Edelson last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Edelson

A surname of Ashkenazic Jewish origin, likely derived from the German word "edele" meaning "noble" or "aristocratic".

Edelson, 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 Edelson surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Edelson in America

Edelson is the 21568th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Edelson surname appeared 1,210 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 Edelson.

We can also compare 2010 data for Edelson 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 21568 20982 2.75%
Count 1,210 1,168 3.53%
Proportion per 100k 0.41 0.43 -4.76%

The history of the last name Edelson

The surname Edelson has its origins in the Germanic language, derived from the words "edel," meaning noble or precious, and "sohn," meaning son. It likely originated in Germany or the surrounding regions during the medieval period.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Edelson can be found in a 14th-century document from the city of Nuremberg, where a merchant named Hans Edelson is mentioned. This suggests that the name was already in use among the merchant and artisan classes of German cities during that time.

In the 16th century, the name appears in various records from the Duchy of Pomerania, a region that is now part of modern-day Germany and Poland. One notable bearer of the name was Christoph Edelson, a Lutheran pastor who lived from 1535 to 1602 and served in the town of Stralsund.

As the Edelson family spread throughout Central and Eastern Europe, variations of the spelling emerged, such as Edelsohn, Edelzohn, and Edelssohn. These variations were often influenced by local dialects and the scribes who recorded the names.

During the 18th century, the name Edelson was prominent among Jewish communities in Poland and the Baltic regions. One notable figure was Yitzchak Edelson, a renowned Talmudic scholar who lived in Vilnius (now in Lithuania) from 1705 to 1785.

In the 19th century, many Edelsons immigrated to the United States and other parts of the world, seeking economic opportunities and escaping persecution. One of the earliest recorded Edelsons in America was Abraham Edelson, who arrived in New York City from Prussia in 1832.

Other notable individuals bearing the Edelson surname include:

  1. David Edelson (1866-1892), a Russian-American anarchist and labor organizer.
  2. Norman Edelson (1917-2004), a Canadian lawyer and philanthropist.
  3. Avram Edelson (1921-2006), an Israeli military officer and politician.
  4. Gertrude Edelson (1909-1986), an American painter and printmaker.
  5. Michael Edelson (born 1944), an American sociologist and academic.

While the name Edelson has evolved over centuries and spread across various regions, its roots can be traced back to the Germanic lands, where it originated as a designation for the sons of noble or precious individuals.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Edelson

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

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 Edelson was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 96.12% 1,163
Non-Hispanic Black Only 0.66% 8
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.66% 8
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 0.91% 11
Hispanic Origin 1.65% 20

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 Edelson has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 96.12% 96.58% -0.48%
Black 0.66% 1.03% -43.79%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.66% 0.77% -15.38%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
Two or More Races 0.91% 0.86% 5.65%
Hispanic 1.65% 0.77% 72.73%

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

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

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"Edelson last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on November 22, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/edelson-surname-popularity/.

"Edelson last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/edelson-surname-popularity/. Accessed 22 November, 2024

Edelson last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/edelson-surname-popularity/.

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