2000
#149,328
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 101
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Anunson
Patronymic surname of Scandinavian origin meaning "son of Anund".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 138 Americans carry the last name Anunson. That puts it at #142,049 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,483,727 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Anunson 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
138
1 in 2,483,727
Census rank
#142,049
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
120
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 120 bearers of the surname Anunson in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 142049th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Anunson, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.8%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (1.7%) and Two or More Races (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Anunson
The surname Anunson is of Scandinavian origin, deriving from the Old Norse name Anund or its variants. This name likely originated in Norway or Sweden during the Viking Age and later spread to other regions of Northern Europe.
Anunson is a patronymic surname, meaning it was originally formed by adding the suffix "-son" (meaning "son of") to a given name, in this case, Anund. This naming convention was common practice in Scandinavian countries, indicating the name's bearer was the son of someone named Anund.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Anunson can be traced back to the 12th century in various Norse sagas and chronicles. One notable figure from this era was Anund Anunson, a Norwegian noble who lived in the late 12th century and was mentioned in the Saga of Hakon Hakonsson.
During the Middle Ages, the name Anunson appeared in various historical records across Scandinavia, including the Danish Census Book of 1645, which listed several individuals with this surname in Copenhagen and surrounding areas.
In the 17th century, Anund Anunson (1615-1684) was a prominent Swedish merchant and ship owner who played a significant role in the country's maritime trade. His descendants continued to use the Anunson surname.
Another notable bearer of this name was Nils Anunson (1789-1862), a Norwegian farmer and politician who served as a representative in the Storting, Norway's national assembly, in the mid-19th century.
In the late 19th century, Erik Anunson (1858-1932) was a Swedish-American artist and painter known for his landscapes and portraits, many of which depicted scenes from his native Scandinavia.
As Scandinavian immigrants began arriving in North America in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the surname Anunson was carried to the United States and Canada, where it continues to be used today by individuals of Scandinavian descent.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Anunson
Among Census respondents with the surname Anunson, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.8%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (1.7%) and Two or More Races (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Anunson 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 Anunson surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.8% · 115
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 2
- Two or more races1.7% · 2
- Hispanic or Latino0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Anunson
Anunson 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
#144,141
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
+14 bearers (+13.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 5,187 places
2020
#142,049
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 120
+5 bearers (+4.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 2,092 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #149,328 | 101 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #144,141 | 115 | 0.04 | +14 bearers (+13.9%) | Up 5,187 places |
| 2020 | #142,049 | 120 | 0.04 | +5 bearers (+4.3%) | Up 2,092 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 Anunson 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 | #144,141 | #142,049 | 1.5% |
| Count | 115 | 120 | 4.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | 0.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Anunson bearers went from 115 to 120 (+4.3% change). The surname moved up 2,092 positions in the national ranking, going from #144,141 to #142,049.
FAQ
Anunson surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Anunson?
Name Census estimates that about 138 living Americans carry the surname Anunson. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,483,727 residents.
How common is Anunson?
Anunson ranks #142,049 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 120 people with the surname Anunson. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (138), 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 Anunson.
Has Anunson become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Anunson went from 115 recorded bearers to 120. That is an increase of 5 (+4.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #144,141 to #142,049.
What does the Census say about the background of Anunson?
Among Census respondents with the surname Anunson, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.8%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (1.7%) and Two or More Races (1.7%). 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 Anunson in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.8% (115 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Anunson appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (95.8%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.7%), Two or More Races (1.7%). 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 Anunson (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 Anunson mean?
Patronymic surname of Scandinavian origin meaning "son of Anund". 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 Anunson (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 Anunson?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.