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

Haugen, 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 Haugen surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Haugen in America

Haugen is the 3745th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Haugen surname appeared 9,461 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 people would have the surname Haugen.

We can also compare 2010 data for Haugen 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 Haugen

The surname Haugen originated in Norway during the Middle Ages. It is a topographic name derived from the Old Norse words "haugr," meaning hill or mound, and "eng," meaning meadow or pasture. Essentially, Haugen referred to a person who lived near a hill or mound in a meadow.

The name can be traced back to the Viking Age, with records indicating its presence in various parts of Norway. One of the earliest known references to the name appears in the Icelandic Landnámabók (Book of Settlements), which documents the Norse settlement of Iceland in the 9th and 10th centuries.

In the 13th century, a Norwegian nobleman named Håkon Håkonsson Haugen (c. 1204-1263) gained prominence as a trusted advisor to King Håkon IV of Norway. Håkon Haugen played a crucial role in establishing Norwegian sovereignty over Greenland and parts of Iceland.

Another notable figure was Ivar Haugen (c. 1350-1420), a wealthy Norwegian landowner and trader who gained significant influence in the region of Trondheim during the late Middle Ages. His descendants continued to hold prominent positions in the local community for several generations.

In the 16th century, the Haugen name appeared in various records across Norway, including the Diplomatorium Norvegicum, a collection of medieval Norwegian diplomatic documents. One such record mentions a farmer named Tore Haugen from the village of Haugen in the Gudbrandsdalen valley, dated around 1520.

The name also has variations in spelling, such as Haugan, Haugen, and Haugane, reflecting regional linguistic differences within Norway. These variations often corresponded to specific geographical locations or local dialects.

Other notable individuals with the Haugen surname include:

1. Hans Haugen (c. 1590-1650), a prominent Norwegian merchant and ship owner active in the Baltic trade during the early 17th century.
2. Anna Haugen (1754-1832), a Norwegian folk poet and songwriter known for her traditional ballads and verses.
3. Nils Peder Haugen (1818-1895), a Norwegian-American pioneer and farmer who played a significant role in the early settlement of the Red River Valley in Minnesota.
4. Guri Haugen (1841-1921), a Norwegian-American writer and activist who advocated for women's rights and educational opportunities in the Midwest.
5. Peder Haugen (1865-1935), a Norwegian-American author and journalist who wrote extensively about Norwegian immigration and life in the United States.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Haugen

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

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 Haugen 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 Haugen 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 Haugen was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!