2000
#1,213
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 26,433
First available Census row
Per 100,000 9.80
Uncommon Last name
Gustafson
Son of Gustaf, a Swedish patronymic surname derived from the male given name Gustaf.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 29,009 Americans carry the last name Gustafson. That puts it at #1,373 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 8.46 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 11,815 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Gustafson 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Gustafson with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
29K
1 in 11,815
Census rank
#1,373
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
8.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
25K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 25,297 bearers of the surname Gustafson in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 8.46 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1373rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Gustafson, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and Hispanic (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Gustafson
The surname Gustafson is of Swedish origin, originating in the 17th century. It is a patronymic name, derived from the personal name Gustaf, the Swedish form of the name Gustavus, combined with the suffix 'son' meaning 'son of'. The name Gustaf itself is derived from the Old Norse name 'Guðlafr', composed of the elements 'guð' meaning 'god' and 'lafr' meaning 'descendant' or 'heir'.
The earliest recorded instances of the surname Gustafson can be found in Swedish church records from the late 17th century. These records often mentioned individuals from rural areas near cities like Stockholm and Gothenburg. The name was particularly prevalent in the provinces of Dalarna and Värmland.
One of the earliest known bearers of the surname was Johan Gustafson, born in 1695 in the village of Mora, Dalarna. He was a farmer and landowner, and his descendants continued to use the surname in the region for generations.
In the 19th century, the name Gustafson began to spread more widely across Sweden as industrialization and urbanization led to increased migration. Some notable individuals from this period include Erik Gustafson (1825-1890), a successful businessman and politician from Gothenburg, and Anna Gustafson (1860-1942), a pioneering educator and women's rights activist from Stockholm.
As Swedish immigration to North America increased in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the surname Gustafson became more common in countries like the United States and Canada. One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name in the United States was Carl Gustafson, born in 1844 in Småland, Sweden, who settled in Minnesota in the 1870s and worked as a farmer.
Other notable individuals with the surname Gustafson include Axel Gustafson (1897-1980), a Swedish-American inventor and entrepreneur who developed the first successful self-winding wristwatch, and Ingemar Gustafson (1919-2008), a Swedish-American academic and historian who served as the president of Gustavus Adolphus College in Minnesota.
While the surname Gustafson is most closely associated with its Swedish origins, it has since spread to various parts of the world through migration and has been adopted by individuals of different backgrounds and nationalities.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gustafson
Among Census respondents with the surname Gustafson, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and Hispanic (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Gustafson 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 Gustafson surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.8% · 23,469
- Two or more races2.9% · 733
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 666
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 195
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 140
- Black or African American0.4% · 94
Timeline
Historical Census data for Gustafson
Gustafson 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
#1,333
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 26,421
-12 bearers (-0.0%)
Per 100,000 8.96
Rank movement Down 120 places
2020
#1,373
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 25,297
-1,124 bearers (-4.3%)
Per 100,000 8.46
Rank movement Down 40 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,213 | 26,433 | 9.80 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,333 | 26,421 | 8.96 | -12 bearers (-0.0%) | Down 120 places |
| 2020 | #1,373 | 25,297 | 8.46 | -1,124 bearers (-4.3%) | Down 40 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 Gustafson 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 | #1,333 | #1,373 | -3.0% |
| Count | 26,421 | 25,297 | -4.3% |
| Per 100K | 8.96 | 8.46 | -5.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Gustafson bearers went from 26,421 to 25,297 (-4.3% change). The surname moved down 40 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,333 to #1,373.
FAQ
Gustafson surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Gustafson?
Name Census estimates that about 29,009 living Americans carry the surname Gustafson. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 11,815 residents.
How common is Gustafson?
Gustafson ranks #1,373 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 8.46 per 100,000 residents, which is about 8 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 25,297 people with the surname Gustafson. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (29,009), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 8.46 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 8.46 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 8 of them to have the surname Gustafson.
Has Gustafson become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Gustafson went from 26,421 recorded bearers to 25,297. That is a decrease of 1,124 (-4.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,333 to #1,373.
What does the Census say about the background of Gustafson?
Among Census respondents with the surname Gustafson, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and Hispanic (2.6%). 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 Gustafson in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.8% (23,469 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Gustafson appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.8%), Two or More Races (2.9%), Hispanic (2.6%). 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 Gustafson (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 Gustafson mean?
Son of Gustaf, a Swedish patronymic surname derived from the male given name Gustaf. 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 Gustafson (8.46 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 Gustafson?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.