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

Erickson, 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 Erickson surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Erickson in America

Erickson is the 389th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Erickson surname appeared 82,085 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 28 people would have the surname Erickson.

We can also compare 2010 data for Erickson 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 Erickson

The surname Erickson is of Scandinavian origin, derived from the personal name Erik combined with the patronymic suffix "-son", meaning "son of Erik". The name Erik itself is derived from the Old Norse name Eiríkr, which is thought to be a compound of the elements "ei" meaning "ever" or "always" and "rik" meaning "ruler" or "prince".

The name Erickson can be traced back to the Viking era in Scandinavia, particularly in the regions of modern-day Sweden, Norway, and Denmark. It is believed that the name first emerged as a patronymic, identifying individuals as the sons of someone named Erik. Early examples of the name can be found in Old Norse sagas and medieval records from the region.

One of the earliest documented references to the name Erickson is found in the Icelandic Landnámabók (Book of Settlements), which records the names of the Norse settlers who arrived in Iceland during the 9th and 10th centuries. In this text, several individuals are mentioned bearing the name Eiríksson, the Old Norse form of Erickson.

As the Scandinavian influence spread across Europe and beyond, the name Erickson began to appear in various spellings and regional variations. In England, for instance, it was sometimes rendered as Ericson or Erikson, while in other parts of Europe, it took on forms such as Eriksson or Eriksen.

One notable figure bearing the surname Erickson was the Swedish explorer and colonizer Johan Eriksson Lejonhufvud (1540-1617), who founded the colony of New Sweden along the Delaware River in present-day Delaware, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. Another famous Erickson was the Swedish botanist and zoologist Johan Eriksson (1756-1837), who made significant contributions to the study of fungi and lichens.

Other notable individuals with the surname Erickson include the American writer and academic John R. Erickson (born 1941), best known for his Hank the Cowdog children's book series, and the American basketball player and coach Dick Erickson (1921-2007), who coached at several universities and in the NBA.

In modern times, the surname Erickson remains prevalent in Scandinavia and among individuals of Scandinavian descent worldwide, serving as a reminder of the rich cultural heritage and history associated with this name.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Erickson

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

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

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

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