I like your professional set-up. I liked your earlier, more homey and chummy backgrounds (in-home) too. This posh studio set-up (in my opinion anyway) makes you two appear to be more important more like Joe Rogan, TMZ and other well known famous folks, who broadcast from important looking studio set-ups. I like how well you have adapted to what is admittedly a fairly FOREIGN country, as well. I reckon there are not a ton of we Americans who choose to live over in Denmark full time, eh?
Although I like the chatty style of this video and the camaraderie between you two and your guests in ALL podcasts, this one in particular did tend to ramble on a bit, and I found that I lost track of the LIST of stuff that just makes sense in your adopted country. Just go from one thing to the next maybe without all the extraneous chit-chat so that we, who are not in the know and do not know you, can keep better track of the information you are trying to impart to us, maybe? Just a thought / a suggestion really. I clamour to see and hear (se og hør?) what you folks have to say, though. I have become a fan.
Your programmes are becoming very professional, but still fun and loose. Always love hearing your observations. I am dane, born and bred abroad, that moved here in 1985, aged 23. I have been through just about every culture shock that you have been through, despite my being of danish parents and speaking the language - but with a heavy english accent
1:42 Fun fact about "Friday candy": It's actually because of The Disney Show that it's on a friday. When I was a kid (I'm 47) we got candy on Saturdays because that's when the weekly Looney Toones cartoon show was aired. When it was replaced by Disney's cartoon show that was aired on Fridays and the weekly candy day naturally changed to Fridays to go with the cartoons. 🤷♀️ (Keep in mind that 1-2 channels was the norm back then so you couldn't just change channels as you pleased and the weekly cartoon show was a huge deal.)
I moved to Denmark two months ago and i love your show ❤ . I'm Brazilian, lived in Ireland, Belgium and now here. Just love all the different stuff you guys are showing here. Well done ❤
I've stated this before and happily do it again: You guys rock! It is SO interesting to hear what you as immigrants think of this tiny kingdom of ours and your life here! Keep up the good work, please! 😊
I have really never met anybody that didn't know what their last name was. Ira, you must have met a Swede. The official rule is: You can only have one last name, but you can have several first names. So technically, there is no such thing as a “middle name”.
No there’s absolutely is. If it’s extra “last names” that just isn’t your legal last name, then it’s a middle name. Any name that’s of the first name type are just extra first names. So you can have multiple first names (first name types) or middle names (last name types), but only one last name.
@@Pippastinak I did not make it, it's how it officially is described. Nothing mentioned on last name typed names or anything. There are two kinds of names, first names and last names, of which you can only have one. If your name is Per Larsen Poulsen. Larsen will still be a first name. It is actually very simple................................ for once.
So interesting getting your points of view on “what makes sense in Denmark”😊 as a Dane I agree ;) been traveling previously, and it’s always fun to hear what international have to say about DK 😄 I adore you guys, keep up the great work ☺️
If you look at a Danish person's official documents (passport/drivers license), you will see that there are "Last name" and "First name(s)" - no middle name. Usually people go by their first first name, but you can basically do whatever in none-official matters (basically anything that does not involve MitID/NemID).
Little friday, its also a way to give people who live the "foreningsliv" in eg "højskoler" or if youre stationed somewere, you get a chance to come together before going home for the actual weekend..
Growing up in the 80's not only were we direct but also less PC, so having a bunch of mates all named the same first name. We usually used traits to distinguish them. Like little Jesper, big Jesper, skinny Frank, chubby Frank, leather David, negro David etc. & this was by no means said in a racial, bullying or demeaning way, but simply to let other people know exactly which Jesper, Frank or David you were referring to....& they all knew too which ones they were. It just made sense.
so funny, we also had nicknames and not real names for friends... some of them were quite funny. People got names from silly accidents etc. :-D Even our math teacher had a nickname.
The thing with middel and last names. A decent amount of parents give their child on of their last names. So I got my moms last name and my dads last name (but tend to use my dads, like you traditionally do) and then use my moms (the one she had before marrying my dad) as my middel name.
When filling in official forms with names, your first name and middle name is to be written in the column with first name. Only your surname, ergo the family name must appear in the column with surname. But it's confusing because I don't have 2 first names but 2 family names. My middle name comes from my mother's side and my last name from my father's. It is not hyphenated. So my siblings and I have the same middle name and last name. Others have multiple individual first names. And some are called both names.
So great with your new studio and guests, you guys are doing great :-) My love of fridays, started when I was a small child. We didn´t have many channels.. 1 danish and 2 swedish.. and friday, was the day with 3+1 cartoons on DR, it was HUGE!! :-D
Yasmin would actually be an extra frist name in Denmark in that instans, no matter if you/she have a middel name or not. A middel name in Denmark is a designated slot for extra “last names” that isn’t your legal last name but is of the last name “type”. You usually get it from a parent’s middle or last name, but it was a last name at some point.
Isn’t it that you can have many first names, but only one last name (that can be hyphenated). The box “middle name” does not exist in the birth certificate formula.
@@EvaMariaHein No, in a lot of situations there isn’t a slot for middle name, cuz it isn’t all that necessary, but it is on a “person attest”, which is what you get if you try to order a new birth certificate. My kids got middle names. It is an actual legal thing.
This is not quite correct. Middle names are most commonly of the last-name type, but they do not have to be. Any approved first name may also be taken as a middle name, but you may not later on take that same name as a last name. The primary difference between first names and first-name type middle names is that first names must match gender assignment, whereas first-name type middle names may be of either gender. Last-name type middle names are considered equal to last names and may be passed on to children; first-name type middle names are personal and gender-neutral and may not be passed on to children (though you are of course free to give your children the same middle name as your own); and first names are gendered and may not be passed on to children (though you are free to give your child the same first name as your own, provided it matches their gender).
