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

Ellefson, 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 Ellefson surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Ellefson in America

Ellefson is the 14076th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Ellefson surname appeared 2,137 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 Ellefson.

We can also compare 2010 data for Ellefson 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 Ellefson

The surname Ellefson has its origins in Norway. It first appeared in the early 13th century and is believed to be derived from the Old Norse words "elle" meaning "Ancient" and "sonr" meaning "son", suggesting it was originally a patronymic name referring to the son of an elder or ancient one.

Ellefson is a distinctly Norwegian name that arose in the coastal regions of western Norway, particularly around the areas of Rogaland and Hordaland. Some of the earliest recorded examples can be found in the medieval Norwegian tax records and land registries from the 1200s and 1300s.

One of the first documented individuals with this surname was Einar Ellefson, a farmer from the village of Etne in Hordaland who was mentioned in a land dispute settlement recorded in 1327. Another early bearer was Sigrid Ellefsdotter, a noblewoman from Stavanger who was mentioned in a monastery donation record from 1348.

The name Ellefson can also be traced back to various place names in Norway, such as the farm Ellefsgarden near Haugesund, which dates back to the 1400s. It is likely that some bearers of the name adopted it based on their association with these locations.

Notable individuals with the surname Ellefson throughout history include Hans Ellefson (1542-1612), a respected Lutheran pastor from Bergen; Ingrid Ellefson (1677-1743), a prominent merchant and landowner from Trondheim; and Ove Ellefson (1818-1896), a Norwegian-American immigrant who became a successful farmer and community leader in Minnesota.

Other bearers of the name include Nils Ellefson (1891-1976), a Norwegian-American artist known for his landscape paintings, and Peder Ellefson (1923-2008), a Norwegian naval officer and diplomat who served as Norway's ambassador to several countries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Ellefson

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

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

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

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