2000
#141,788
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Gjesdal
A Norwegian surname derived from a farmstead name near the town of Gjesdal.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 136 Americans carry the last name Gjesdal. That puts it at #142,788 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,520,252 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Gjesdal 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
136
1 in 2,520,252
Census rank
#142,788
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
119
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 119 bearers of the surname Gjesdal in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 142788th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Gjesdal, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.0%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Gjesdal
The surname GJESDAL is of Norwegian origin, originating in the region around the town of Gjesdal in Rogaland county. The name likely derives from the old Norse words "geir" meaning "spear" and "dalr" meaning "valley," suggesting the name may have referred to a spear-shaped valley or a valley inhabited by those skilled with spears.
Records show the earliest known spelling of the name as "Geirsdal" in the 13th century Diplomatarium Norvegicum, a collection of medieval Norwegian diplomas and letters. This early spelling supports the Norse etymological roots of the name. Over time, the name evolved to its modern form of GJESDAL.
One of the earliest documented individuals with the surname was Erling Gjesdal, a farmer and landowner in Gjesdal, Rogaland, who lived in the late 15th century. Another early record mentions Torbjørn Gjesdal, a soldier who fought in the Norwegian campaigns against Sweden in the early 17th century.
In the 18th century, Knut Gjesdal, a merchant and ship owner from Stavanger, is mentioned in trade records from the Netherlands. His son, Peder Knutsson Gjesdal, born in 1721, is notable for being one of the first Norwegians to establish a successful trading company in the Danish West Indies (now the U.S. Virgin Islands).
A more recent historical figure is Nils Gjesdal, a Norwegian engineer and inventor born in 1854. He is best known for his contributions to the development of the modern mechanical pencil, patenting several improvements to the design in the late 19th century.
Another prominent individual with the surname was Olav Gjesdal, a Norwegian politician and member of the Storting (the Norwegian parliament) from 1913 to 1921. He was born in 1868 and played a significant role in the early Norwegian labor movement.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gjesdal
Among Census respondents with the surname Gjesdal, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.0%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Gjesdal 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 Gjesdal surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.6% · 109
- Two or more races5.0% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.7% · 2
- Black or African American0.8% · 1
- Hispanic or Latino0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Gjesdal
Gjesdal 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
#153,769
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 106
-2 bearers (-1.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 11,981 places
2020
#142,788
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119
+13 bearers (+12.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 10,981 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #141,788 | 108 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #153,769 | 106 | 0.04 | -2 bearers (-1.9%) | Down 11,981 places |
| 2020 | #142,788 | 119 | 0.04 | +13 bearers (+12.3%) | Up 10,981 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 Gjesdal 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 | #153,769 | #142,788 | 7.1% |
| Count | 106 | 119 | 12.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -0.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Gjesdal bearers went from 106 to 119 (+12.3% change). The surname moved up 10,981 positions in the national ranking, going from #153,769 to #142,788.
FAQ
Gjesdal surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Gjesdal?
Name Census estimates that about 136 living Americans carry the surname Gjesdal. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,520,252 residents.
How common is Gjesdal?
Gjesdal ranks #142,788 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 119 people with the surname Gjesdal. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (136), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Gjesdal.
Has Gjesdal become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Gjesdal went from 106 recorded bearers to 119. That is an increase of 13 (+12.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #153,769 to #142,788.
What does the Census say about the background of Gjesdal?
Among Census respondents with the surname Gjesdal, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.0%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.7%). 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 Gjesdal in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.6% (109 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Gjesdal appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.6%), Two or More Races (5.0%), American Indian/Alaska Native (1.7%). 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 Gjesdal (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 Gjesdal mean?
A Norwegian surname derived from a farmstead name near the town of Gjesdal. 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 Gjesdal (0.04 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 Americans have the surname Gjesdal?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.