Just posted this in another thread but it makes sense here too: The thing is really that there is a clash between the Danish 20th century naming conventions and EU agreements. Before EU passports we had fornavn, mellemnavn and efternavn in Danish passports, reflecting the cultural practices. But most EU countries did things differently so DK agreed to go with just given and family names in the new EU passports. Which led to mellemnavne becoming fornavne in official documents beyond passports too, thus creating some confusion. Especially since, alongside this development, the cultural conventions -and at some point also the law- changed towards more flexibility so women no longer just took their husband's family name. This change led to many people having three or even four family names which now had to be listed as given names since the mellemnavn category was no longer available, just when it was becoming more necessary. I still wonder if Danish will reach a point of copying Spanish, i.e. a standard of two family names, one from each parent = grandfather's name, with the difference that it wouldn't necessarily have to be the grandfather's name that gets passed on but potentially names from the female lines instead.
@@kokoshneta The point about gender re first and middle names is interesting, didn't know that. Do you happen to know if this was changed in a recent amendment of the law (recent = the past 20 years from my perspective 😱😆)?
My husband and I HATE double duvets (we’re both danes), and when we are on vacation, we divide as one takes the bedcover and the other the duvet. How can anyone share one without getting pissed at eachother? We are burritosleepers. I need my own duvet
To Nordic people duvets are like science. There's the summer duvet. Wich is so light weight it keeps you cool througout the night. The winter duvet. For spring, fall, and mild winters. Then the extreme winter duvet. Wich will keep you snug as a bug, even with your bedroom window open all night. You possibly waking up in the morning, your duvet covered with a slight dusting of snow.... (Fresh air is KING) ! Also duvets come in different sizes. The Norwegian standard (single) duvet is 1.40 metres by 2.0 metres. Or "long", wich is 2.2 metres in lenght. (Think Erling Braut Haaland.... He'll need the latter) ! 😉 Love from Norway 🇳🇴
Thanks for a fun show. About names, it’s a bit funny - and you guys are definitely getting it wrong 😁😁😁 So in the English speaking world (I live in Scotland and Denmark,so have first hand experience) you always consider a middle name a second first name. I Denmark we normally don’t. We consider it an extra last name. So the guest’s girlfriend is correct. She has two first names. And his example with “Martin” is bad, as - in English - Martin can be used as both first and last name. So danish people’s first names are names which can be used as given names. Then you have middle names which are extra last names, and then you have your last last name which is the one you’ll normally be alphabetically categorised under. But some people called e.g. Brian Holmquist Jensen, maybe thinks that Jensen is a bit boring, so he never uses it. Then it can get a little confusing. But what you - in the English speaking world - call middle names, is not what we call middle names. It’s an important difference to know. If unaware it can lead to all sorts at shouting and arguments 😅😅😅 (hopefully not).
Yes. Same in Denmark. In those forms your middle names (extra last names) in both countries are considered part of your first name - or just first part of your full name. Both Denmark and the UK needs the last name just to be the proper last name under with you are categorised
Until recently first and middle names were registered as your first name (one long string), and your surname as your last name. That's how my names are registered. But with my kids, the system now has a first, middle name(s) and last name. So, when I fill out forms, I've gotten used to entering all my 3 first names. Same thing when I order online, I don't dare to skip my middle names, because, what if my card is rejected because it won't match what's registered?
On the name thing. In school what I experienced most people did when multiple kids had the same name was use the first letter of their last name. So for example John N and John A. Sometimes kids have two last names just like especially in the southern part of the US. I knew a girl with the name Ida Frederikke but double names like Emma Sofia or Anne Sofie are very common. Weather or not they are hyphenated is up to the parents but if the name is there is a higher chance that other people will say both. For the most part we stopped saying Frederikke when the other Ida moved away and got a different school. We also had a girl with the name Anne Christine but no one wanted to keep saying such a long name so even the teachers called her AC which fit her much better because she was definitely the least girly of that class. Most Danes only have one first name with the rest usually being a last name from one of the parents but as people have already said unless you hyphenate you can legally only have one last name and the others will technically be additional first names
we did this in my class too - we had way too many guys with the name Markus (spelled in many different ways) and we ended up just calling them by the first letter of their last names instead across the grade.
Stellar personal growth: when two US citizens born and bred in the US have been in DK for long enough with enough of an open mind and socio-cultural understanding to say that NemID/e-box is helpful rather than awful "Big Brother Watching" stuff of nightmares. And have learnt to so appreciate taxes that make sense that they don't even mention them in a video about things in DK that just make sense 😃
Thank you 😊 but I’ll say, we both came from that starting point of view so there wasn’t much evolution of thought in that regard. Actually, many Americans view things that way. Unfortunately, the very worst opinions from the opposite point of view end up being louder and more shocking, so they get amplified and become the stereotype.
@@RobeTrottingThanks for reminding me that many people in the US are perfectly reasonable and likeable! I do know this, of course, and have friends and relatives in/from the US, but most of the ones I’ve met over the years (in Texas, California and Utah plus around the world) have been horrified to hear about things like Folkeregisteret = the basis for NemID etc. That’s where I have that Big Brother reaction from, countless personal interactions. But yes, my image of the US definitely hasn’t improved through various online amplifications of the loudest and worst voices in recent years so reminders are always good!
The example given of the guy who doesn’t know his own name is confusing and not realistic, but the phenomenon he’s taking about is nonetheless real. Since Danes legally can only have _one_ surname, but in practice often consider their middle name to be part of their surname, we do sometimes lose track of whether we registered our middle name as part of our first or last name for some particular thing. I have such a ‘double’ last name, consisting of my mother’s family name (middle name) and my father’s family name (last name); let’s pretend my name is Peter Lundgaard Hansen, a perfectly commonplace name. In cases where I can only fill out first and last name on a form (no middle name field), I will usually put my middle name as part of my last name (Peter / Lundgaard Hansen), because otherwise I’ll get emails and notifications addressing me as ‘Dear Peter Lundgaard’, which is annoying and misleading. The exception to this is cases where the name must match my passport or similar exactly: I have to put the middle name as part of the first name in such cases. Whenever I check in at a hotel, I can never remember whether hotels fall into that category or not, so I usually give both names and say it might be under Lundgaard or under Hansen. This sort of wavering is not uncommon at all.
