Sorensen, or Sorenson, is a surname that can be of Danish or Scandinavian origin. The basic derivation is "son of Søren", the

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

variety of the name Severin. The name almost exclusively comes from Danish or Norwegian emigrants named

Sørensen Sørensen () is a Danish-Norwegian patronymic surname meaning "son of Søren" (given name equivalent of Severin). , it is the eighth most common surname in Denmark. Immigrants to English-speaking countries often changed the spelling to ''Sorense ...

who altered the spelling of their names when they moved to countries outside

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...

whose orthographies do not use the letter ø. Notable people with this surname include: * Albert Sorensen (born 1932), American politician *

Alfred Sorensen Alfred Julius Emmanuel Sorensen (October 27, 1890 – August 13, 1984), also known as Sunyata, Shunya, or Sunyabhai, was a Danish mystic, horticulturist and writer who lived in Europe, India and the US. Early life and background Alfred Sorens ...

, Danish mystic, horticulturalist and writer who lived in Europe, India and the US * Arne Sørensen, Danish politician and writer * Arne Sørensen, Danish footballer and coach *

Bill Sorensen William Sorensen was a New Zealand rugby league footballer who represented New Zealand national rugby league team, New Zealand in the 1954 Rugby League World Cup, 1954, 1957 Rugby League World Cup, 1957 and 1960 Rugby League World Cup, 1960 World ...

, New Zealand rugby league footballer *

Charles E. Sorensen Charles Emil Sorensen (7 September 1881 – 11 August 1968) was a Danish-American principal of the Ford Motor Company during its first four decades. Like most other managers at Ford at the time, he did not have an official job title, but he served ...

, Danish-American, one of the principals of the Ford Motor Company during its first four decades * Christian A. Sorensen (1890-1959), American politician *

Dane Sorensen Dane Hans Ivan Peter Sorensen (born 4 October 1955) is a New Zealand former rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s. Sorensen represented New Zealand and his usual position was . Background He's the brother of fellow Kiwi in ...

, New Zealand rugby league footballer *

Daniel Sorensen Daniel Sorensen (born March 5, 1990) is an American football safety for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at BYU. Professional career Kansas City Chiefs 2014 On May 11, 2014, the Kansas ...

, Kansas City Chiefs strong safety * Edward Sorenson (1869–1939), Australian poet * Eric Sorensen (journalist), Canadian journalist * Eric Sorensen (politician), American politician * Erik Sørensen, Danish footballer *

Gerry Sorensen Gerry Sorensen (born October 15, 1958) is a Canadian former female alpine skier. Sorensen was born in Kimberley, British Columbia Kimberley is a city in southeast British Columbia, Canada along Highway 95A between the Purcell and Rocky Mount ...

, Canadian alpine skier * Gillian Sorensen, American member of the United Nations Foundation * Harry Sørensen (disambiguation) *

James Sorensen James Sorensen (born 18 July 1986 in Melbourne, Australia) is a former professional model and actor. He is best known for portraying Declan Napier in the soap opera '' Neighbours''. Sorensen served in the Australian Army in his early 20s. He ...

(born 1986), Australian actor and model *

James LeVoy Sorenson James LeVoy Sorenson (July 30, 1921 – January 20, 2008) was an American businessman, the founder of Sorenson Companies, a parent company of 32 corporations. A noted philanthropist, he was the richest man in Utah with an estimated net wort ...

, American businessman and philanthropist *

Jen Sorensen Jen Sorensen (born September 28, 1974, in Lancaster, Pennsylvania) is an American cartoonist and illustrator who authors a weekly comic strip that often focuses on current events from a liberal perspective. Her work appears on the websites Daily ...

, American cartoonist *

Jesse Sorensen Jessy Ryan Sorensen (born March 1, 1989) is an American professional wrestler, who is best known for his time in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. He began his career in 2008, but he gained national exposition when he participated in the X Division ...

, American professional wrestler *

Jonathan Sorensen Jonathan Roger Sorensen (born October 10, 1965) is an American sociologist, criminologist, and professor in the Department of Criminal Justice at the East Carolina University College of Human Ecology. He is known for his research on capital punis ...

, American sociologist and criminologist *

Kent Sorenson Kent Sorenson (born March 29, 1972) is a former Iowa state legislator who resigned after pleading guilty to obstruction of justice and other felonies related to campaign finances. Sorenson graduated from Indianola High School in 1990. He was ...

