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

Arnesen, 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 Arnesen surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Arnesen in America

Arnesen is the 30825th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Arnesen surname appeared 755 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 Arnesen.

We can also compare 2010 data for Arnesen 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 Arnesen

The surname Arnesen originated in Norway and is derived from the Old Norse personal name Árni, which means "eagle." This name was particularly common in western Norway, especially in the Hordaland region.

The earliest recorded instances of the name Arnesen date back to the 13th century. In 1276, a man named Arne Oddsson is mentioned in the Icelandic Annals. This is one of the earliest recorded examples of the name Arni, from which Arnesen is derived.

In the 14th century, the name Arnesen began appearing in various Norwegian records and manuscripts. For instance, a man named Tore Arnesen is mentioned in the Diplomatarium Norvegicum, a collection of medieval Norwegian diplomas and letters, dated to 1348.

The name Arnesen is also associated with several place names in Norway, such as Arnesensvingen, a locality in the municipality of Lindesnes, and Arnesenvegen, a road in the municipality of Bærum.

One of the earliest and most notable individuals with the surname Arnesen was Peder Arnesen, a Norwegian nobleman and knight who lived in the late 14th century. He was a member of the powerful Arnesen family and served as the royal bailiff of Østerdalen.

Another prominent figure with the surname Arnesen was Nils Arnesen Gjellestad (1665-1724), a Norwegian clergyman and author. He served as the rector of the Christiania Cathedral School and wrote several influential works on theology and education.

In the 19th century, Hans Christian Arnesen (1805-1872) was a Norwegian businessman and ship owner who played a significant role in the development of the Norwegian merchant fleet.

The painter and illustrator Olaf Arnesen (1887-1965) was also a notable bearer of this surname. He is best known for his illustrations of Norwegian folk tales and his landscape paintings depicting the rugged Norwegian countryside.

Lastly, Arnesen is the surname of Tor Arnesen (1932-2022), a Norwegian businessman and philanthropist who co-founded the successful shipping company Tschudi & Eitzen. He was also known for his charitable work and support for various educational and cultural initiatives.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Arnesen

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

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

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

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