Yeah, what kind of silly colleagues does he have? Also, Martin is a first name for boys in Denmark, not a last name. Are we certain that they are born and raised as Danish? 😅
Well guys.. Im danish🇩🇰 And the thing with the single duvet It might have been popular in the 90th.. But today its more teenagers who like that, ofc others, but most danish today uses singles 😊
"No hills" Okay, so we're just going to ignore Valby Bakken and the nightmare that is biking up it? 😩💀 Hahahaha but no, I think the only reason we're so bike-friendly is BECAUSE it's so flat here On names though, there's an interesting maybe-reason, for why it can be so difficult. There is, by definition, no such thing as a middle name in Danish. People may have up to multiple first names and a single surname - this just being the way the law works here. This means that people who do have more than one first name (the "normal" first name) are sometimes given that name with the intent of being 1) a second first name, 2) a middle name, or 3) another surname (my second first name is my mom's surname, so I'm "my name - mom's family name - dad's family name") - some people may have multiple first names where the first two are first names (hyphenated or not, like Marie-Louise), a middle name and then one of their parents' surnames - amounting to a whopping four first names - but then there's the confusion of what to call that, when a "first name" can be three different things! In my own case, I use my first name as my only first name - but since it is maybe the most common name for my age demographic, I use my second first name/middle name/first surname as an identifying moniker, given that it's a very unique name. And I think everyone with multiple names here in Denmark have their own "rules" for how they like to use their names or others to address them. Case in point, it's not exactly easy for us to figure out either 😅
Yeah no hills is definitely wrong. We don’t have proper mountains but there are many hills in Denmark. Especially in Jutland and Fyn. I think it’s mostly in smaller cities not as much in Copenhagen so they just haven’t been to the hilly areas yet. But yeah Valby is a nightmare unless you are very fit.
@lonestardeluxe3677 Okay? Are you saying that to contribute to some discussion, or just because you took it too personally that people forget that rural Denmark exists or that we're a flat country or something like that? I made a joke and you're turning it into a Copenhagen vs the rest of Denmark thing. I don't get your point much, the robetrotting guys + Ira probably have mostly seen Copenhagen, rather than other small towns/rural Denmark - and Copenhagen is super flat, so it sticks. Btw, most bicyclists in Denmark, those who ride for recreational purposes and transportation, live in the smaller island municipalities and in the Copenhagen and the greater Copenhagen area, aka. the flattest areas in DK lol 😂
About the name thing. Not many danes have af middle name, actually. Most people have a 2nd first name. My name Roar Mohammed Johansen, it would seeme that Mohammed is my middle name, but actually ist my 2nd firstname. It follows the danish name law. Why its made that way I have no idea, but it makes sense, that danes are confused.
In my experience, MANY Danes have a (surname-like) middle name, and some have two "first names". But yes, legally anything but the last surname is part of our "first names".
After hearing about the middle name stuff, it got me thinking... Since my family passes down a middle name that's originally a female ancestors maiden name, which was then passed down to the boys and girls of that family. The boys got a masculine variation and the girls got the original maiden name. (this happened many generation ago.) And then it stuck, with the male offspring, so to this day its passed down the line, regardless of gender (boy or girl, you get the middle name of the masculine variation). You can't "acquire" it by marrying into it, only be born into it.( I don't know if its true, but I remember being told there was some legal aspect to it as well, growing up, which now in hindsight sounds weird if true.) - Its a neat thing when family members marry off, male or female and for some reason or other elect to take their spouses last names. They still retain the middle name and hence the feeling of belonging to the clan so to speak :P We used to hold "clan gatherings" every 4 years when I was a kid, even though it stopped being a thing later on. Point is, it was fun to see the various branches of the clan, wildly different families in a way. I use the term clan, since it's very loose by now with many branches shooting elsewhere so its not as "tight knit" as one would classify a family :p So to my personal experience, it can feel very similar to last names. But I guess some people just like to throw in some middle names for the artistic sake of it... I know my mom has 3 middle names, chosen after grand parents and family I think... So its much more "individual" in her case. (the hereditary middle name is from my fathers side).
Weird thing about Danes they don't do nick names. My son has a nick name that we call him more than his name but in school they wouldn't call him that so we had to legally change it so they couldn't use the it's not his name but of course now his name is even more confusing to Danes since his name now has four parts.
When my first daughter was born in the US, my Danish husband filled out the birth certificate and put her first and middle name in the first name box. LOL So now her middle name is part of her first name.
2:18 HERE WE GO! Drunk new danes...♥ WAIT! IT AIN't good/it's BAD... 12:27 Poulsen? So danes don't get: What is your FULL name?!?...Ya sure? (My middle name: Bundgård = Bottom-farm? GREAT)
To be fair, names are a bit weird in Denmark. Official documents don't have a field for middle names, but middle names are still a thing. Middle names are defined as whatever comes after your first name. Seems easy enough, right? No. Just ... no. Because we can only have *one* last name. If you have both your mother's and father's last name, the one placed last will now be your last name. The other name will instead be placed in the first name field in all official documents but might be considered a middle name.
I ran into the name issue after I got married. I wanted to keep my maiden name, but legally turning my last name into my middle name would have been a disaster to deal with. I ended up doing a hyphenated last name, and somehow the system here accepted it.
Uhm, actually about the names in Denmark the rules and regulations are currently such that you have one lastname (surname) anything before that is your name (or in databases and such your firstnames)
I would say it's a big strech claiming, that the teachers are paid good for their job. With the extrem workload and often pretty bad work invirement, they are not paid nearly enough. Just one example is, when the teachers are taking your Kids on a whole week trip. They are on the job 24/7, but they are not getting paid for that, wich means that they work for free 70 ours off that trip, While they work 24/7 for almost a week straight. But goodforbid that parents have too give a little help and be involed in their Kids life and education...
