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

Clausen, 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 Clausen surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Clausen in America

Clausen is the 3987th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Clausen surname appeared 8,906 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 people would have the surname Clausen.

We can also compare 2010 data for Clausen 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 Clausen

The surname Clausen is of Germanic origin, derived from the Old German word "klausen," meaning "small valley" or "narrow ravine." It is believed to have originated in northern Germany or the Netherlands during the medieval period.

The earliest recorded instances of the name date back to the 13th century. In a document from 1275, a man named Johannes Clausen is mentioned as a landowner in the town of Goslar, in present-day Lower Saxony, Germany. Another early record from 1312 refers to a Henricus Clausen, a merchant in the city of Bremen.

The name Clausen was often associated with people living in or near small valleys or ravines, which were abundant in the hilly and mountainous regions of northern Germany and the Netherlands. It is likely that the name was initially a descriptive surname, referring to the geographic location of the family or individual.

In the 14th century, the name appeared in various forms, such as Clawsen, Claweson, and Klausen, reflecting regional variations in spelling and pronunciation. One notable figure from this period was Gerhard Clausen, a prominent merchant and member of the Hanseatic League, who lived in Lübeck, Germany, from 1345 to 1412.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the surname Clausen became more widespread as families migrated to other parts of Europe and beyond. Johannes Clausen (1528-1592), a German theologian and reformer, was a significant figure during the Protestant Reformation. Another notable bearer of the name was Rudolph Clausen (1680-1751), a Dutch explorer and cartographer who mapped parts of the Dutch East Indies (present-day Indonesia).

In the 19th century, the name gained further prominence with individuals such as Amalie Clausen (1865-1942), a Danish painter and artist, and Carl Clausen (1828-1892), a German-American lawyer and politician who served as a U.S. Representative from Missouri.

Other notable individuals with the surname Clausen include Berthold Clausen (1898-1970), a Danish film director and screenwriter; Wilfred Clausen (1926-2008), an American classical scholar and educator; and Kai Clausen (born 1967), a Danish professional golfer.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Clausen

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

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

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

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