Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “Sorensen” come from?

Sorensen is a Danish patronymic surname derived from Søren, itself from søn meaning "son," tracing through Old Danish sun and Proto-Germanic sunuz back to Proto-Indo-European suHnús.

Ancestry of “Sorensen”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1DanishSørensen—
2DanishSøren—
3LatinSeverinus—
4LatinSevērus—
5Proto-Italicseɣwēros—
6Proto-Indo-Europeanseǵʰwr̥—
7Proto-Indo-Europeanseǵʰ-to hold; to overpower
Every word from Proto-Indo-European seǵʰ- →