Jorn
Scandinavian masculine name denoting "son of Thor, the Norse god of thunder".
Name Census estimates that about 11 living Americans carry the first name Jorn. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Jorn today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jorn births was 2005 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jorn. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Jorn. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
11
~ 1 in 31,159,485 Americans
Peak year
2005
6 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2019 SSA rank
#13,058
Tracked since 2005
Census
Jorn in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 245 people with the first name Jorn, which placed it at #33,672 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#33,672
National first-name rank
People counted
245
245 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
91.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jorn
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jorn is White at 91.0%. The next largest groups are Black (4.5%) and Hispanic (2.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Jorn described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Jorn at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.0% · 223
- Black or African American4.5% · 11
- Hispanic or Latino2.0% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.6% · 4
- Two or more races0.8% · 2
Popularity
Jorn: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jorn from the 2000s through to the 2010s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 6 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jorn by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Jorn during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Jorn
The name Jorn is of Scandinavian origin, derived from the Old Norse name Jörundr. It is a compound name formed from the elements "jör" meaning "horse" and "undr" meaning "wonder" or "marvel". Thus, the name Jorn could be interpreted as "horse wonder" or "marvelous horse".
In the Viking Age, from the late 8th to the late 11th century, the name Jorn was primarily used by people of Norse descent in the Scandinavian countries of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It was a popular name among the Norse people, who had a strong connection with horses and often incorporated elements related to these animals into their names.
The earliest recorded use of the name Jorn can be traced back to ancient Norse sagas and historical records. One notable figure bearing this name was Jörundur Þorvaldsson, a legendary Icelandic chieftain who lived in the 10th century and was mentioned in the Njál's Saga, one of the most famous Icelandic sagas.
Throughout the centuries, the name Jorn has been borne by various individuals of significance. One prominent figure was Jørn Utzon (1918-2008), a Danish architect renowned for designing the iconic Sydney Opera House in Australia. His innovative design and its construction in the 1960s and 1970s are considered architectural masterpieces.
Another notable Jorn was Jørn Lier Horst (born 1970), a Norwegian writer and former police officer known for his popular crime fiction novels featuring Detective William Wisting. His books have been translated into numerous languages and have gained international acclaim.
In the world of sports, Jørn Goldbaek (born 1978) is a former Norwegian cyclist who won multiple stages in the Tour de France and competed in three Olympic Games, winning a silver medal in the road race event at the 2004 Athens Olympics.
Jørn Utzon, the Danish architect behind the Sydney Opera House, is widely regarded as one of the most influential architects of the 20th century. He received numerous awards and honors for his groundbreaking work, including the prestigious Pritzker Prize in 2003.
The name Jorn has maintained its popularity in Scandinavia, particularly in Denmark and Norway, where it continues to be used as a given name for boys. While its usage may have fluctuated over time, the name retains its connection to the rich cultural heritage of the Norse people and their admiration for horses.
People
Jorn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jorn as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with J
Other first names starting with J with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Jorn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jorn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 11 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jorn going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 31,159,485 US residents.
Is Jorn a common name?
We classify Jorn as "Very Rare". It ranks above 30.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 11 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jorn most popular?
The single biggest year for Jorn was 2005, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jorn is about 15 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Jorn in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 245 people with the name Jorn, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #33,672 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Jorn in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Jorn?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jorn leans strongly male. 224 people counted with this name were male (90.7%), compared with 23 female bearers (9.3%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Jorn?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jorn is White at 91.0%. The next largest groups are Black (4.5%) and Hispanic (2.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Jorn most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Jorn in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.0% (223 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Jorn in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jorn a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jorn in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Jorn still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jorn in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Jorn can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many Americans are named Jorn?
See how many people have the name Jorn on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.