2000
#6,450
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,855
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.80
Rare Last name
Abrahamson
Son of Abraham, a patronymic surname derived from the biblical figure Abraham, the first of the Old Testament patriarchs.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,323 Americans carry the last name Abrahamson. That puts it at #6,975 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.55 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 64,391 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Abrahamson 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Abrahamson with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
5.3K
1 in 64,391
Census rank
#6,975
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,642 bearers of the surname Abrahamson in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.55 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6975th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Abrahamson, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.9%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (6.1%) and Two or More Races (3.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Abrahamson
The surname Abrahamson is of English origin, derived from the personal name Abraham combined with the patronymic suffix "-son", meaning "son of Abraham". The name Abraham itself is derived from the Hebrew name "Avraham", which means "father of many".
Abrahamson is a relatively common surname found in various parts of England, particularly in the counties of Yorkshire, Lancashire, and Lincolnshire. It is believed that the name first emerged in the 13th or 14th century, during the time when patronymic surnames became more widespread.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Abrahamson can be found in the Yorkshire Poll Tax Returns of 1379, where a certain John Abrahamson is listed as a resident of the parish of Aldborough.
Another notable early reference to the name is found in the Subsidy Rolls for Lincolnshire, dated 1524, which mentions a Thomas Abrahamson residing in the village of Broughton.
In the 16th and 17th centuries, the name Abrahamson appeared in various parish records and court documents across England. For instance, a William Abrahamson was recorded as a resident of the town of Bury, Lancashire, in the year 1601.
One of the earliest known individuals to bear the surname Abrahamson was John Abrahamson, a merchant and alderman who lived in the city of York in the late 16th century. He was a prominent figure in the city's wool trade and served as Lord Mayor of York in 1585.
Another notable Abrahamson was Thomas Abrahamson (1592-1668), a clergyman who served as the Rector of Croydon in Surrey during the mid-17th century. He was a staunch Royalist and was briefly imprisoned during the English Civil War for his support of King Charles I.
In the 18th century, the name Abrahamson appeared in various records related to the textile industry in Yorkshire and Lancashire. For example, a certain Robert Abrahamson (1728-1798) was a successful woolen manufacturer based in the town of Keighley, Yorkshire.
During the 19th century, the Abrahamson name can be found in various census records and birth, marriage, and death registers throughout England. One notable individual from this period was James Abrahamson (1819-1897), a businessman and philanthropist from the city of Leeds, who donated generously to various charitable causes in the region.
As the Abrahamson family continued to spread across England and other parts of the British Isles, the surname underwent various spelling variations, such as Abramson, Abrahamsen, and Abrahams. However, the core meaning and origin of the name remained unchanged.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Abrahamson
Among Census respondents with the surname Abrahamson, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.9%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (6.1%) and Two or More Races (3.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Abrahamson 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 Abrahamson surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.9% · 4,034
- American Indian and Alaska Native6.1% · 284
- Two or more races3.7% · 173
- Hispanic or Latino2.1% · 96
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 39
- Black or African American0.3% · 16
Timeline
Historical Census data for Abrahamson
Abrahamson appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#6,817
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,948
+93 bearers (+1.9%)
Per 100,000 1.68
Rank movement Down 367 places
2020
#6,975
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,642
-306 bearers (-6.2%)
Per 100,000 1.55
Rank movement Down 158 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,450 | 4,855 | 1.80 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,817 | 4,948 | 1.68 | +93 bearers (+1.9%) | Down 367 places |
| 2020 | #6,975 | 4,642 | 1.55 | -306 bearers (-6.2%) | Down 158 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 Abrahamson 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 | #6,817 | #6,975 | -2.3% |
| Count | 4,948 | 4,642 | -6.2% |
| Per 100K | 1.68 | 1.55 | -7.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Abrahamson bearers went from 4,948 to 4,642 (-6.2% change). The surname moved down 158 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,817 to #6,975.
FAQ
Abrahamson surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Abrahamson?
Name Census estimates that about 5,323 living Americans carry the surname Abrahamson. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 64,391 residents.
How common is Abrahamson?
Abrahamson ranks #6,975 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.55 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 4,642 people with the surname Abrahamson. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,323), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.55 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.55 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Abrahamson.
Has Abrahamson become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Abrahamson went from 4,948 recorded bearers to 4,642. That is a decrease of 306 (-6.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #6,817 to #6,975.
What does the Census say about the background of Abrahamson?
Among Census respondents with the surname Abrahamson, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.9%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (6.1%) and Two or More Races (3.7%). 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 Abrahamson in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.9% (4,034 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Abrahamson appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.9%), American Indian/Alaska Native (6.1%), Two or More Races (3.7%). 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 Abrahamson (2000, 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 Abrahamson mean?
Son of Abraham, a patronymic surname derived from the biblical figure Abraham, the first of the Old Testament patriarchs. 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 Abrahamson (1.55 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 Abrahamson?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.