Jensen

Jensen is a surname of Danish origin, meaning “son of Jens.” It is among the most common Danish surnames and remains widespread in Denmark and among people of Danish descent. Through migration and diaspora, the name spread to North America and other regions, where it is now common in many English-speaking countries as a surname and, less often, as a given name.

As a given name, Jensen is used in various countries and has become increasingly popular in the English-speaking world. Notable individuals with Jensen as a given name include actor Jensen Ackles and technology executive Jensen Huang, illustrating the name’s cross-disciplinary presence in entertainment and business.

Geographically, the Jensen name appears in place names in the United States, such as Jensen, Utah, and Jensen Beach, Florida. It also appears in streets, neighborhoods, and localities, reflecting its broader cultural reach.

In science and mathematics, the name Jensen is associated with several concepts. Jensen’s inequality is a fundamental result in convex analysis and probability theory, named after Johan Jensen. The Jensen–Shannon divergence is a measure in information theory named after Michael I. Jensen and Claude Shannon, used to quantify similarity between probability distributions.

The surname is borne by numerous individuals across fields such as arts, sports, and academia, and the name also functions as a given name for several notable people. In branding and commerce, Jensen appears as a family-name-based brand in various products and companies.