2000
#147,095
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 103
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Hallgrimson
A patronymic surname of Scandinavian origin, meaning "son of Hallgrim".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 123 Americans carry the last name Hallgrimson. That puts it at #151,639 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,786,621 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hallgrimson 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
123
1 in 2,786,621
Census rank
#151,639
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
107
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 107 bearers of the surname Hallgrimson in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 151639th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hallgrimson, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Two or More Races (3.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hallgrimson
The surname Hallgrimson has its origins in Iceland, tracing back to the 9th or 10th century when the island was settled by Norse Vikings. It is a patronymic name, meaning "son of Hallgrimr." Hallgrimr was a personal name derived from the Old Norse words "hallr" meaning "rock" or "stone" and "grimr" meaning "mask" or "helmet."
This naming convention, where a person's surname indicated their father's first name with the addition of "son" or "dottir" (daughter), was common practice in Scandinavian countries during the Viking Age. The Hallgrimson name likely originated in the western regions of Iceland, where many of the initial Norse settlements were established.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Icelandic Sagas, a collection of literary works documenting the lives and adventures of the island's early inhabitants. The Saga of Grettir the Strong, composed around the 14th century, mentions a character named Hallgrimr Arason, who lived in the late 10th century.
Another notable figure with this surname was Jon Hallgrimsson, an Icelandic poet and naturalist born in 1807. He played a significant role in the Icelandic national romantic movement, advocating for the preservation of the country's language and culture. His poetry celebrated the rugged Icelandic landscape and the resilience of its people.
In the late 19th century, Halldór Kristjan Frioriksson Hallgrimsson, born in 1845, was a prominent Icelandic politician and journalist. He served as the Minister of Justice and Ecclesiastical Affairs and was a vocal advocate for Icelandic independence from Denmark.
Another notable bearer of the Hallgrimsson name was Gunnar Hallgrimsson, a 20th-century Icelandic writer and playwright who contributed significantly to the country's literary scene. He was born in 1901 and is best known for his plays that explored themes of Icelandic identity and rural life.
Lastly, Bjarni Hallgrimsson, born in 1914, was an influential Icelandic artist renowned for his abstract expressionist paintings and printmaking. His works often depicted the rugged Icelandic landscape and drew inspiration from the country's natural beauty and folklore.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hallgrimson
Among Census respondents with the surname Hallgrimson, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Two or More Races (3.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Hallgrimson 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 Hallgrimson surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.7% · 97
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 4
- Two or more races3.7% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.9% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hallgrimson
Hallgrimson 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
#151,532
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
+5 bearers (+4.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 4,437 places
2020
#151,639
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 107
-1 bearers (-0.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 107 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #147,095 | 103 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #151,532 | 108 | 0.04 | +5 bearers (+4.9%) | Down 4,437 places |
| 2020 | #151,639 | 107 | 0.04 | -1 bearers (-0.9%) | Down 107 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 Hallgrimson 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 | #151,532 | #151,639 | -0.1% |
| Count | 108 | 107 | -0.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -10.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hallgrimson bearers went from 108 to 107 (-0.9% change). The surname moved down 107 positions in the national ranking, going from #151,532 to #151,639.
FAQ
Hallgrimson surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hallgrimson?
Name Census estimates that about 123 living Americans carry the surname Hallgrimson. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,786,621 residents.
How common is Hallgrimson?
Hallgrimson ranks #151,639 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 107 people with the surname Hallgrimson. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (123), 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 Hallgrimson.
Has Hallgrimson become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hallgrimson went from 108 recorded bearers to 107. That is a decrease of 1 (-0.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #151,532 to #151,639.
What does the Census say about the background of Hallgrimson?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hallgrimson, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Two or More Races (3.7%). 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 Hallgrimson in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.7% (97 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hallgrimson appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.7%), Hispanic (3.7%), Two or More Races (3.7%). 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 Hallgrimson (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 Hallgrimson mean?
A patronymic surname of Scandinavian origin, meaning "son of Hallgrim". 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 Hallgrimson (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 people share the surname Hallgrimson?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.