2000
#5,064
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,353
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.36
Rare Last name
Friesen
A surname of Dutch or German origin, derived from the word "Friese," indicating someone from the region of Friesland.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 8,170 Americans carry the last name Friesen. That puts it at #4,811 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.38 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 41,953 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Friesen 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
8.2K
1 in 41,953
Census rank
#4,811
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
7.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 7,125 bearers of the surname Friesen in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.38 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4811th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Friesen, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Friesen
The surname Friesen is of German origin, derived from the word "Frese" or "Frise," which refers to a Frisian or someone from the region of Friesland in northern Germany and the Netherlands. The name can be traced back to the Middle Ages, when the Frisians were known for their seafaring and trading activities along the coasts of the North Sea.
The earliest recorded instances of the name date back to the 13th century, with references found in various historical documents and records from the regions of Friesland and East Frisia. In the Domesday Book, a medieval census commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086, there are several entries related to individuals with the name Frese or Frise, suggesting the presence of Frisian settlers in England at the time.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Johan Friesen, a merchant and shipowner from the city of Emden in East Frisia, who lived in the late 15th century. Another notable figure was Rembert Friesen, a Frisian scholar and theologian who lived from 1560 to 1630 and was known for his work on Frisian language and literature.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, many Friesians migrated to other parts of Europe and even to North America, carrying their surname with them. Among those who settled in the New World were Mennonite families from the Frisian regions of Prussia and Russia, who established communities in areas such as Pennsylvania, Ontario, and Manitoba.
One prominent bearer of the Friesen name was Peter Martin Friesen (1849-1914), a Mennonite leader and historian from Russia who played a significant role in the migration of Mennonites to North America in the late 19th century. Another notable figure was Jacob Friesen (1808-1881), a Mennonite minister and leader who helped establish Mennonite settlements in Kansas and Nebraska.
Other notable individuals with the surname Friesen include Hermann Friesen (1885-1964), a German-Canadian artist and painter known for his landscapes and portraits, and Walther Friesen (1888-1971), a German architect and urban planner who designed several notable buildings in Berlin and other cities.
Overall, the surname Friesen has a rich history and can be traced back to the Frisian people of northern Germany and the Netherlands, who were known for their seafaring and trading activities during the Middle Ages and beyond.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Friesen
Among Census respondents with the surname Friesen, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Friesen 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 Friesen surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.0% · 6,627
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 238
- Two or more races2.2% · 160
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 59
- Black or African American0.4% · 25
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 16
Timeline
Historical Census data for Friesen
Friesen 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
#4,721
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,512
+1,159 bearers (+18.2%)
Per 100,000 2.55
Rank movement Up 343 places
2020
#4,811
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,125
-387 bearers (-5.2%)
Per 100,000 2.38
Rank movement Down 90 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,064 | 6,353 | 2.36 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,721 | 7,512 | 2.55 | +1,159 bearers (+18.2%) | Up 343 places |
| 2020 | #4,811 | 7,125 | 2.38 | -387 bearers (-5.2%) | Down 90 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 Friesen 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 | #4,721 | #4,811 | -1.9% |
| Count | 7,512 | 7,125 | -5.2% |
| Per 100K | 2.55 | 2.38 | -6.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Friesen bearers went from 7,512 to 7,125 (-5.2% change). The surname moved down 90 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,721 to #4,811.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Friesen
FAQ
Friesen surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Friesen?
Name Census estimates that about 8,170 living Americans carry the surname Friesen. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 41,953 residents.
How common is Friesen?
Friesen ranks #4,811 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.38 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 7,125 people with the surname Friesen. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (8,170), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.38 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.38 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Friesen.
Has Friesen become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Friesen went from 7,512 recorded bearers to 7,125. That is a decrease of 387 (-5.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,721 to #4,811.
What does the Census say about the background of Friesen?
Among Census respondents with the surname Friesen, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Friesen in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.0% (6,627 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Friesen appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.0%), Hispanic (3.3%), Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Friesen (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 Friesen mean?
A surname of Dutch or German origin, derived from the word "Friese," indicating someone from the region of Friesland. 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 Friesen (2.38 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 have the surname Friesen?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.