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

Franson, 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 Franson surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Franson in America

Franson is the 16868th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Franson surname appeared 1,690 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 Franson.

We can also compare 2010 data for Franson 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 Franson

The surname Franson originated in Sweden in the early 17th century. It is derived from the Old Swedish word "fransar" which means "fringes" or "tassels". The name likely referred to someone who made or sold fringed garments or textiles.

Franson is a patronymic surname, meaning it was originally formed by adding the suffix "-son" to a father's given name. This was a common practice in Scandinavian countries for creating hereditary surnames. The earliest recorded spelling of the name was Fransson in the parish records of Västra Götaland county in western Sweden.

One of the earliest documented Fransons was Nils Fransson, a farmer born in 1622 in Svenljunga, Västra Götaland. His son, Anders Nilsson Franson (1655-1723), was a prominent landowner and church deacon in the same region.

In the 19th century, the Franson surname began to appear in historical records outside of Sweden. Johan Franson (1816-1891) was a Swedish-American Lutheran minister who settled in Illinois and served as the first president of Augustana College.

Another notable Franson was Carl Gustaf Fransson (1837-1908), a Swedish architect who designed several churches and public buildings in Gothenburg. His son, Knut Fransson (1872-1945), followed in his footsteps and became a renowned architect as well.

The name Franson has also been found in historical documents and records in Norway, Denmark, and Finland, likely due to migration and intermarriage between Scandinavian countries. One early Norwegian bearer was Peder Franson (1791-1867), a farmer and local official in Oppland county.

While not a particularly common surname, Franson has been borne by individuals in various professions throughout history, from clergymen and architects to farmers and tradesmen. The name continues to be most prevalent in Sweden and among the Swedish diaspora in North America.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Franson

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

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

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

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