2000
#3,668
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,895
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.30
Rare Last name
Clausen
A Danish and Norwegian patronymic surname meaning "son of Claus" or "son of Nicholas."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 9,584 Americans carry the last name Clausen. That puts it at #4,123 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.80 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 35,763 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Clausen 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Clausen with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
9.6K
1 in 35,763
Census rank
#4,123
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
8.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 8,358 bearers of the surname Clausen in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.80 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4123rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Clausen, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (3.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Clausen
Among Census respondents with the surname Clausen, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (3.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Clausen 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 Clausen surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.3% · 7,630
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 301
- Two or more races3.2% · 266
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 80
- Black or African American0.6% · 46
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 35
Timeline
Historical Census data for Clausen
Clausen 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
#3,987
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,906
+11 bearers (+0.1%)
Per 100,000 3.02
Rank movement Down 319 places
2020
#4,123
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,358
-548 bearers (-6.2%)
Per 100,000 2.80
Rank movement Down 136 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,668 | 8,895 | 3.30 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,987 | 8,906 | 3.02 | +11 bearers (+0.1%) | Down 319 places |
| 2020 | #4,123 | 8,358 | 2.80 | -548 bearers (-6.2%) | Down 136 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 Clausen 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 | #3,987 | #4,123 | -3.4% |
| Count | 8,906 | 8,358 | -6.2% |
| Per 100K | 3.02 | 2.80 | -7.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Clausen bearers went from 8,906 to 8,358 (-6.2% change). The surname moved down 136 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,987 to #4,123.
FAQ
Clausen surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Clausen?
Name Census estimates that about 9,584 living Americans carry the surname Clausen. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 35,763 residents.
How common is Clausen?
Clausen ranks #4,123 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.80 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 8,358 people with the surname Clausen. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (9,584), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.8 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.80 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Clausen.
Has Clausen become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Clausen went from 8,906 recorded bearers to 8,358. That is a decrease of 548 (-6.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,987 to #4,123.
What does the Census say about the background of Clausen?
Among Census respondents with the surname Clausen, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (3.2%). 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 Clausen in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.3% (7,630 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Clausen appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.3%), Hispanic (3.6%), Two or More Races (3.2%). 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 Clausen (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 Clausen mean?
A Danish and Norwegian patronymic surname meaning "son of Claus" or "son of Nicholas." 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 Clausen (2.80 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 last name Clausen?
If you just want to know how many people have the surname Clausen, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.