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

Eliason, 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 Eliason surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Eliason in America

Eliason is the 8775th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Eliason surname appeared 3,735 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Eliason.

We can also compare 2010 data for Eliason 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 Eliason

The surname Eliason has its origins in Scandinavia, particularly in Sweden and Norway. It is believed to have originated as a patronymic name, derived from the first name Elias, which itself has biblical roots and means "Yahweh is my God" in Hebrew. The suffix "-son" indicates it was originally used to denote a son of someone named Elias.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Eliason can be found in the 16th century Swedish Census Rolls, where a family with this surname is listed as residing in the region of Småland. It's likely that the name was initially more prevalent in rural areas of Sweden and Norway before spreading to other parts of Scandinavia and eventually to other countries through immigration.

In the 17th century, there are records of an Eliason family residing in the town of Halmstad, Sweden. A notable member of this family was Johan Eliason (1640-1718), who was a respected merchant and landowner in the region.

As the name spread beyond Scandinavia, it underwent various spelling variations, such as Eliason, Elieson, and Eliassen. One early example of the name in North America can be found in the records of the New Sweden colony, established in the mid-17th century along the Delaware River in present-day Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New Jersey. A man named Nils Eliason is recorded as one of the early settlers of this colony.

Another notable figure with the surname Eliason was Axel Eliason (1876-1955), a Swedish-American businessman and philanthropist who made his fortune in the lumber industry. He was instrumental in the establishment of the Eliason Memorial Hospital in Washington state.

In the 19th century, a prominent Norwegian-American with the surname was Elling Eliason (1821-1904), who served as a Lutheran minister and founded several churches in Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Moving into the 20th century, one of the most famous individuals with the surname was Gunhild Eliason (1910-1999), a Norwegian actress and singer who appeared in numerous films and stage productions throughout her career.

While these are just a few examples, the surname Eliason has a rich history spanning several centuries and multiple countries, with its roots firmly planted in the Scandinavian region.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Eliason

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

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

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

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