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

Afdahl, 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 Afdahl surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Afdahl in America

Afdahl is the 108734th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Afdahl surname appeared 163 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 Afdahl.

We can also compare 2010 data for Afdahl 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 Afdahl

The surname AFDAHL is of Norwegian origin, tracing its roots back to the 9th century in the region of Vestlandet. It is believed to have derived from the Old Norse words "afr" meaning "strong" and "dahl" meaning "valley," indicating that the name was likely associated with someone who lived in a strong or powerful valley.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Gulating Law, a medieval Norwegian legal code dating back to the 11th century. The law mentions an individual named Afdal Erlingsson, who was a prominent landowner and farmer in the Vestlandet region.

In the 13th century, the name appears in the Hakon Hakonsson Saga, a historical account of the reign of King Hakon IV of Norway. The saga mentions a man named Afdahl Sigurdsson, who served as a trusted advisor to the king and played a crucial role in the negotiations between Norway and Scotland.

During the 15th century, the name was found in the records of the Hanseatic League, a powerful economic alliance of merchant guilds and market towns in Northern Europe. An entry from 1467 mentions a merchant named Afdahl Eriksson, who traded goods between Norway and the Hanseatic cities of Hamburg and Lübeck.

In the 18th century, a notable figure bearing the name was Afdahl Olsen (1723-1789), a Norwegian sea captain and explorer who sailed to the Arctic regions and discovered several islands in the Svalbard archipelago. His expeditions contributed to the mapping of the Arctic and the understanding of its geography.

Another prominent individual was Afdahl Johannessen (1867-1935), a Norwegian politician and social reformer who served as a member of the Storting (the Norwegian parliament) and advocated for workers' rights and improved living conditions for the working class.

Throughout history, variations of the name have also been recorded, such as Afdal, Afdale, and Afdahl-Hansen, reflecting regional dialects and the adoption of patronymic naming practices in Norway.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Afdahl

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

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 Afdahl 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 Afdahl 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 Afdahl was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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