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

Henriksen, 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 Henriksen surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Henriksen in America

Henriksen is the 10851st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Henriksen surname appeared 2,935 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 Henriksen.

We can also compare 2010 data for Henriksen 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 Henriksen

The surname Henriksen is of Danish and Norwegian origin, derived from the personal name Henrik, a Scandinavian form of the German name Heinrich, meaning "ruler of the home." The suffix "-sen" is a patronymic, indicating "son of."

The name likely emerged in the Middle Ages when patronymic surnames became more widespread in Scandinavia. It would have initially referred to the son of a man named Henrik, denoting lineage and family ties.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the 1601 Danish Census, where a Hans Henriksen is listed as residing in Copenhagen. This suggests that the surname was already in use by the late 16th century in Denmark.

In Norway, the name can be traced back to the 17th century. A notable early bearer was Niels Henriksen Lund (1609-1670), a Norwegian clergyman and bishop of the Diocese of Trondheim.

During the 18th and 19th centuries, variations of the spelling emerged, such as Henrichsen and Hendriksen, reflecting regional dialect differences or scribal variations.

Prominent individuals with the Henriksen surname include:

1. Olaus Henriksen Aaraas (1672-1759), a Norwegian farmer and politician who served as a representative in the Gulating assembly.

2. Hans Henriksen (1800-1881), a Danish painter known for his landscape and maritime works.

3. Sofie Henriksen (1847-1923), a Norwegian writer and advocate for women's rights and education.

4. Vilhelm Henriksen (1865-1945), a Danish author and playwright who wrote extensively about life in rural Denmark.

5. Ludvig Henriksen (1890-1952), a Norwegian military officer and recipient of the War Cross with Sword for his service during World War II.

The surname Henriksen has also been associated with various place names, particularly in Denmark and Norway, where localities or farms may have been named after early bearers of the name.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Henriksen

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

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

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

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