what does the last name hansen mean
About the Hansen surname. This last name was originally a typical Scandinavian Patronymic: http://wiki.geni.com/index.php/Patronymics It was only introduced as a last name or family name around 1850-1900. Hansen is a Danish-Norwegian patronymic surname, literally meaning son of Hans. It is the third most common surname in Denmark, shared by about 4.3% of the population. Hansen is the single most common surname in Norway, not counting spelling variations such as Hanssen, which are also quite common.