2010
#160,975
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 100
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.03
Very Rare Last name
Aarseth
Derived from a Norwegian place name, likely referring to an ancestral farm or homestead.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 125 Americans carry the last name Aarseth. That puts it at #150,205 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,742,035 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Aarseth surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
125
1 in 2,742,035
Census rank
#150,205
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
109
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 109 bearers of the surname Aarseth in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 150205th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Aarseth, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Aarseth
The surname Aarseth originates from Norway and can be traced back to the late 16th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old Norse words "ār", meaning "year", and "setr", meaning "shieling" or "mountain pasture". The name likely referred to a summer farm or pasture used seasonally during particular times of the year.
The earliest known record of the name appears in a Norwegian census from 1593, where it is spelled "Aarseth". This spelling has remained relatively consistent over the centuries, with minor variations such as "Aarsæth" or "Aarsett" appearing in some historical documents.
In the 17th century, several individuals with the surname Aarseth were mentioned in church records from the Møre og Romsdal region of Norway. One notable example is Hans Aarseth, a farmer born in 1642 in the village of Ålesund.
The name can also be found in local land records and property deeds from the 18th and 19th centuries, often associated with small farms or holdings in rural areas of western Norway.
One of the earliest documented individuals with the surname was Nils Aarseth, a merchant and ship owner from Ålesund who lived from 1789 to 1856. He was known for his extensive trading activities along the Norwegian coast and played a significant role in the local economy.
In the late 19th century, Olav Aarseth (1867-1928) became a prominent figure in the Norwegian labor movement. He was a founding member of the Norwegian Labor Party and served as a member of the Storting (Norwegian parliament) from 1906 to 1918.
Another notable individual was Ingrid Aarseth (1901-1987), a Norwegian artist and sculptor known for her avant-garde style and abstract works. She was a pioneering figure in the modernist art movement in Norway and had several successful exhibitions in Oslo and other Scandinavian cities.
Espen Aarseth (born 1965) is a contemporary Norwegian scholar and author, best known for his contributions to the field of digital media and game studies. He has written extensively on the theory and analysis of video games and has been a professor at the University of Copenhagen since 2003.
While the surname Aarseth has its roots in Norway, it has since spread to other parts of the world through migration and diaspora communities. However, the name remains most prevalent in its country of origin, where it continues to be associated with the historical traditions and rural landscapes of western Norway.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Aarseth
Among Census respondents with the surname Aarseth, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Aarseth bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Aarseth surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White98.2% · 107
- Two or more races1.8% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Aarseth
Aarseth appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#150,205
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 109
+9 bearers (+9.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 10,770 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #160,975 | 100 | 0.03 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #150,205 | 109 | 0.04 | +9 bearers (+9.0%) | Up 10,770 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Aarseth surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #160,975 | #150,205 | 6.7% |
| Count | 100 | 109 | 9.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.04 | 21.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Aarseth bearers went from 100 to 109 (+9.0% change). The surname moved up 10,770 positions in the national ranking, going from #160,975 to #150,205.
FAQ
Aarseth surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Aarseth?
Name Census estimates that about 125 living Americans carry the surname Aarseth. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,742,035 residents.
How common is Aarseth?
Aarseth ranks #150,205 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 109 people with the surname Aarseth. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (125), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Aarseth.
Has Aarseth become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Aarseth went from 100 recorded bearers to 109. That is an increase of 9 (+9.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #160,975 to #150,205.
What does the Census say about the background of Aarseth?
Among Census respondents with the surname Aarseth, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.8%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Aarseth in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.2% (107 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Aarseth appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (98.2%), Two or More Races (1.8%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Aarseth (2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Aarseth mean?
Derived from a Norwegian place name, likely referring to an ancestral farm or homestead. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Aarseth (0.04 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the surname Aarseth?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.