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

Eriksen, 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 Eriksen surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Eriksen in America

Eriksen is the 10663rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Eriksen surname appeared 3,000 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 Eriksen.

We can also compare 2010 data for Eriksen 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 Eriksen

The surname Eriksen originated in Scandinavia, particularly in Denmark and Norway, during the medieval period. It is a patronymic surname, derived from the Old Norse personal name Erik, which means "eternal ruler" or "ever-powerful." The name Erik itself is a combination of the Old Norse elements "ai," meaning "always" or "eternal," and "rik," meaning "ruler" or "mighty."

Eriksen is a common surname in Denmark and Norway, as well as in other Scandinavian countries. It is also found in areas with significant Scandinavian immigration, such as the United States, Canada, and Australia. The earliest known instances of the surname Eriksen can be traced back to the 13th and 14th centuries in historical records and documents from Denmark and Norway.

In the Icelandic Landnámabók, a medieval manuscript chronicling the settlement of Iceland, there are references to individuals with the name Erikssen or Eriksen. One of the earliest recorded individuals with this surname was Erik Eriksen, a Norwegian nobleman who lived in the late 13th century and was mentioned in the Diplomatarium Norvegicum, a collection of medieval Norwegian diplomas and documents.

Another notable individual with the surname Eriksen was Hans Eriksen (1573-1638), a Danish astronomer and mathematician who made significant contributions to the study of astronomy and mathematics during the early 17th century. He is best known for his work on improving the accuracy of astronomical observations and for his development of new mathematical techniques for calculating planetary positions.

In the 18th century, Christian Eriksen (1714-1772) was a Danish naval officer and explorer who led several expeditions to Greenland and the Arctic regions. He is credited with mapping and charting large areas of the Greenland coast and contributing to the knowledge of the region's geography and natural resources.

Another notable figure with the surname Eriksen was Knud Eriksen (1858-1938), a Norwegian explorer and whaler who participated in several Antarctic expeditions in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was a member of the Børge Vik expedition to the Antarctic Peninsula in 1893-1895 and later led his own whaling expeditions to the Ross Sea region.

In more recent times, one of the most famous individuals with the surname Eriksen is Christian Eriksen, a Danish professional football player born in 1992. He has represented Denmark at the international level and has played for several top European clubs, including Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Eriksen

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

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

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

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