Svendsen Surname: Origin, Meaning & Coat of Arms

Heraldry follows families, not surnames. A Svendsen coat of arms, where one exists, belonged to a specific line.

Family name meaning

Svendsen began as a Danish family name. The usual explanation, from Elsdon Smith, is “the son of Svend or Sven (young boy, or servant)”.

It is a patronymic: it named a person after a father or forebear. Smith also lists Svensen. The 2010 US Census counted 2,267 people named Svendsen, ranking it number 13,438 among American surnames.

For the full story, order the Svendsen surname pack.