Nansensgade is one of several new streets that were created on the former glacis outside the North Rampart after Copenhagen's Bastioned Fortifications were decommissioned. The area was released by the military and purchased by the government in 1864. The new streets in the area was named after people who played a role during the Swedish siege of Copenhagen in the 1650s. The street is named after Hans Nansen, mayor of Copenhagen and a close of king Frederick III.