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

Christenson, 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 Christenson surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Christenson in America

Christenson is the 3346th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Christenson surname appeared 10,707 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 4 people would have the surname Christenson.

We can also compare 2010 data for Christenson 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 Christenson

The surname Christenson originated in Scandinavian countries, primarily Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, during the medieval period. It is a patronymic surname, derived from the personal name "Christian" combined with the possessive suffix "-son," meaning "son of Christian."

Christenson is a variant spelling of the more common Scandinavian surname Christiansen. The name likely emerged in the 12th or 13th century, as Christianity spread throughout the region and the name Christian became popular. It was initially used to identify the son of a man named Christian.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Christenson surname can be found in the Diplomatarium Norvegicum, a collection of Norwegian medieval documents dating back to the 13th century. The name appears in various spellings, such as Christensson, Christenssøn, and Christenszøn.

In the 16th century, a Danish landowner named Christenson Skjelderup was documented as owning a large estate in the town of Skien, Norway. This suggests that the name had become established among the upper classes by that time.

Historically, the Christenson surname has been associated with several notable individuals. One of the earliest was Rasmus Christenson (1587-1670), a Norwegian clergyman and bishop of the Diocese of Stavanger. Another notable figure was Peder Christenson (1591-1662), a Danish astronomer and mathematician who made significant contributions to the study of celestial mechanics.

In the 19th century, a Swedish-American businessman named John A. Christenson (1828-1904) played a prominent role in the development of the early Chicago meat-packing industry. He co-founded the renowned Christenson & Mendsen Company, which became one of the largest meat-processing firms in the United States.

Another notable bearer of the Christenson name was Sigurd Christenson (1845-1919), a Norwegian-American educator and pioneer in the field of deaf education. He founded the Minnesota School for the Deaf and played a crucial role in advocating for the rights and education of deaf individuals.

The Christenson surname has also been borne by several prominent artists and writers. One example is the American painter and printmaker Philip Christenson (1913-1994), known for his abstract expressionist works. Additionally, the Norwegian-American author Ole Edvart Christenson (1888-1969) gained recognition for his literary contributions, including the novel "The Green Bough."

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Christenson

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

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

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

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