Find out how popular the last name Halvorsen is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Halvorsen.

Halvorsen, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Halvorsen surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Halvorsen in America

Halvorsen is the 9298th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Halvorsen surname appeared 3,500 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Halvorsen.

We can also compare 2010 data for Halvorsen to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Halvorsen

The surname Halvorsen originated in Norway, with its earliest recorded use dating back to the 11th century. The name is a patronymic, derived from the Old Norse name Hallvard, which is a compound of the elements "hallr" meaning "rock" and "varðr" meaning "guardian." It essentially translates to "rock guardian." The name Hallvard was a popular name among the Vikings, and it is believed that Halvorsen was originally used to indicate a person who was the son of Hallvard.

The Halvorsen name can be found in several historical records from Norway, including the Landnåmabók, a medieval Icelandic manuscript that chronicles the settlement of Iceland. One of the earliest known individuals with the name was Hallvard Halvorsen, a Norwegian chieftain who lived in the late 10th century.

In the 13th century, a man named Halvor Halvorsen is mentioned in the Diplomatarium Norvegicum, a collection of medieval Norwegian diplomas and charters. He was a landowner and is recorded as having donated land to the Church.

The name Halvorsen has also been associated with various place names in Norway, such as Halvorsbygd and Halvorshagen, which are believed to have derived their names from early settlers with the Halvorsen surname.

One notable individual with the Halvorsen name was Halvor Halvorsen (1887-1972), a Norwegian journalist and writer who worked for several prominent Norwegian newspapers and published several books on Norwegian history and culture.

Another famous Halvorsen was Olav Halvorsen (1902-1978), a Norwegian composer and conductor who is best known for his orchestral works and concertos. He served as the principal conductor of the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra from 1950 to 1963.

In the field of sports, Odd Halvorsen (1926-2004) was a Norwegian football player and manager who played for the Norwegian national team and later managed several Norwegian clubs, including Rosenborg BK.

Elsa Halvorsen (1894-1973) was a Norwegian actress and singer who performed in numerous plays and musicals throughout her career, and was considered one of the leading actresses of her time in Norway.

Lastly, Bjørn Halvorsen (1943-2022) was a Norwegian politician who served as a member of the Storting, the Norwegian parliament, representing the Conservative Party from 1981 to 2005.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Halvorsen

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Halvorsen.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Halvorsen was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Halvorsen has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Halvorsen was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Halvorsen, please contact us.

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