Yeah mellemnavne is a funny thing. Because you can have Them but the dont exist on official documents. I changed my last name some years ago and dropped my middle name too. I then applied for a family last name and a new middle name. But I was advised if I wanted to use my new middle name in an official capacity I should add it as a second first name. So I now have two first names and then my last name.
The trick is to ask for the full name and then figure out what the first and last name is, on your own .. Also - it's kinda clear u are talking big city life, out here in the "countryside" there's no other option than to bike or take a very expensive trip home in a taxi after too many beers, ain't no fancy metro or nightbusses 😂 that's problably why we still are allowed to drive after 1-2 beers 😅
Not really. Of the name in the middle name is normally a first name, it is an extra first name. If it’s last name type but isn’t the last name, then it’s a middle name, cuz you can only legally have one last name. But you are correct that what many think is a middle name, is actually a second first name. I thought that about my own until I had to name my kids and learned the rules.
Mellemnavn.... The Word itself says what it is. A mellemnavn is often a family name. e. g. My children and myself have My maiden name as a middle name and my husbands surname. No double barrels here. If you have a special surname or a family name with a special meaning you can choose that so Middlename
Okay! On the name thing. Obviously, Mr. Jens Martin Poulsen just has no idea what his name is (you'd think that whatever else, it would be obvious that you're asking for the name they registered with), so we'll just... pretend he doesn't exist. Aside from the fact that by Danish law, middle names don't really exist (they do, it's a Whole Thing, won't get into it), so what you've been dealing with is the concept of several first names. In Danish culture, these can be used interchangeably _or_ the parents can just go an decide the baby is called both names. Like a double name but without the hyphen. Jens-Erik or Jens Erik are both equally valid and Jens Erik can choose to use either name as he prefer it or both or either in different contexts and _all of it is normal._ So what Mr Ira Sylvester is experiencing is probably just Danes using their names differently in different contexts and then forgetting in which context they use what. Makes sense? XD (It doesn't, Danes would be equally confused)
@@RobeTrotting well. As a 42 yr old Dane i should know right 🤣.. love your content bro. Keep up the good work. Very fair and wholesome way of describing a country. I love it.
It is not illegal to bike in Denmark while being drunk, as there is no rules for how much alcohol you can have in your blood while biking. The police can only stop you if you are so wasted that you are an obvious danger for yourself and and others. Also, even if you are stopped for being a danger in traffic in this way, you can't lose your driving licens for biking drunk, that is a myth!
I can't believe the bullshit this Ira fellow is saying about Danes not knowing about first, middle and last names. Could someone please inform him that middle names don't technically exist in Denmark? Why would that be so difficult to understand?
Confusion is that some people have two last names, but no hyphenation. Or two first names. And nobody really agrees on the meaning of a "middlename". Like, is it just the second name in a three name persons name? Or is it specifically a persons second first name? Or is it specifically a persons first last name? "Middlename" is a fluffy word. "Last name" is much better, because then the person knows you are asking for their family name. So, if "Jens Martin Pedersen" said his last name is "Martin", then he must be an idiot. His last name is "Pedersen". He just has two first names. Some people have two first names and then two last names. Last name is obviously the family name. I have a friend who has two first names and four last names. I hope you wont run into him, just to spare you the confusion ;D
🎙️ Listen to the full episode with Ira on the What Are You Doing in Denmark podcast: linktr.ee/robetrotting
i would love to hear what you think of the nightlife "partytime" in denmark vs US. drinking culture etc. im pretty sure we drink like a stormdrain XD
I like your professional set-up.
I liked your earlier, more homey and chummy backgrounds (in-home) too.
This posh studio set-up (in my opinion anyway) makes you two appear to be more important more like Joe Rogan, TMZ and other well known famous folks, who broadcast from important looking studio set-ups.
I like how well you have adapted to what is admittedly a fairly FOREIGN country, as well.
I reckon there are not a ton of we Americans who choose to live over in Denmark full time, eh?
Although I like the chatty style of this video and the camaraderie between you two and your guests in ALL podcasts, this one in particular did tend to ramble on a bit, and I found that I lost track of the LIST of stuff that just makes sense in your adopted country. Just go from one thing to the next maybe without all the extraneous chit-chat so that we, who are not in the know and do not know you, can keep better track of the information you are trying to impart to us, maybe?
Just a thought / a suggestion really.
I clamour to see and hear (se og hør?) what you folks have to say, though. I have become a fan.
Your programmes are becoming very professional, but still fun and loose. Always love hearing your observations. I am dane, born and bred abroad, that moved here in 1985, aged 23. I have been through just about every culture shock that you have been through, despite my being of danish parents and speaking the language - but with a heavy english accent
Interesting story I’ve been through a few cultural shocks myself actually.. 😅
1:42 Fun fact about "Friday candy": It's actually because of The Disney Show that it's on a friday. When I was a kid (I'm 47) we got candy on Saturdays because that's when the weekly Looney Toones cartoon show was aired. When it was replaced by Disney's cartoon show that was aired on Fridays and the weekly candy day naturally changed to Fridays to go with the cartoons. 🤷♀️ (Keep in mind that 1-2 channels was the norm back then so you couldn't just change channels as you pleased and the weekly cartoon show was a huge deal.)
I moved to Denmark two months ago and i love your show ❤ . I'm Brazilian, lived in Ireland, Belgium and now here. Just love all the different stuff you guys are showing here. Well done ❤
That’s fantastic to hear, thank you so much and wishing you luck on the transition 😊 hope you’re feeling welcome and settled here
I've stated this before and happily do it again: You guys rock! It is SO interesting to hear what you as immigrants think of this tiny kingdom of ours and your life here! Keep up the good work, please! 😊
As a dane who immigrated to America, this is fun to watch.
I have really never met anybody that didn't know what their last name was. Ira, you must have met a Swede.
The official rule is: You can only have one last name, but you can have several first names. So technically, there is no such thing as a “middle name”.
