More women than men change surnames

In Denmark, traditional marriage customs of women taking their husband’s surname persist, with recent statistics indicating that 33,268 individuals changed their surname last year, 70% of whom were women. According to Statistics Denmark, those who changed their surname were typically aged between the early 20s to early 40s, aligning with the common age range for marriage. However, the link to marriage was not specifically addressed in the study. Two-thirds of 24 to 37 year-olds who adopted a new surname also married in 2024. The total surname changes have remained stable over the past decade. Additionally, 5147 people altered their first names, with women again accounting for two-thirds of these changes, including adjustments in spelling, syllable reduction, or entirely new first names. The most common change for women was from ‘Susanne’ to ‘Sanne’, and for men from ‘Rene’ to ‘René’. The most prevalent first names last year were ‘Peter’ and ‘Anne’.