2000
#2,633
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 12,622
First available Census row
Per 100,000 4.68
Uncommon Last name
Danielson
Son of Daniel, an patronymic surname derived from the given name Daniel, meaning "God is my judge."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 13,864 Americans carry the last name Danielson. That puts it at #2,904 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 4.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 24,723 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Danielson 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 Danielson with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
14K
1 in 24,723
Census rank
#2,904
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
4.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
12K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 12,090 bearers of the surname Danielson in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 4.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2904th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Danielson, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.4%) and Hispanic (3.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Danielson
The surname Danielson is of Scandinavian origin, specifically from Sweden and Norway. It dates back to the 12th century and is derived from the personal name Daniel, which is of Hebrew origin meaning "God is my judge". The suffix "son" was commonly added to Scandinavian surnames to indicate the father's name.
In Sweden, the earliest recorded example of the name Danielson can be found in the 16th century parish records of Dalsland. One notable bearer was Erik Danielson, a Swedish military officer and nobleman who lived from 1630 to 1705. He played a significant role in the Scanian War against Denmark.
The Danielson name also has a long history in Norway, particularly in the western regions of the country. The earliest known record is from the 14th century, where a man named Tord Danielson is mentioned in a legal document from the city of Bergen. Another notable Norwegian bearer was Johan Danielson, a 17th-century merchant and ship owner from Stavanger.
As Scandinavian settlers migrated to other parts of the world, they brought the Danielson name with them. In the United States, one of the earliest recorded bearers was Anders Danielson, a Swedish immigrant who arrived in Delaware in 1638. He later moved to Pennsylvania and became a prominent landowner.
In England, the Danielson name can be traced back to the 18th century, when Swedish merchants and sailors settled in port cities like London and Hull. One notable English bearer was Sir James Danielson, a 19th-century businessman and philanthropist from Yorkshire, who lived from 1815 to 1890.
Other notable individuals with the Danielson surname include Carl Danielson, a Swedish-American painter and sculptor active in the early 20th century, and Bengt Danielsson, a Swedish author and anthropologist who studied the culture of the Marquesas Islands and lived from 1909 to 1987.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Danielson
Among Census respondents with the surname Danielson, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.4%) and Hispanic (3.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Danielson 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 Danielson surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.3% · 10,913
- Two or more races3.4% · 411
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 385
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 209
- Black or African American0.9% · 113
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 59
Timeline
Historical Census data for Danielson
Danielson 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
#2,808
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 12,833
+211 bearers (+1.7%)
Per 100,000 4.35
Rank movement Down 175 places
2020
#2,904
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 12,090
-743 bearers (-5.8%)
Per 100,000 4.04
Rank movement Down 96 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,633 | 12,622 | 4.68 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,808 | 12,833 | 4.35 | +211 bearers (+1.7%) | Down 175 places |
| 2020 | #2,904 | 12,090 | 4.04 | -743 bearers (-5.8%) | Down 96 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 Danielson 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 | #2,808 | #2,904 | -3.4% |
| Count | 12,833 | 12,090 | -5.8% |
| Per 100K | 4.35 | 4.04 | -7.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Danielson bearers went from 12,833 to 12,090 (-5.8% change). The surname moved down 96 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,808 to #2,904.
FAQ
Danielson surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Danielson?
Name Census estimates that about 13,864 living Americans carry the surname Danielson. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 24,723 residents.
How common is Danielson?
Danielson ranks #2,904 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 4.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 4 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 12,090 people with the surname Danielson. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (13,864), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 4.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 4.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 4 of them to have the surname Danielson.
Has Danielson become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Danielson went from 12,833 recorded bearers to 12,090. That is a decrease of 743 (-5.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,808 to #2,904.
What does the Census say about the background of Danielson?
Among Census respondents with the surname Danielson, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.4%) and Hispanic (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 Danielson in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.3% (10,913 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Danielson appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.3%), Two or More Races (3.4%), Hispanic (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 Danielson (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 Danielson mean?
Son of Daniel, an patronymic surname derived from the given name Daniel, meaning "God is my judge." 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 Danielson (4.04 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 last name Danielson?
You can see how many people have the surname Danielson on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.