Yeah even in our passports the middle name(s) will be listed under 'First Name'.
No there’s absolutely is. If it’s extra “last names” that just isn’t your legal last name, then it’s a middle name. Any name that’s of the first name type are just extra first names. So you can have multiple first names (first name types) or middle names (last name types), but only one last name.
@@Pippastinak I did not make it, it's how it officially is described. Nothing mentioned on last name typed names or anything. There are two kinds of names, first names and last names, of which you can only have one. If your name is Per Larsen Poulsen. Larsen will still be a first name. It is actually very simple................................ for once.
And many Danes only have a single firstname and a single lastname
@@finncarlbomholtsrensen1188 I can see they are all doing well 😁
So interesting getting your points of view on “what makes sense in Denmark”😊 as a Dane I agree ;) been traveling previously, and it’s always fun to hear what international have to say about DK 😄
I adore you guys, keep up the great work ☺️
Really glad you enjoyed this one, it was fun for us too and always a laugh with Ira 😊
And you should come visit Aalborg! See the differences between Copenhagen and Aalborg, and hearing your opinions would be interesting!!
If you look at a Danish person's official documents (passport/drivers license), you will see that there are "Last name" and "First name(s)" - no middle name.
Usually people go by their first first name, but you can basically do whatever in none-official matters (basically anything that does not involve MitID/NemID).
what he said
All names are considered first names except from our last name of which we only can have one of.
Little friday, its also a way to give people who live the "foreningsliv" in eg "højskoler" or if youre stationed somewere, you get a chance to come together before going home for the actual weekend..
🎧 Absolutely love it! 🩷
Tusind tak Conrad! 🙌 We're really leaning into the new niche of "not checking e-Boks" content that you helped us launch 😂
Growing up in the 80's not only were we direct but also less PC, so having a bunch of mates all named the same first name. We usually used traits to distinguish them. Like little Jesper, big Jesper, skinny Frank, chubby Frank, leather David, negro David etc. & this was by no means said in a racial, bullying or demeaning way, but simply to let other people know exactly which Jesper, Frank or David you were referring to....& they all knew too which ones they were. It just made sense.
so funny, we also had nicknames and not real names for friends... some of them were quite funny. People got names from silly accidents etc. :-D Even our math teacher had a nickname.
My husband is a Dane and I still get into his duvet and use mine as a backup 😂 .. I tell him the love burrito is much better than the crunch wrap. 🤣
The thing with middel and last names.
A decent amount of parents give their child on of their last names.
So I got my moms last name and my dads last name (but tend to use my dads, like you traditionally do) and then use my moms (the one she had before marrying my dad) as my middel name.
It’s probably a bit too late on the season, but have you ever been to Fårup Sommerland or the other amusement parks in Denmark besides Tivoli
When filling in official forms with names, your first name and middle name is to be written in the column with first name. Only your surname, ergo the family name must appear in the column with surname. But it's confusing because I don't have 2 first names but 2 family names. My middle name comes from my mother's side and my last name from my father's. It is not hyphenated. So my siblings and I have the same middle name and last name. Others have multiple individual first names. And some are called both names.
Here in denmark we HAD "disney show" but they removed it from the tv so now its just candy without disney show
* Candy and cartoons without Disney ™️
So great with your new studio and guests, you guys are doing great :-) My love of fridays, started when I was a small child. We didn´t have many channels.. 1 danish and 2 swedish.. and friday, was the day with 3+1 cartoons on DR, it was HUGE!! :-D
Thank you Im Living in denmark😊
Aw, thanks. We are happy to be here 😃🇩🇰
Yasmin would actually be an extra frist name in Denmark in that instans, no matter if you/she have a middel name or not. A middel name in Denmark is a designated slot for extra “last names” that isn’t your legal last name but is of the last name “type”. You usually get it from a parent’s middle or last name, but it was a last name at some point.
Isn’t it that you can have many first names, but only one last name (that can be hyphenated). The box “middle name” does not exist in the birth certificate formula.
@@EvaMariaHein No, in a lot of situations there isn’t a slot for middle name, cuz it isn’t all that necessary, but it is on a “person attest”, which is what you get if you try to order a new birth certificate. My kids got middle names. It is an actual legal thing.
This is not quite correct. Middle names are most commonly of the last-name type, but they do not have to be. Any approved first name may also be taken as a middle name, but you may not later on take that same name as a last name.
The primary difference between first names and first-name type middle names is that first names must match gender assignment, whereas first-name type middle names may be of either gender.
Last-name type middle names are considered equal to last names and may be passed on to children; first-name type middle names are personal and gender-neutral and may not be passed on to children (though you are of course free to give your children the same middle name as your own); and first names are gendered and may not be passed on to children (though you are free to give your child the same first name as your own, provided it matches their gender).
Just posted this in another thread but it makes sense here too:
The thing is really that there is a clash between the Danish 20th century naming conventions and EU agreements. Before EU passports we had fornavn, mellemnavn and efternavn in Danish passports, reflecting the cultural practices. But most EU countries did things differently so DK agreed to go with just given and family names in the new EU passports. Which led to mellemnavne becoming fornavne in official documents beyond passports too, thus creating some confusion. Especially since, alongside this development, the cultural conventions -and at some point also the law- changed towards more flexibility so women no longer just took their husband's family name. This change led to many people having three or even four family names which now had to be listed as given names since the mellemnavn category was no longer available, just when it was becoming more necessary. I still wonder if Danish will reach a point of copying Spanish, i.e. a standard of two family names, one from each parent = grandfather's name, with the difference that it wouldn't necessarily have to be the grandfather's name that gets passed on but potentially names from the female lines instead.
@@kokoshneta The point about gender re first and middle names is interesting, didn't know that. Do you happen to know if this was changed in a recent amendment of the law (recent = the past 20 years from my perspective 😱😆)?
