Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1882-11-22
Snrnames in Rural Denmark.

AAOAC NAO OOA1AS t'CCuAAaAAIAOO SCASClA-
ing surnames among the peasants of
Denmark which are in this country not
generally known. They are anatomic.
ally dissected, as it were, then joined
again onto other parts, thus becoming
complicated and made into veritable
riddles, to puzzle the brain Of one not
used to the custom. Half the people of
a parish may be descendants from one
family and the other half have one an
csstral source, yet if you tried by name
10 assort out two persons very near re-
lated you would get out Of the ring en-
tirely and choose one from each band.
By hearing their names mentioned III
fnll you cannot know father, child or
wife; and it is, indeed, wonder they
don't forget the names of brothers and
sisters, where there isa houseful OF them.
For instance, young man by name
Jans Jorgensen marries maiden named
Petrea Petersdatter. The brides faith
er's given name must then have been
Peter, and the "datter" attached means
daughter. Thus we know her surname
is Petersdaughter, but we cannot find
out what was her fathers. In after life
she is known to her neighbors either as
2etrea Or as Jorgensen's bonneville and
to alI legal documents to which she may
be called for signature, or her address
10 her letters thereafter, her name re-
mains the same as prior to the union.
Many women will, [ think, agree with
me that the wife's retaining her maiden
name is as it should be everywhere.
That custom has less the appearance Of
woman having decided herself away,
body, individuality and soul, to the man
she has welded. As regards the wife's
title, there is little room for argumental
comment, but the names OF their chill
dren after the following formula get
sadly mixed at least such would to all
American seem as natural cOlse-
quence.
The first heir of Jens Jorgensen may
be named Jorgen Jensen. The second
may be named Christian Jensen Stand
rup, or Gaarup, or Gandrup, or some
other "rup" III honor of distant friend,
relative or place. Then the third, be
ing sample of the opposite sex, may be
christened Johanne Jensdatter, or Jen-
sen, etc., until the many names among
the children become interesting, some OF
which would fill a half sheet Of writing
paper. and within the collected lot some
repetitions might be found, either in
joints or full given names.
II the husband becomes widower,
the name in jet is thus inscribed on the
| painted headboard of the wife's grave:
"Petrea, wife of Jens Jorgensen; born
Petersdatter.
Nicknames are brought about mostly
by trade or occupation, and they cling
| sometimes to the family so close that
their progeny may take them for legal
at their christening in infancy. A shoe.
maker may gain as current cognomen
Paul Skomagger. A fisherman may be
known as Paul Fisherman. A violin
player may be called Paul Spikeman. A
resident on farm called Skovgaard
might be known as Paul Skovgaard, etc.
until some of them, I almost believe
would need to talk with the deacon O.
the parish, who holds the books OF rec
ords, to recall their proper names.
In the cities there is much less chang
ing of family surnames, and such peo-
pie of the rural districts as choose to ad
here to their ancestral family name may
do so. And in doing this there is tx
some an unexplainable charm ever
about the simpler ones.