, American Politician *

Kurt Sorensen Kurt John Sorensen (born 8 November 1956) is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. Background He is the brother of fellow Kiwi international, Dane Sorensen, and the nephew of anothe ...

, New Zealand rugby league footballer *

Kyle Sorensen Kyle Sorensen (born June 22, 1986) is a Canadian lacrosse player who plays defense for the Washington Stealth of the National Lacrosse League and the Toronto Nationals of Major League Lacrosse Major League Lacrosse (MLL) was a men's field ...

, lacrosse player *

Lary Sorensen Lary Alan Sorensen (born October 4, 1955) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher who played for the Milwaukee Brewers (1977–1980), St. Louis Cardinals (1981), Cleveland Indians (1982–1983), Oakland Athletics (1984), Chica ...

, American baseball player *

Louk Sorensen Louk Sorensen (born 7 January 1985) is an Irish former professional tennis player. Sorensen was the first player representing Ireland to win a Grand Slam event main draw match in the Open Era. His father, Sean, was the first Irishman to play a ...

(born 1985), Irish tennis player, son of Sean Sorensen *

Max Sorensen Max Christian Sorensen (born 18 November 1985) is an Irish former international cricketer of South African origin, who played for the Irish national team. Born in Johannesburg, Sorensen is a right-handed batsman who bowls right-arm fast-medium. ...

, Irish cricketer *

Nick Sorensen Nicholas Carl Sorensen (born July 31, 1978) is an American football coach and former safety who is a defensive assistant for the San Francisco 49ers. He played college football at Virginia Tech and signed with the Miami Dolphins as an undrafted ...

, American football player *

Reed Sorenson Bradley Reed Sorenson (born February 5, 1986) is an American professional stock car racing driver and spotter. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 27 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE for Premium Motorsports, the Nos. 74 ...

, American race car driver *

Reginald Sorensen, Baron Sorensen Reginald William Sorensen, Baron Sorensen (19 June 1891 – 8 October 1971) was a Unitarianism, Unitarian minister and Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician in the United Kingdom. He was a Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Par ...

, British politician * Rosemary Sorensen (born 1954), Australian art critic * Roy Sorensen, American philosopher who worked on the

Sorites paradox The sorites paradox (; sometimes known as the paradox of the heap) is a paradox that results from vague predicates. A typical formulation involves a heap of sand, from which grains are removed individually. With the assumption that removing a sing ...

* Sean Sorensen (born 1955), Irish tennis player, father of Louk Sorensen * Søren Sørensen (1868–1939), Danish chemist * Soren Lorenson *

Ted Sorensen Theodore Chaikin Sorensen (May 8, 1928 – October 31, 2010) was an American lawyer, writer, and presidential adviser. He was a speechwriter for President John F. Kennedy, as well as one of his closest advisers. President Kennedy once called him ...

, American presidential counsel, speechwriter, and political author; husband of Gillian *

Tom Sorensen Thomas Sorensen (born April 6, 1971, in Racine, Wisconsin) is a former American volleyball player, who was a member of the United States men's national volleyball team at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. Sorenson graduated from Raci ...

, American volleyball player * Tonny Sorensen, CEO of Von Dutch *

Virginia Sorensen Virginia Louise Sorensen (née Eggertsen; February 17, 1912 – December 24, 1991), also credited as Virginia Sorenson, was an American literary regionalism, American regionalist writer. Her role in Utah and Mormon literature places her within th ...

(1912–1991), American author * Zach Sorensen (born 1977), American baseball player

Other uses

Sorenson codec Sorenson Media was an American software company specializing in video encoding technology. Established in December 1995 as Sorenson Vision, the company developed technology which was licensed and ultimately acquired from Utah State University. T ...

, the internal video codec used by QuickTime *

Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership Sorensen, or Sorenson, is a surname that can be of Danish or Scandinavian origin. The basic derivation is "son of Søren", the Danish variety of the name Severin. The name almost exclusively comes from Danish or Norwegian emigrants named Sørensen ...

, affiliate of the University of Virginia *

Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation The Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation (SMGF) was an independent DNA and genealogical research institution with the goal of demonstrating how the peoples of the world are related. SMGF collected DNA samples and genealogical information from i ...

Other uses

See also