My husband and I HATE double duvets (we’re both danes), and when we are on vacation, we divide as one takes the bedcover and the other the duvet. How can anyone share one without getting pissed at eachother? We are burritosleepers. I need my own duvet
We are the exact same now - Denmark has converted us 😂 and burrito sleep is the new technical term, I love that!
No hills? 😅 You Copenhageners don't know, how lucky you are. Aarhus is nothing but long steep a** hills. I miss biking in CPH so much.
To Nordic people duvets are like science.
There's the summer duvet.
Wich is so light weight it keeps you cool througout the night.
The winter duvet.
For spring, fall, and mild winters.
Then the extreme winter duvet. Wich will keep you snug as a bug, even with your bedroom window open all night.
You possibly waking up in the morning, your duvet covered with a slight dusting of snow....
(Fresh air is KING) !
Also duvets come in different sizes.
The Norwegian standard (single) duvet is 1.40 metres by 2.0 metres.
Or "long", wich is 2.2 metres in lenght.
(Think Erling Braut Haaland.... He'll need the latter) ! 😉
Love from Norway 🇳🇴
The wife and I just have one each that we use all year. You must use a lot of space storing all your duvets! :D
There's overgangs-dyner?? 🥺
@@bogrunberger- you can store duvets in vacuum sealing bags, that way they don't take up as much space
Thanks for a fun show. About names, it’s a bit funny - and you guys are definitely getting it wrong 😁😁😁
So in the English speaking world (I live in Scotland and Denmark,so have first hand experience) you always consider a middle name a second first name. I Denmark we normally don’t. We consider it an extra last name.
So the guest’s girlfriend is correct. She has two first names. And his example with “Martin” is bad, as - in English - Martin can be used as both first and last name.
So danish people’s first names are names which can be used as given names.
Then you have middle names which are extra last names, and then you have your last last name which is the one you’ll normally be alphabetically categorised under.
But some people called e.g. Brian Holmquist Jensen, maybe thinks that Jensen is a bit boring, so he never uses it. Then it can get a little confusing.
But what you - in the English speaking world - call middle names, is not what we call middle names.
It’s an important difference to know. If unaware it can lead to all sorts at shouting and arguments 😅😅😅 (hopefully not).
Most forms in the UK have two name fields: 'Forename(s)' and 'Last name'
Yes. Same in Denmark. In those forms your middle names (extra last names) in both countries are considered part of your first name - or just first part of your full name. Both Denmark and the UK needs the last name just to be the proper last name under with you are categorised
Oh, you should adopt lille-lørdag (wednesday) from Norway in addition 😅
I love the podcast format, since you two are much better unscripted
Thanks Nicholas 😃 we really enjoy the new format too and hope you give the full version a listen as well (if you listen to podcasts).
@@RobeTrottingI’d definitely listen to a full podcast
Until recently first and middle names were registered as your first name (one long string), and your surname as your last name.
That's how my names are registered.
But with my kids, the system now has a first, middle name(s) and last name.
So, when I fill out forms, I've gotten used to entering all my 3 first names.
Same thing when I order online, I don't dare to skip my middle names, because, what if my card is rejected because it won't match what's registered?
The name rang a bell, but I'm pretty sure I've taken an improv class with Ira years ago in Groningen. Small world.
Yes! When staying at a hotel in the US or Canada I have to share a duvet and I hate it. I need my own. 😂
On the name thing. In school what I experienced most people did when multiple kids had the same name was use the first letter of their last name. So for example John N and John A. Sometimes kids have two last names just like especially in the southern part of the US. I knew a girl with the name Ida Frederikke but double names like Emma Sofia or Anne Sofie are very common. Weather or not they are hyphenated is up to the parents but if the name is there is a higher chance that other people will say both. For the most part we stopped saying Frederikke when the other Ida moved away and got a different school. We also had a girl with the name Anne Christine but no one wanted to keep saying such a long name so even the teachers called her AC which fit her much better because she was definitely the least girly of that class.
Most Danes only have one first name with the rest usually being a last name from one of the parents but as people have already said unless you hyphenate you can legally only have one last name and the others will technically be additional first names
we did this in my class too - we had way too many guys with the name Markus (spelled in many different ways) and we ended up just calling them by the first letter of their last names instead across the grade.
Stellar personal growth: when two US citizens born and bred in the US have been in DK for long enough with enough of an open mind and socio-cultural understanding to say that NemID/e-box is helpful rather than awful "Big Brother Watching" stuff of nightmares. And have learnt to so appreciate taxes that make sense that they don't even mention them in a video about things in DK that just make sense 😃
Thank you 😊 but I’ll say, we both came from that starting point of view so there wasn’t much evolution of thought in that regard. Actually, many Americans view things that way. Unfortunately, the very worst opinions from the opposite point of view end up being louder and more shocking, so they get amplified and become the stereotype.
@@RobeTrottingThanks for reminding me that many people in the US are perfectly reasonable and likeable! I do know this, of course, and have friends and relatives in/from the US, but most of the ones I’ve met over the years (in Texas, California and Utah plus around the world) have been horrified to hear about things like Folkeregisteret = the basis for NemID etc. That’s where I have that Big Brother reaction from, countless personal interactions. But yes, my image of the US definitely hasn’t improved through various online amplifications of the loudest and worst voices in recent years so reminders are always good!
The example given of the guy who doesn’t know his own name is confusing and not realistic, but the phenomenon he’s taking about is nonetheless real.
Since Danes legally can only have _one_ surname, but in practice often consider their middle name to be part of their surname, we do sometimes lose track of whether we registered our middle name as part of our first or last name for some particular thing.
I have such a ‘double’ last name, consisting of my mother’s family name (middle name) and my father’s family name (last name); let’s pretend my name is Peter Lundgaard Hansen, a perfectly commonplace name.
In cases where I can only fill out first and last name on a form (no middle name field), I will usually put my middle name as part of my last name (Peter / Lundgaard Hansen), because otherwise I’ll get emails and notifications addressing me as ‘Dear Peter Lundgaard’, which is annoying and misleading.
