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

Elgersma, 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 Elgersma surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Elgersma in America

Elgersma is the 50564th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Elgersma surname appeared 413 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 Elgersma.

We can also compare 2010 data for Elgersma 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 Elgersma

The surname ELGERSMA has its origins in the northern Netherlands, particularly in the province of Friesland. It is believed to have emerged sometime around the 16th or 17th century. The name is derived from the Frisian language and is a combination of the words "elger" meaning elk or moose, and "sma" meaning a small piece of land or meadow. Thus, the name likely referred to a person who lived on or owned a piece of land where elk or moose were found.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name ELGERSMA can be found in the Frisian land registry documents from the late 16th century, where it is listed as "Elgersma" or variations such as "Elgersme" or "Elgersme Gae". These early records suggest that the name was associated with families who owned or lived on small farmsteads or meadows in the rural areas of Friesland.

In the 17th century, a number of ELGERSMA families are mentioned in church records and local archives in towns like Leeuwarden, Harlingen, and Franeker. One notable figure from this time was Pieter Elgersma (1621-1689), who was a respected lawyer and magistrate in the city of Leeuwarden.

As the ELGERSMA name spread beyond Friesland, it can be found in records from other parts of the Netherlands, such as the Groningen province, where Johannes Elgersma (1781-1847) was a prominent philosopher and theologian who taught at the University of Groningen.

In the 19th century, the ELGERSMA name made its way to other parts of Europe and even overseas. Gerrit Elgersma (1824-1897) was a Dutch immigrant who settled in Michigan, USA, and became a successful farmer and businessman. Another notable figure was Theodorus Elgersma (1853-1919), a Dutch-born engineer who worked on several major infrastructure projects in South Africa.

Other individuals of note bearing the ELGERSMA surname include Jarich Elgersma (1876-1953), a Dutch economist and politician, and Sipke Elgersma (1902-1977), a Frisian writer and poet who helped preserve the Frisian language and culture.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Elgersma

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

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

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

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