2000
#3,684
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,851
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.28
Rare Last name
Fredrickson
A patronymic surname of Scandinavian origin, meaning "son of Frederick" or "son of Fredrik."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 9,596 Americans carry the last name Fredrickson. That puts it at #4,118 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.80 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 35,718 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Fredrickson surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
9.6K
1 in 35,718
Census rank
#4,118
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
8.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 8,368 bearers of the surname Fredrickson in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.80 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4118th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Fredrickson, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Fredrickson
The surname Fredrickson originated from the Scandinavian countries, primarily Norway and Sweden, during the Middle Ages. It is a patronymic surname, derived from the given name Fredrik (or Fredric), which is the Scandinavian form of the Germanic name Frederick, meaning "peaceful ruler." The suffix "-son" was added to indicate "son of," making the name "son of Fredrik."
The name's earliest recorded instances can be traced back to the 13th century in Norway and Sweden. It was initially spelled in various forms, such as Fredriksson, Fredrichson, and Fredriksen, reflecting regional spelling variations and dialectal differences. These variations continued until the late 19th and early 20th centuries when standardized spelling became more prevalent.
One of the earliest known individuals with the surname Fredrickson was Björn Fredrickson, a Norwegian farmer who lived in the late 14th century. His name was documented in a land registry record from the village of Trondheim, dated 1389.
In Sweden, the name appears in the Domboken (Domesday Book) of Uppsala, a medieval manuscript containing records of land ownership and taxation. One entry from 1472 mentions a Johan Fredrickson, a landowner in the region of Uppland.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Fredrickson surname gained prominence in several Nordic families. Notable examples include Lars Fredrickson (1552-1623), a Swedish merchant and ship owner, and Ingrid Fredrickson (1587-1654), a Norwegian noblewoman known for her philanthropic work.
In the 18th century, the name was associated with several prominent figures in the arts and sciences. One such individual was Carl Fredrickson (1712-1787), a Swedish botanist and naturalist who made significant contributions to the study of Nordic flora.
Another notable bearer of the Fredrickson surname was Erik Fredrickson (1781-1849), a Norwegian poet and playwright whose works were influential in the development of Norwegian literature during the Romantic era.
As the Scandinavian diaspora spread to other parts of the world, the Fredrickson surname traveled with them. In the 19th century, many Fredricksons immigrated to North America, particularly to the United States and Canada, where they established new communities and continued to carry on the legacy of their surname.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Fredrickson
Among Census respondents with the surname Fredrickson, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Fredrickson bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Fredrickson surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.3% · 7,724
- Two or more races3.5% · 290
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 236
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 48
- Black or African American0.5% · 38
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 32
Timeline
Historical Census data for Fredrickson
Fredrickson appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#3,945
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,026
+175 bearers (+2.0%)
Per 100,000 3.06
Rank movement Down 261 places
2020
#4,118
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,368
-658 bearers (-7.3%)
Per 100,000 2.80
Rank movement Down 173 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,684 | 8,851 | 3.28 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,945 | 9,026 | 3.06 | +175 bearers (+2.0%) | Down 261 places |
| 2020 | #4,118 | 8,368 | 2.80 | -658 bearers (-7.3%) | Down 173 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Fredrickson surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #3,945 | #4,118 | -4.4% |
| Count | 9,026 | 8,368 | -7.3% |
| Per 100K | 3.06 | 2.80 | -8.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Fredrickson bearers went from 9,026 to 8,368 (-7.3% change). The surname moved down 173 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,945 to #4,118.
FAQ
Fredrickson surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Fredrickson?
Name Census estimates that about 9,596 living Americans carry the surname Fredrickson. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 35,718 residents.
How common is Fredrickson?
Fredrickson ranks #4,118 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.80 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 8,368 people with the surname Fredrickson. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (9,596), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.8 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.80 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Fredrickson.
Has Fredrickson become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Fredrickson went from 9,026 recorded bearers to 8,368. That is a decrease of 658 (-7.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,945 to #4,118.
What does the Census say about the background of Fredrickson?
Among Census respondents with the surname Fredrickson, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (2.8%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Fredrickson in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.3% (7,724 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Fredrickson appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.3%), Two or More Races (3.5%), Hispanic (2.8%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Fredrickson (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Fredrickson mean?
A patronymic surname of Scandinavian origin, meaning "son of Frederick" or "son of Fredrik." The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Fredrickson (2.80 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people share the surname Fredrickson?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.