The exception to this is cases where the name must match my passport or similar exactly: I have to put the middle name as part of the first name in such cases. Whenever I check in at a hotel, I can never remember whether hotels fall into that category or not, so I usually give both names and say it might be under Lundgaard or under Hansen.
This sort of wavering is not uncommon at all.
Friday and mini friday I have loved it since 1985😂 glad you found it great to😁
As a dane I gotta say we do know when to use it it's you that don't understand it
Yeah, what kind of silly colleagues does he have?
Also, Martin is a first name for boys in Denmark, not a last name. Are we certain that they are born and raised as Danish? 😅
Could you guys try an qna where you try to only respond to the questions in danish if so my question would be whats your favorite cold drink
Øl. But we don’t really plan to do content in Danish. Don’t like being laughed at when we try speaking Danish or pronouncing Danish words.
Even though most people are nice and supportive 😊
@@RobeTrotting 👍😄 all good no worries
also love the new podcast type videos
Well guys..
Im danish🇩🇰
And the thing with the single duvet
It might have been popular in the 90th..
But today its more teenagers who like that, ofc others, but most danish today uses singles 😊
"No hills" Okay, so we're just going to ignore Valby Bakken and the nightmare that is biking up it? 😩💀 Hahahaha but no, I think the only reason we're so bike-friendly is BECAUSE it's so flat here
On names though, there's an interesting maybe-reason, for why it can be so difficult. There is, by definition, no such thing as a middle name in Danish. People may have up to multiple first names and a single surname - this just being the way the law works here. This means that people who do have more than one first name (the "normal" first name) are sometimes given that name with the intent of being 1) a second first name, 2) a middle name, or 3) another surname (my second first name is my mom's surname, so I'm "my name - mom's family name - dad's family name") - some people may have multiple first names where the first two are first names (hyphenated or not, like Marie-Louise), a middle name and then one of their parents' surnames - amounting to a whopping four first names - but then there's the confusion of what to call that, when a "first name" can be three different things! In my own case, I use my first name as my only first name - but since it is maybe the most common name for my age demographic, I use my second first name/middle name/first surname as an identifying moniker, given that it's a very unique name. And I think everyone with multiple names here in Denmark have their own "rules" for how they like to use their names or others to address them. Case in point, it's not exactly easy for us to figure out either 😅
Yeah no hills is definitely wrong. We don’t have proper mountains but there are many hills in Denmark. Especially in Jutland and Fyn. I think it’s mostly in smaller cities not as much in Copenhagen so they just haven’t been to the hilly areas yet. But yeah Valby is a nightmare unless you are very fit.
Now it’s called ‘….in Denmark’, not ‘in Copenhagen’. And there are a lot of hills in Denmark. So that’s not why we bike.
@lonestardeluxe3677 Okay? Are you saying that to contribute to some discussion, or just because you took it too personally that people forget that rural Denmark exists or that we're a flat country or something like that? I made a joke and you're turning it into a Copenhagen vs the rest of Denmark thing. I don't get your point much, the robetrotting guys + Ira probably have mostly seen Copenhagen, rather than other small towns/rural Denmark - and Copenhagen is super flat, so it sticks. Btw, most bicyclists in Denmark, those who ride for recreational purposes and transportation, live in the smaller island municipalities and in the Copenhagen and the greater Copenhagen area, aka. the flattest areas in DK lol 😂
About the name thing. Not many danes have af middle name, actually. Most people have a 2nd first name. My name Roar Mohammed Johansen, it would seeme that Mohammed is my middle name, but actually ist my 2nd firstname. It follows the danish name law. Why its made that way I have no idea, but it makes sense, that danes are confused.
In my experience, MANY Danes have a (surname-like) middle name, and some have two "first names".
But yes, legally anything but the last surname is part of our "first names".
After hearing about the middle name stuff, it got me thinking... Since my family passes down a middle name that's originally a female ancestors maiden name, which was then passed down to the boys and girls of that family. The boys got a masculine variation and the girls got the original maiden name. (this happened many generation ago.)
And then it stuck, with the male offspring, so to this day its passed down the line, regardless of gender (boy or girl, you get the middle name of the masculine variation).
You can't "acquire" it by marrying into it, only be born into it.( I don't know if its true, but I remember being told there was some legal aspect to it as well, growing up, which now in hindsight sounds weird if true.)
- Its a neat thing when family members marry off, male or female and for some reason or other elect to take their spouses last names.
They still retain the middle name and hence the feeling of belonging to the clan so to speak :P
We used to hold "clan gatherings" every 4 years when I was a kid, even though it stopped being a thing later on.
Point is, it was fun to see the various branches of the clan, wildly different families in a way.
I use the term clan, since it's very loose by now with many branches shooting elsewhere so its not as "tight knit" as one would classify a family :p
So to my personal experience, it can feel very similar to last names.
But I guess some people just like to throw in some middle names for the artistic sake of it...
I know my mom has 3 middle names, chosen after grand parents and family I think...
So its much more "individual" in her case. (the hereditary middle name is from my fathers side).
Weird thing about Danes they don't do nick names. My son has a nick name that we call him more than his name but in school they wouldn't call him that so we had to legally change it so they couldn't use the it's not his name but of course now his name is even more confusing to Danes since his name now has four parts.
When my first daughter was born in the US, my Danish husband filled out the birth certificate and put her first and middle name in the first name box. LOL So now her middle name is part of her first name.
2:18 HERE WE GO! Drunk new danes...♥ WAIT! IT AIN't good/it's BAD...
12:27 Poulsen? So danes don't get: What is your FULL name?!?...Ya sure? (My middle name: Bundgård = Bottom-farm? GREAT)
To be fair, names are a bit weird in Denmark. Official documents don't have a field for middle names, but middle names are still a thing. Middle names are defined as whatever comes after your first name. Seems easy enough, right? No. Just ... no. Because we can only have *one* last name. If you have both your mother's and father's last name, the one placed last will now be your last name. The other name will instead be placed in the first name field in all official documents but might be considered a middle name.
