Find out how popular the last name Abelson is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Abelson.

Abelson, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Abelson surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Abelson in America

Abelson is the 29473rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Abelson surname appeared 801 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Abelson.

We can also compare 2010 data for Abelson to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Abelson

The surname Abelson originates from the Jewish communities of Eastern Europe, particularly in areas that are now part of modern-day Poland, Ukraine, and Belarus. It is believed to have emerged in the 15th or 16th century as a patronymic surname, derived from the Hebrew given name "Abel" or the Yiddish equivalent "Abl," meaning "breath" or "vapor."

One of the earliest known references to the Abelson surname can be found in the Kahal (Jewish community) records of Grodno, Belarus, dating back to the late 16th century. These records mention individuals with variations of the surname, such as Abelovich and Abelowicz, which were later anglicized to Abelson.

During the Middle Ages, the Abelson surname was often associated with Jewish scholars and rabbinical families. One notable figure was Rabbi Moses Abelson (1604-1675), a renowned Talmudic scholar and author from Krakow, Poland. His works, including commentaries on the Mishnah and Talmud, were widely studied and influential within the Jewish community.

Another historical figure was Judah Abelson (1668-1749), a prominent rabbi and educator from Vilna, Lithuania (now Vilnius, Lithuania). He established a successful yeshiva (Jewish educational institution) and was known for his expertise in Jewish law and philosophy.

In the 18th century, the Abelson surname began to spread beyond Eastern Europe as Jewish communities migrated to other parts of the world. One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname in the Americas is that of Meyer Abelson (1744-1812), a merchant and community leader in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

During the 19th century, the Abelson surname gained more prominence with individuals like Samuel Abelson (1819-1903), a successful businessman and philanthropist in New York City, and Judah Philip Abelson (1853-1920), a renowned rabbi and author from Zhitomir, Ukraine (now Zhytomyr, Ukraine).

As the Jewish diaspora continued, the Abelson surname became more widely dispersed across Europe, North America, and other parts of the world. Notable individuals with this surname in the 20th century include Paul Abelson (1913-2004), an American physicist and inventor, and Roger Abelson (1933-2005), a British journalist and political commentator.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Abelson

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Abelson.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Abelson was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Abelson has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Abelson was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Abelson, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!