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

Bjornson, 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 Bjornson surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Bjornson in America

Bjornson is the 21371st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Bjornson surname appeared 1,225 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 Bjornson.

We can also compare 2010 data for Bjornson 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 Bjornson

The surname Bjornson has its origins in the Scandinavian countries, particularly Norway and Sweden, and dates back to the medieval period. It is a patronymic surname, meaning that it was derived from the given name of the father or ancestor.

In this case, Bjornson is derived from the Old Norse name Bjorn, which means "bear." The suffix "-son" indicates that it is a patronymic name, literally translating to "son of Bjorn." The name Bjornson would have been given to the son or descendant of a man named Bjorn.

The earliest recorded use of the surname Bjornson can be found in Norwegian and Swedish records from the 13th and 14th centuries. It was a common surname among the Viking and Norse populations of Scandinavia during this time period.

One notable historical figure with the surname Bjornson was Bjornstjerne Bjornson (1832-1910), a Norwegian writer, poet, and playwright who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1903. He is considered one of the four great Norwegian writers and played a significant role in the development of Norwegian literature and the formation of a Norwegian national identity.

Another famous individual with the surname Bjornson was Vigdis Bjornson (1893-1978), a Norwegian actress and theatre director. She was a pioneer in the Norwegian theatre scene and was instrumental in establishing the Trondheim National Theatre.

In the 16th century, there are records of a Bjornson family residing in the town of Fredrikstad, Norway. One member of this family, Olav Bjornson (1560-1632), was a prominent merchant and landowner in the region.

The surname Bjornson can also be found in historical records from Sweden, where it was sometimes spelled as Björnsson. One notable Swedish Björnsson was Jöns Björnsson (1679-1764), a Swedish clergyman and historian who wrote extensively about the history of the Swedish church.

Throughout its history, the surname Bjornson has been associated with various place names and locations in Scandinavia. For example, there are references to the Bjornson family farm in the village of Bjerkreim, Norway, dating back to the 17th century.

While the surname Bjornson has its roots in the Viking and Norse cultures of Scandinavia, it has since spread to other parts of the world, particularly through immigration and migration patterns. However, its origins and historical significance remain firmly rooted in the medieval period of Scandinavian history.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Bjornson

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

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

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

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