Juhl (; ) is a

surname In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several give ...

originating in

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. It is most common in

and the United States.

Pronunciation

After coming to America, most Danes bearing the Juhl name changed the pronunciation to avoid confusion. ('J' represents a different sound in Continental Germanic languages than it is in English). Some

Danish Americans Danish Americans () are Americans who have ancestral roots originated fully or partially from Denmark. There are approximately 1,300,000 Americans of Danish origin or descent. Most Danes who came to the United States after 1865 did so for e ...

with the Juhl surname, and especially with the Juul surname, changed the spelling (Danish ''Juhl'' or ''Juul'' > English ''Yule'') in order to keep the pronunciation. This caused a lower relative number of Juuls in the United States but a high number of Yules.

Origin

There are two possible origins for Juhl lines of Danish origin.

Christmas

* The Danish word for Christmas ('' Jul''). From this term the English word ''Yule'' is also derived. It is believed that persons in some way associated with the Midwinter season, or Christmas Day specifically, took or were given this name.

Wheel

* The Danish word for

wheel A wheel is a rotating component (typically circular in shape) that is intended to turn on an axle Bearing (mechanical), bearing. The wheel is one of the key components of the wheel and axle which is one of the Simple machine, six simple machin ...

, ''hjul''. Those whose occupations dealt with the wheel, e.g. wheel-makers, would have taken this name.

Nobility

There is a noble family attested to in Danish history from the 1200s AD, whose name is usually spelled "Juel" (occasionally "Iuel", a holdover of the times before the widespread adoption of the letter 'J'). However, different people adopted the name "Juhl" (or its variants) at different times and for different reasons, and it is unclear if any of the Danish Juhl lines (or Iuel, etc.) of today have continuity this far back.

Distribution by country

Approximately 15,000 people in the world bear the name "Juhl" or one of its variants. Almost all of them live in

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

, Northern Germany, or the United States.

Denmark

The bulk of the Danish Juhls live in

Southern Jutland Southern Jutland (; ) is the region south of the Kongeå in Jutland, Denmark and north of the Eider (river) in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. The region north of the Kongeå is called . Both territories had their own ting assemblies in the Mi ...

. "Juhl" is the 93rd most common surname in the country—and the 30th most-common non-

patronym A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (more specifically an avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. It is the male equivalent of a matronymic. Patronymics are used, ...

-based surname. "Juul" is the 107th most-common name overall and 40th when excluding patronyms. "Juel" is the 793rd most-common surname.

United States

Heavy Danish immigration to the United States, from the 1850s through the 1920s, is responsible for so many Juhls living in the United States today. Juhls going to the United States primarily settled in the U.S. state of

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

. As a result, "Juhl" is one of 10,000 most-common names in the United States,.

Germany

The name is somewhat common in

Northern Germany Northern Germany (, ) is a linguistic, geographic, socio-cultural and historic region in the northern part of Germany which includes the coastal states of Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Lower Saxony and the two city-states Hambur ...

(German state of

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; ; ; ; ; occasionally in English ''Sleswick-Holsatia'') is the Northern Germany, northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical Duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of S ...

) because of the Prussian-Danish War of 1864. Prussia seized the southern third of Danish Jutland (where most Juhls lived), and so it became incorporated into the German Empire in 1871. Most of Southern Jutland was returned to Denmark by plebiscite in 1920. There were a number of lines of Juhl families along the old Pommern Coast of then Prussia which is now on both sides of the German-Polish border.

Norway

Although Norway was once ruled by Denmark (Danish naval hero Niels Juhl was born in

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

to Danish parents), it is likely that most Norwegian "Juuls" are independent lineages, as "Jul" is a pan-Scandinavian word for

Midwinter Midwinter is the middle of the winter. The term is attested in the early Germanic calendars where it was a period or a day which may have been determined by a lunisolar calendar before it was adapted into the Gregorian calendar. It appears with s ...

. Juul is the 1,182nd most common name in Norway.

Notable Juhls

Danes

Niels Juel Niels Juel (8 May 1629 – 8 April 1697) was a Danish naval officer. He served as supreme commander of the Dano-Norwegian Navy during the late 17th century and oversaw development of the Danish-Norwegian Navy. Background Niels Juel was born ...

(sometimes spelled Juhl) (1629–1697), Danish naval hero. * Esger Juul (died 1325), Archbishop of Lund. * Johannes Juul (1887–1969), Danish wind turbine pioneer *

Einar Juhl Einar Juhl (8 April 1896 – 1 June 1982) was a Danish film actor. He appeared in 50 films between 1924 and 1974. He was born and died in Denmark. Filmography *'' Ole Opfinders offer'' – 1924 *'' I kantonnement'' – 1932 *'' Han, hun og Ham ...

(1896–1982), actor. * Christian Juhl (1898–1962), Olympic gymnast who helped win the gold medal in 1920. * Anne-Marie Juhl (born 1927), actor. * Jesper Juul (born 1948), international authority on family-therapy. * Suzanne Juul, milliner. *

Kamilla Rytter Juhl Kamilla Rytter Juhl (born 23 November 1983) is a retired Danish badminton player. Juhl is an Olympic silver medalist, World Championship gold medalist and seven times European champion as well. Career Rytter Juhl played as a left-handed doub ...

(born 1983),

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racket (sports equipment), racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net (device), net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per s ...

player. * Kim Juhl Christensen (born 1984), Danish Olympic athlete.

Americans

Jerry Juhl Jerome Ravn Juhl (June 28, 1938 – September 25, 2005) was an American television and film writer, best known for his work with The Muppets. Biography Juhl was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota; his family moved to Menlo Park, California, wh ...

(1938–2005) television and movie writer and Muppets cofounder. *

Finn Juhl Finn Juhl (30 January 1912 – 17 May 1989) was a Denmark, Danish architect, interior design, interior and industrial designer, most known for his furniture design. He was one of the leading figures in the creation of Danish design in the 1940s an ...

(1912–1989), furniture designer (born in Denmark, worked in the USA) * Albert Juhl, the

farmer on whose land the plane carrying Buddy Holly crashed. See ''

The Day the Music Died On February 3, 1959, American rock and roll musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and "The Big Bopper" J. P. Richardson were all killed in a plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa, together with pilot Roger Peterson. The event became known as " ...

''. * Mason Juhl (born 1993) American football player

Norwegians

* Lorenz Juhl Vogt (1895–1901), Norwegian politician. * Ole Juul (1852–1927), Norwegian painter.

Germans

* Martin Juhls, German techno music producer.

References

{{Reflist