I ran into the name issue after I got married. I wanted to keep my maiden name, but legally turning my last name into my middle name would have been a disaster to deal with. I ended up doing a hyphenated last name, and somehow the system here accepted it.
Uhm, actually about the names in Denmark the rules and regulations are currently such that you have one lastname (surname) anything before that is your name (or in databases and such your firstnames)
That is not correct. Middle names are a legal category separate from first and last names; they are defined in _Navneloven_, ch. 2 (§11).
the issue is that we can have MULTIPLE first names ;-) which are NOT middle names.
A dane with a mouthful. I'm a Troelsgaard. I don't have a middle name.
I would say it's a big strech claiming, that the teachers are paid good for their job. With the extrem workload and often pretty bad work invirement, they are not paid nearly enough.
Just one example is, when the teachers are taking your Kids on a whole week trip. They are on the job 24/7, but they are not getting paid for that, wich means that they work for free 70 ours off that trip, While they work 24/7 for almost a week straight.
But goodforbid that parents have too give a little help and be involed in their Kids life and education...
Yeah mellemnavne is a funny thing. Because you can have Them but the dont exist on official documents. I changed my last name some years ago and dropped my middle name too. I then applied for a family last name and a new middle name. But I was advised if I wanted to use my new middle name in an official capacity I should add it as a second first name. So I now have two first names and then my last name.
Cool sessions you 2 mankes here,, but how/where did make the studio, like the sound, setup.
The trick is to ask for the full name and then figure out what the first and last name is, on your own ..
Also - it's kinda clear u are talking big city life, out here in the "countryside" there's no other option than to bike or take a very expensive trip home in a taxi after too many beers, ain't no fancy metro or nightbusses 😂 that's problably why we still are allowed to drive after 1-2 beers 😅
There is no such thing as a middlename in danish, all the names other than the last one is (technically) your first name
I have a middle name, and know many others that have one. So it have always existed for us...Don't know what you are on about?
Not really. Of the name in the middle name is normally a first name, it is an extra first name. If it’s last name type but isn’t the last name, then it’s a middle name, cuz you can only legally have one last name. But you are correct that what many think is a middle name, is actually a second first name. I thought that about my own until I had to name my kids and learned the rules.
Mellemnavn.... The Word itself says what it is. A mellemnavn is often a family name. e. g. My children and myself have My maiden name as a middle name and my husbands surname. No double barrels here. If you have a special surname or a family name with a special meaning you can choose that so Middlename
Okay! On the name thing. Obviously, Mr. Jens Martin Poulsen just has no idea what his name is (you'd think that whatever else, it would be obvious that you're asking for the name they registered with), so we'll just... pretend he doesn't exist.
Aside from the fact that by Danish law, middle names don't really exist (they do, it's a Whole Thing, won't get into it), so what you've been dealing with is the concept of several first names. In Danish culture, these can be used interchangeably _or_ the parents can just go an decide the baby is called both names. Like a double name but without the hyphen. Jens-Erik or Jens Erik are both equally valid and Jens Erik can choose to use either name as he prefer it or both or either in different contexts and _all of it is normal._
So what Mr Ira Sylvester is experiencing is probably just Danes using their names differently in different contexts and then forgetting in which context they use what. Makes sense? XD (It doesn't, Danes would be equally confused)
Middle names do exist in Danish law (_Navneloven_, ch. 2/§11).
@@kokoshneta I.. did say that O.o
Well we went to England back in the Viking age you didn't like that I don't think its a good idea for us to go to London for ya XD
Jens Martin Gammelby????? Hmmmm
Danes were the happiest people in the world for many years.... St the top of the list, ....guess why??? Yup....booze baby...
😂😂😂
@@RobeTrotting well. As a 42 yr old Dane i should know right 🤣.. love your content bro. Keep up the good work. Very fair and wholesome way of describing a country. I love it.
You cannot get on a bike, the only exception is a speed pedelec 45
It is not illegal to bike in Denmark while being drunk, as there is no rules for how much alcohol you can have in your blood while biking. The police can only stop you if you are so wasted that you are an obvious danger for yourself and and others. Also, even if you are stopped for being a danger in traffic in this way, you can't lose your driving licens for biking drunk, that is a myth!
I mean why would you loose the license for your car because of something on your bike
is it just me or are all danes just born with the power to drunk drive on bikes
Officially we dont have middle names anymore its first name(s) and last name/surname
You cannot do drunk driving on a bike, except on a speed pedelec
You can be fined for biking recklessly though, so it’s just a matter of semantics I suppose.
My Guy got the Middle name thing wrong. No one in Denmark has middle names... you have Names and Surnames only
Get yourself a big duvet. As Mae West said "Too much of the good, is just nice". "Direkte" in Aremarican: Strait up fordword talking. 👍👍👍❤🤟
I can't believe the bullshit this Ira fellow is saying about Danes not knowing about first, middle and last names. Could someone please inform him that middle names don't technically exist in Denmark? Why would that be so difficult to understand?
CAN I MEET YOU 😊😊
Confusion is that some people have two last names, but no hyphenation. Or two first names. And nobody really agrees on the meaning of a "middlename". Like, is it just the second name in a three name persons name? Or is it specifically a persons second first name? Or is it specifically a persons first last name? "Middlename" is a fluffy word. "Last name" is much better, because then the person knows you are asking for their family name. So, if "Jens Martin Pedersen" said his last name is "Martin", then he must be an idiot. His last name is "Pedersen". He just has two first names. Some people have two first names and then two last names. Last name is obviously the family name. I have a friend who has two first names and four last names. I hope you wont run into him, just to spare you the confusion ;D
"...and whats your last name? And they go like uh Martin." STFU. We all know that did not happen, 99.99% of all Danes would give you their surname
I´m Danish and agree about the "Name" part ! Yeah! Some of us are just Total Morons 🙄 !