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

Berntsen, 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 Berntsen surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Berntsen in America

Berntsen is the 28829th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Berntsen surname appeared 825 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 Berntsen.

We can also compare 2010 data for Berntsen 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 Berntsen

The surname Berntsen is of Scandinavian origin, specifically from Denmark and Norway. It is a patronymic surname, meaning it was derived from the father's given name, Bernt or Bärnt, which is a shortened form of the Old Norse name Bjarnharðr, meaning "bear-hardy" or "brave as a bear."

Berntsen is believed to have emerged as a surname in the late medieval period, around the 13th or 14th century, when the practice of using hereditary surnames became more common in Scandinavia. The earliest known record of the name Berntsen dates back to the 16th century in Denmark, where it was recorded as Berntsøn or Berntsen in various parish records and census documents.

In the 17th century, the name Berntsen appears in several historical records, including the Danish Census of 1669, where it is listed as one of the most common surnames in the country. Notable individuals bearing the name during this period include Hans Berntsen (1595-1673), a Danish teacher and author who wrote extensively about Danish history and geography.

The 18th century saw the spread of the Berntsen surname to other parts of Scandinavia, particularly Norway. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name in Norway is found in the church records of Stavanger, where a man named Torger Berntsen was born in 1721.

In the 19th century, several individuals with the surname Berntsen achieved prominence in various fields. One of the most notable was Anders Berntsen (1841-1920), a Norwegian novelist and playwright known for his depictions of rural life in Norway. Another prominent figure was Camilla Berntsen (1871-1945), a Norwegian politician and women's rights activist who served as a member of the Storting (Norwegian parliament).

Moving into the 20th century, the Berntsen surname continued to be associated with notable individuals. These include Baard Berntsen (1909-1998), a Norwegian journalist and author who wrote extensively about World War II and the Norwegian resistance movement, and Erik Berntsen (1925-2002), a Norwegian composer and conductor who was known for his work in contemporary classical music.

Today, the surname Berntsen remains most prevalent in Norway and Denmark, with smaller populations bearing the name in other Scandinavian countries and regions with historical ties to Scandinavia, such as Iceland, the Faroe Islands, and parts of northern Germany.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Berntsen

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

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

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

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