Re: Rasmussen Name Change
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In reply to:
Rasmussen Name Change
Melissa 10/10/04
You don't say when the name change took place, so I can't say for sure why it changed.Names like Rasmussen are called "patronymics". They take the father's first name and add "sen" (Denmark)or "son" (Norway & Sweden, meaning "son of" or add "datter" or "dotter" for a girl.If the son's first name is the same as his father's, e.g. Rasmus Rasmussen, then the last name would stay the same for the next generation.If the son's name was, say, Lars Rasmussen, then his sons would be Larsens, and so on.Somewhere around 1850 in Denmark, they passed a law which made it mandatory to keep the same surname for each generation.People got to choose which name they wanted, a patronymic or some other name, and that's the one they kept. I don't know if this helps in your particular case and perhaps by now your question has already been answered.Good luck!
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Re: Rasmussen Name Change
Melissa 9/01/05