2000
#140,756
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 109
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Bjorndal
A Norwegian surname derived from the Old Norse words "bjorn" meaning "bear" and "dal" meaning "valley" or "dale".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 127 Americans carry the last name Bjorndal. That puts it at #148,665 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,698,853 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Bjorndal 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
127
1 in 2,698,853
Census rank
#148,665
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
111
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 111 bearers of the surname Bjorndal in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 148665th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Bjorndal, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.3%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Bjorndal
The surname Bjorndal has its origins in Norway, dating back to the Viking era of the 8th to 11th centuries. The name is derived from the Old Norse words "bjorn" meaning bear, and "dal" meaning valley, effectively translating to "bear valley" or "valley of the bear". This suggests that the name may have originated from a geographic location where bears were prevalent or as a descriptive nickname for someone who resided in such an area.
Early records of the name can be found in the Icelandic sagas, which were literary works documenting the lives and adventures of Norse settlers in Iceland during the 9th to 11th centuries. One notable figure was Bjorn Bjorndal, a Norse chieftain mentioned in the Laxdæla saga, who lived in the late 10th century.
In the 13th century, the name appeared in the Diplomatarium Norvegicum, a collection of medieval Norwegian documents and records. One notable entry was Thorvald Bjorndal, a landowner and farmer from the Gudbrandsdalen valley in central Norway, recorded in 1271.
During the 16th century, the spelling of the name evolved to include variations such as Bjørndal, Bjørndahl, and Bjørndalen, reflecting regional differences in pronunciation and written forms. One prominent individual from this period was Nils Bjørndal, a merchant and ship owner from Bergen, Norway, who lived from 1528 to 1602.
In the 18th century, Johan Bjorndal, a Norwegian theologian and author, made significant contributions to the Lutheran church in Norway. He was born in 1718 and died in 1786.
Another notable figure was Peder Bjorndal, a Norwegian explorer and whaler who participated in several expeditions to Svalbard and Greenland in the early 19th century. He was born in 1788 and died in 1865.
The name Bjorndal has also been associated with other Scandinavian countries like Sweden and Denmark, where variations such as Björndal and Bjørndal can be found. One example is the Swedish author and playwright Sven Björndal, who lived from 1882 to 1935.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bjorndal
Among Census respondents with the surname Bjorndal, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.3%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Bjorndal 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 Bjorndal surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White97.3% · 108
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.7% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Bjorndal
Bjorndal 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
#146,201
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
+4 bearers (+3.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 5,445 places
2020
#148,665
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
-2 bearers (-1.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 2,464 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #140,756 | 109 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #146,201 | 113 | 0.04 | +4 bearers (+3.7%) | Down 5,445 places |
| 2020 | #148,665 | 111 | 0.04 | -2 bearers (-1.8%) | Down 2,464 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 Bjorndal 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 | #146,201 | #148,665 | -1.7% |
| Count | 113 | 111 | -1.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -7.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Bjorndal bearers went from 113 to 111 (-1.8% change). The surname moved down 2,464 positions in the national ranking, going from #146,201 to #148,665.
FAQ
Bjorndal surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Bjorndal?
Name Census estimates that about 127 living Americans carry the surname Bjorndal. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,698,853 residents.
How common is Bjorndal?
Bjorndal ranks #148,665 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 111 people with the surname Bjorndal. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (127), 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 Bjorndal.
Has Bjorndal become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Bjorndal went from 113 recorded bearers to 111. That is a decrease of 2 (-1.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #146,201 to #148,665.
What does the Census say about the background of Bjorndal?
Among Census respondents with the surname Bjorndal, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.3%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (2.7%). 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 Bjorndal in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.3% (108 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Bjorndal appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (97.3%), Asian/Pacific Islander (2.7%). 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 Bjorndal (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 Bjorndal mean?
A Norwegian surname derived from the Old Norse words "bjorn" meaning "bear" and "dal" meaning "valley" or "dale". 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 Bjorndal (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 Bjorndal?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.