2000
#146,011
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 104
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Helvik
A Norwegian place name referring to someone from the village of Helvik.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 131 Americans carry the last name Helvik. That puts it at #146,495 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,616,445 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Helvik 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
131
1 in 2,616,445
Census rank
#146,495
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
114
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 114 bearers of the surname Helvik in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 146495th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Helvik, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.6%) and Black (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Helvik
The surname HELVIK originates from Norway, with its earliest recorded instances dating back to the 12th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old Norse words "hel," meaning "overhang" or "cliff," and "vik," meaning "bay" or "inlet." This suggests that the name may have initially referred to individuals residing near a coastal area with cliffs overlooking a bay or inlet.
In medieval Norwegian records, the name appears in various spellings, such as Helvik, Hellvik, and Hellwich, reflecting regional linguistic variations. One of the earliest known mentions of the name can be found in the Diplomatarium Norvegicum, a collection of medieval Norwegian documents, from the year 1275.
During the Viking Age, many Norwegians ventured across the seas, and it is possible that individuals bearing the HELVIK name may have settled in regions like Iceland, Greenland, or even parts of the British Isles. However, concrete evidence of such migrations remains elusive.
Notable historical figures with the HELVIK surname include Sigurd Helvik (1305-1378), a prominent Norwegian landowner and chieftain from the Helgeland region, and Ragnhild Helvik (1420-1498), a respected midwife and herbalist from the Trondheim area.
In the 16th century, the name appears in the Jordebøker, the Norwegian land registers, with entries mentioning Arne Helvik (1523-1591), a farmer from the Vestfold region, and Ingrid Helvik (1547-1621), a respected weaver from the Hallingdal valley.
During the 17th century, the HELVIK name gained recognition with the accomplishments of Hans Helvik (1612-1679), a renowned shipbuilder from Bergen who constructed several vessels for the Danish-Norwegian navy.
In more recent times, the name has been associated with notable figures like Arne Helvik (1892-1974), a celebrated Norwegian artist known for his landscape paintings, and Ragnhild Helvik (1920-2002), a pioneering Norwegian journalist and women's rights activist.
While the HELVIK surname remains relatively uncommon outside Norway, it has a rich history deeply rooted in the country's coastal regions and maritime traditions.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Helvik
Among Census respondents with the surname Helvik, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.6%) and Black (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Helvik 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 Helvik surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.0% · 106
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 3
- Black or African American1.8% · 2
- Two or more races1.8% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Helvik
Helvik 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
#159,712
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 101
-3 bearers (-2.9%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 13,701 places
2020
#146,495
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114
+13 bearers (+12.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 13,217 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #146,011 | 104 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #159,712 | 101 | 0.03 | -3 bearers (-2.9%) | Down 13,701 places |
| 2020 | #146,495 | 114 | 0.04 | +13 bearers (+12.9%) | Up 13,217 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 Helvik 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 | #159,712 | #146,495 | 8.3% |
| Count | 101 | 114 | 12.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.04 | 27.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Helvik bearers went from 101 to 114 (+12.9% change). The surname moved up 13,217 positions in the national ranking, going from #159,712 to #146,495.
FAQ
Helvik surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Helvik?
Name Census estimates that about 131 living Americans carry the surname Helvik. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,616,445 residents.
How common is Helvik?
Helvik ranks #146,495 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 114 people with the surname Helvik. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (131), 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 Helvik.
Has Helvik become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Helvik went from 101 recorded bearers to 114. That is an increase of 13 (+12.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #159,712 to #146,495.
What does the Census say about the background of Helvik?
Among Census respondents with the surname Helvik, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.6%) and Black (1.8%). 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 Helvik in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.0% (106 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Helvik appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.0%), Hispanic (2.6%), Black (1.8%). 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 Helvik (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 Helvik mean?
A Norwegian place name referring to someone from the village of Helvik. 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 Helvik (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 are called Helvik?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the surname Helvik at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.