Rasmussen surname meaning

Rasmussen is a Danish, Norwegian, and North German patronymic meaning “son of Rasmus.” Rasmus is the familiar Scandinavian short form of Erasmus, a Greek-derived Christian name often glossed as “beloved” or “amiable,” and -sen is the Scandinavian “son” ending. Until the nineteenth century the form was often a living patronym that changed each generation; Danish surname laws later locked many families into Rasmussen as a hereditary name. Rasmusen, Rasmusson, and Rasmuson are close spelling cousins. Parent’s name is the clear type, and the Rasmus descent reading is high confidence.