Nobility in Denmark was a leading social class

Social class

Social classes are economic or cultural arrangements of groups in society. Class is an essential object of analysis for sociologists, political scientists, economists, anthropologists and social historians. In the social sciences, social class is often discussed in terms of 'social stratification'...

 until the 19th or 20th century. Danish nobility

Nobility

Nobility is a social class which possesses more acknowledged privileges or eminence than members of most other classes in a society, membership therein typically being hereditary. The privileges associated with nobility may constitute substantial advantages over or relative to non-nobles, or may be...

 exists yet and has a recognized status in Denmark

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

, a monarchy

Monarchy

A monarchy is a form of government in which the office of head of state is usually held until death or abdication and is often hereditary and includes a royal house. In some cases, the monarch is elected...

, but its real privileges have been abolished.

Danish nobility is divided in two categories: ancient nobility and created nobility . More informal categorization is between high and lower nobility . Today, around 200 noble houses with an explicit title (baron

Baron

Baron is a title of nobility. The word baron comes from Old French baron, itself from Old High German and Latin baro meaning " man, warrior"; it merged with cognate Old English beorn meaning "nobleman"...

ial, comital

Count

A count or countess is an aristocratic nobleman in European countries. The word count came into English from the French comte, itself from Latin comes—in its accusative comitem—meaning "companion", and later "companion of the emperor, delegate of the emperor". The adjective form of the word is...

, and so forth) yet continue. Ancient nobility refers to those noble houses that are known from the era before the Danish reformation, and created nobility are those houses that received their rank through an explicit patent when they first were elevated to nobility. Families of old Lord High Councillors of Denmark, and houses endowed by a title after 1660 (absolutism

Absolutism (European history)

Absolutism or The Age of Absolutism is a historiographical term used to describe a form of monarchical power that is unrestrained by all other institutions, such as churches, legislatures, or social elites...

's beginning in Denmark) are regarded as high nobility of Denmark.

Medieval nobility

A striking feature has been the close ties medieval Danish magnate families had with German (Thuringian, Lower-Saxon, etc.) counts, apparently regarded more or less as their equals: for example in 13th century, there are several marriages between Danish magnate families and German counts in each generation.

• Several counts of Orlamünde
  Orlamünde
  Orlamünde is a town in the Saale-Holzland district, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated at the confluence of the rivers Saale and Orla, 17 km south of Jena. It was the centre of a county, often united to Weimar, in the Early Middle Ages....
  
  , Regenstein
  House of Regenstein
  The House of Regenstein, also Reinstein, was a Lower Saxon family of counts, which was named after the eponymous Regenstein Castle near Blankenburg on the edge of the Harz Mountains of central Germany.- History :...
  
  , Gleichen
  Gleichen
  Gleichen is the name of two groups of castles in Germany, thus named from their resemblance to each other .- Castles in Thuringia between Gotha and Erfurt :...
  
   and Everstein families settled to Scandinavia
  Scandinavia
  Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
  
  , and became for example High Councillors, and a couple of them Lord High Constable
  Lord High Constable
  There are two current and one former royal offices in the United Kingdom of Lord High Constable:* The Lord High Constable of England, the seventh of the Great Officers of State, ranking beneath the Lord Great Chamberlain and above the Earl Marshal...
  
  s of Denmark.
• Many branches of the counts of Holstein
  Holstein
  Holstein is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider. It is part of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of Germany....
  
   became relatives with branches of the Danish royal dynasty, and occasionally were numbered among highest in Denmark. During the reign of Christopher II of Denmark
  Christopher II of Denmark
  Christopher II was king of Denmark from 1320 to 1326 and again from 1329 until his death. He was son of Eric V. His name is connected with national disaster, as his rule ended in an almost total dissolution of the Danish state.-Biography:Being the brother of King Eric VI, Christopher was a...
  
   and early reign of Valdemar IV of Denmark
  Valdemar IV of Denmark
  Valdemar IV of Denmark or Waldemar ; , was King of Denmark from 1340 to 1375.-Ascension to the throne:...
  
  , various counts of Holstein held almost all fiefs in Denmark. Particularly the Holsteins tended to ally with the Abel branch of the royals, who held the duchy of Southern Jutland
  Jutland
  Jutland , historically also called Cimbria, is the name of the peninsula that juts out in Northern Europe toward the rest of Scandinavia, forming the mainland part of Denmark. It has the North Sea to its west, Kattegat and Skagerrak to its north, the Baltic Sea to its east, and the Danish–German...
  
