The Tordenskiold family was the name of two dignities in the Danish and the Norwegian nobility.
Peter Jansen Wessel was a Norwegian/Danish naval hero who for his braveness was ennobled under the name Tordenskiold.
Peter Tordenskiold died in a young age and without issue, wherefore this noble dignity became extinct.
Peter Tordenskiold's brother Caspar Jansen Wessel [da] was in 1720 ennobled under the name von Wessel.
Peter Tordenskiold's nephew Johan Christopher Christophersen Wessel (born on 4 July 1727, died on 6 February 1793) was later, in 1761, ennobled under the same name and with the same arms as his uncle.