Hansen or Hanssen (Danish pronunciation: [ˈhænsn̩]) is a Scandinavian patronymic surname, meaning son of Hans. As of 2008, it is the third most common surname in Denmark, shared by 4.3% of the population.[1] As of 2000, Hansen is the single most common surname in Norway, not counting spelling variations such as Hanssen, which are also quite common.[2] In the Faroe Islands Hansen is the second most common surname, while in the North German federal states of Schleswig-Holstein and Hamburg Hansen is the third and fifth most common surname, respectively.[3] In Sweden the parallel form is Hansson. The frequent occurrences of Hansen as a surname outside Denmark,[4] Norway and Schleswig-Holstein is due to immigration, though Nordic immigrants to English-speaking countries often anglicised their names to Hanson in order to accommodate English orthographic rules.