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

Ekman, 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 Ekman surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Ekman in America

Ekman is the 28618th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Ekman surname appeared 833 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 Ekman.

We can also compare 2010 data for Ekman 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 Ekman

The surname EKMAN originated in Sweden and is a toponymic name, meaning it was derived from a place name. The name is believed to have originated from the village of Ekman, located in the southern Swedish province of Småland. This village name is derived from the Old Swedish word "ek," meaning oak, and "man," meaning man or person, suggesting the original bearer of the surname may have lived near or been associated with an oak tree or oak forest.

The earliest recorded instances of the EKMAN surname can be traced back to the 16th century in Swedish parish records and census documents. One of the earliest known bearers was Olof Ekman, born in 1587 in the village of Ekman, Småland. The surname was also found in various spellings, such as Ekeman and Eekman, in historical records from the same region.

In the 17th century, the EKMAN surname began to spread beyond its original geographic region, with bearers appearing in other parts of Sweden and neighboring countries. One notable figure was Johan Ekman, a Swedish military officer born in 1628, who served in the Thirty Years' War and later became the governor of the Swedish island of Gotland.

The 18th century saw the emergence of several prominent individuals with the EKMAN surname. Carl Gustaf Ekman (1716-1784) was a Swedish naturalist and entomologist who made significant contributions to the study of insects and their classification. Another notable bearer was Anders Ekman (1767-1828), a Swedish politician and jurist who served as the President of the Göta Court of Appeal.

In the 19th century, the EKMAN surname continued to gain recognition. Fredrik Adolf Ekman (1808-1872) was a Swedish botanist and explorer who participated in several scientific expeditions to South America and the polar regions. His work contributed to the understanding of plant life in these regions. Another notable figure was Gustaf Ekman (1839-1938), a Swedish writer and journalist who published several novels and plays.

As the EKMAN surname spread beyond Sweden, it also appeared in other parts of Europe and North America, often carried by Swedish immigrants. One example is Paul Ekman (1934-), an American psychologist and professor emeritus at the University of California, San Francisco, known for his pioneering work on the study of emotions and facial expressions.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Ekman

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

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

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

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