as a straightforward surname based on the country name.
History
Lower explicitly glossed the surname as coming “from the country,” and Bardsley likewise treated it as a local name meaning “of Denmark.” In later English and American records it appears to have been uncommon and may often have been applied to recent immigrants or their descendants. The surname is rare today, especially in the United States.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Because it is a country-name surname, it belongs to the same broad class as names like France, Holland, and Ireland.
From the historical record
“■was a swineherd. DENMARK. From the country. DENNE. An ancient Kentish family deduced from Robert de Dene, butler (2)incerna) to Edw. the Confessor. He is said to have been a Norman, though the surname is English, and is doubtless de- rived from West Dean, co. Sussex. Sussex Arch. Coll. V. 157. DER”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom