What’s in a Name? :: essays papers

What’s in a Name? I have always been very proud of everything that I have accomplished in my life. I am proud of one thing more than anything else; my heritage. Ever since I was a child I was told all about my grandparents and their trek from Denmark to the United States. I was curious what their homeland was like, but it never seemed to be a topic of discussion. My grandmother boasted the Danish flag in her home, and displayed little trinkets that said â€Å"velkomen† on them. My knowledge was limited to these few things I saw when I was a child. Since both of my grandparents had passed away, I started my research by picking up the phone and calling my father. My father, Larry Jensen, didn’t know very much about Denmark either. He knew a few names from his family and their birth dates, so I started from there. I hit the internet with my newly obtained knowledge and I searched for anything that could link me to my past. I did not find anything about any of my specific relatives, but I learned about how and why I got my last name. Apparently, Danish people did not have last names until the late 19th century when new laws were introduced forcing them to take on a surname. The common people of Denmark didn’t use family names to identify themselves. Before it was required to have a last name, people used patronymics, meaning they took on their father’s first name with an ending to make their last name. It was also common for people in a town that was large to use their occupation or place of residence as a last name. Many of the girls would get the father’s first name with â€Å"datter† or â€Å"dot ter† attached to it (meaning daughter of.) The boys would get their father’s first name with â€Å"sen† or â€Å"son† attached to it (meaning son of.) In Denmark, â€Å"datter† and â€Å"dotter† meant the same thing, just as â€Å"sen,† and â€Å"son† were the same thing (Origins of Danish Names). The name Jensen, meaning â€Å"son of Jens,† has many different spellings. The Dutch forms of Jensen are Jans, Johansen, Janse, Jansen, Janssen, Hoensen and Janzen. The root of all of these names comes from the stem or the variation of a stem, which is Jan.