  , neighboring Holstein. Ultimately, in late 14th century, the Rendsborg branch of the House of Holstein inherited the south-Jyllander duchy (henceforward known as Duchy of Schleswig) as Danish vassals. Adolf VIII, Count of Holstein, was actually offered the Danish royal throne in 1448, and after his refusal, his nephew Christian I of Denmark
  Christian I of Denmark
  Christian I was a Danish monarch, king of Denmark , Norway and Sweden , under the Kalmar Union. In Sweden his short tenure as monarch was preceded by regents, Jöns Bengtsson Oxenstierna and Erik Axelsson Tott and succeeded by regent Kettil Karlsson Vasa...
  
   received it.

• The family of Podebusk, originally relatives of earliest princes of Rügen
  Rügen
  Rügen is Germany's largest island. Located in the Baltic Sea, it is part of the Vorpommern-Rügen district of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.- Geography :Rügen is located off the north-eastern coast of Germany in the Baltic Sea...
  
  , became almost totally Danish in 14th century, and their most prominent member was Henning Podebusk
  Henning Podebusk
  Henning Podebusk was a German-Slavic statesman, the last drost of Denmark, who died . He served under King Valdemar IV, King Oluf II, and Queen Margaret I, and he was the de facto ruler of Denmark from 1368 to 1370. Podebusk, whose personal character is unknown, is now considered one of the most...
  
  , the mighty Lord High Justiciar of Denmark during king Valdemar IV and the latter's daughter, the union-queen Margaret of all Scandinavia. After the 16th century, yet one branch (the Kjoerup branch) of the Podebusk remained in Denmark and belonged to the country's high nobility.

Danish noble titles

• Hertug – Duke
• Lensgreve – Landgrave
• Greve – Count
• Lensbaron – Land Baron
• Baron – Baron

Landgrave and Land Baron are the definitions of the highest noble rank in Denmark. The rank was introduced in 1671 with the creation of counties and baronies. A Feudal Count is a count who is enfeoffed

Enfeoffment

Under the European feudal system, enfeoffment was the deed by which a person was given land in exchange for a pledge of service. This mechanism was later used to avoid restrictions on the passage of title in land by a system in which a landowner would give land to one person for the use of another...

 with a county by the Danish king.

Ducal houses

There are two families with a Danish title of duke:

• Dukes of Schleswig (hertug af Slesvig): originally, descendants of Gerhard III
  Gerhard III
  Gerhard III of Holstein . Sometimes called “Gerhard the Great”. In Denmark also known as “Count Gert” or “den kullede greve” . A German prince who was the ruler of most part of Denmark during the Interregnum 1332–1340.His father was Henry I of Schauenburg and Holstein-Rendsburg...
  
  , who was granted the Duchy of Jutland, then taken back, but title and Schleswig recognized in 1386; this title was succeeded in 1459 through a cognatic inheritance by the House of Oldenburg
  House of Oldenburg
  The House of Oldenburg is a North German dynasty and one of Europe's most influential Royal Houses with branches that rule or have ruled in Denmark, Russia, Greece, Norway, Schleswig, Holstein, Oldenburg and Sweden...
  
  , including its branches of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp and Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg
  Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg
  Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg was the name of a branch line of the House of Oldenburg as well as the name of their land. It existed from 1564 until 1668 and was a titular duchy under the King of Denmark, rather than a true territorial dukedom in its own right...
  
  .
• Duke of Glücksburg (hertug af Glücksbierg): primogeniture within the French family of Duke of Decazes.

Danish noble families

There are two primary periodical reviews of Danish nobility:

• Danmarks Adels Aarbog (DAA), published by Dansk Adels Forening, since 1884. It publishes covering genealogies of currently living, around 725 Danish noble families. Additionally, ancestry charts published in its editions, have reported c 200 extinct houses.
• Dansk Adelskalender

Following families are listed in 1878 Dansk Adelskalender, published by F. Krogh:

A - C

• Abrahamson
• Adeler
• Ahlefeldt
  Ahlefeldt
  Ahlefeldt is a Danish and German family of high nobility.The earliest known ancestor is one Benedict Ahlefeldt, , whose son and grandsons served king Atterdag Valdemar IV of Denmark and received significant pawn fiefs and properties in Denmark....
  
  
• Ahlefeldt-Laurvigen
• Arenstorff
• Asp-Persson
• Astrup

• Bang
• Banner
• Bardenfleth
• Barnekow
• Barner
• Bartholin
• Beck
• Benzon
• Berger
• Berner
• Berner-Schilden
• Berregaard
• Bertouch
• Bielke
• Bille-Brahe
• Bille
• Blixen-Finecke
• Blücher-Altona
• Bonde
• Bonde-Wadenstierna
• Bornemann
• de Bretteville
• Bretton
• Brinck-Seidelin
• Brockdorff
• Brockenhuus-Schack
• Brummer
• Buchwald
• Bülow

• Carlsen
• Castenschiold-Castenskjold-Grevenkop-Castenschiold
• Cederfeld-Simonsen
• Charisius

D - H

• Dannemand
• Danneskjold-Samsø
• Dirckinck-Holmfeld
• Düring-Rosenkrantz
• Daa

• Eberlin
• Eiben
• Ellbrecht

• Fabritius de Tengnagel
• Falkenskiold
• Falsen
• Fischer
• Fischer-Benzon
• Flindt
• Fogh
• Folsach
• Fontenay
• Fønss

• Gähler
• Gersdorff
• Gyldenfeldt
• Güldencrone
• Güntelberg

• Halling
• Harbo
• Harbou
• Hauch
• Hambro
• Haxthausen
• Hedemann
• Hegermann-Lindencrone
• Heintze-Weissenrode
• Herbst
• Hofman-Bang
• Hoff
• Hoffman
• Holk
• Holck
• Holstein
• Holsten, von Holsteinborg
• Hoppe
• Huth
• Høeg
• Høegh-Guldberg

J - M

• Jermiin
• Jessen
• Irgens-Bergh
• Iuel/Juel
• Juul

• Kaalund,
• Kaas Kaas (Sparre-Kaas) Kaas (Ormdruplinjen)
• Clauson-Kaas
• Klauman
• Klöcker
• Knuth
• Koefoed
• Kolderup-Rosenvinge
• Krabbe
• Kretzschmer
• Krieger
• Krogh
  Gerhard Christoph von Krogh
  Gerhard Christoph von Krogh was a Danish military officer.The son of Friderich Ferdinand von Krogh and Rosina Elizabeth von Frankenberg, on 6 February 1813 he married Siegfriede Victorine Knuth....
  
  

• Lasson
• Lerche
• Leth
• Leuenbach
• Levetzow – Levetzau
• Lichtenberg
• Lillienskjold
• Linde
• Lindholm
• Linstow
• Lowzow
• Lütken
• Lüttichau
• Lützau –Lützow
• Løvenbalk
• Løvenfeldt
• Løwenhielm
• Løvenskiold
• Løvenstierne
• Løvensøn
• Løvenørn

• v. Der Maase
• Michaelsen
• Moldrup
• Moltke
• Moltke-Bregentved
• Moth
• Munthe af Morgenstierne
• Münnich
  Burkhard Christoph von Munnich
  Count Burkhard Christoph von Münnich was a Danish-born German soldier-engineer who became a field marshal and political figure in the Russian Empire. He was the major Russian Army reformer and founder of several elite military formations during the reign of Anna of Russia. As a statesman, he is...
  
  
• Mylius
• Neergaard
• Nutzhorn

O - S

• Obelitz
• Oldenburg
• Oppen-Schilden
• Den v. Ostenske Stiftelse
• Østergaard
• Oxholm

• Petersdorff
• Plessen-Scheel-Plessen
• Pogwisch

• Raben –Raben-Levetzau
• Ramstedt
• Rantzau
• Reedtz
• Reedtz-Thott
• Reventlow
  Reventlow
  The name Reventlow, a noble Danish surname, may refer to:* Anne Sophie Reventlow, queen consort of Denmark * Christian Detlev Reventlow Danish diplomat and military leader 1671-1738)...
  
  
• Roepstorff
• Rosenkrantz
• Rosenørn
• Rosenørn-Lehn
• Rosenvinge
• Ross
• Ræder

• Scavenius
• Schack-Schackenborg
• Schaffalitzky de Muckadell
• Scheel-Skeel
• Schimmelmann
• Schmettau, v. Schmidten
• Scholten
• Schulin-Schulin-Zeuthen
• Sehested
• Sèrène d’Acquèria
• Sperling
• Späth
• Sponneck
• Stampe
• Stemann
• Stibolt
• Stiernholm
• Stockfleth
• Svanenskjold

T - Z

• Teilmann
• Thurah
• Thygeson
• Tillisch
• Trampe
• Trolle-Wadenstierna
• Treschow
• Thott

• Undall
• Urne

• Voss
• Wadenstierna
• Wardenburg
• Wedel
• Wedel-Heinen
• Wedell-Wedellsborg
• v. Westh
• Wichfeld
• Wilster
• Wind-Vind-Krag-Juel-Vind-Frijs

• Zeppelin
• Zytphen-Adeler