2000
#8,048
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,801
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.41
Rare Last name
Hermanson
Son of Herman, a Germanic personal name meaning "army man."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,971 Americans carry the last name Hermanson. That puts it at #9,058 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.16 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 86,314 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hermanson 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
4.0K
1 in 86,314
Census rank
#9,058
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,463 bearers of the surname Hermanson in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.16 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9058th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hermanson, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.4%) and Hispanic (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hermanson
The surname Hermanson is of Swedish origin and dates back to the medieval period. It is a patronymic name, meaning "son of Herman." The name Herman is derived from the Germanic elements "heri" meaning army, and "man" meaning man. Thus, Hermanson literally means "son of the army man."
The earliest recorded instances of the Hermanson surname can be found in Swedish church records from the 16th century. One of the earliest recorded individuals with this name was Hans Hermanson, born in Västerås, Sweden in 1567. Another early bearer of the name was Olof Hermanson, a farmer from Småland, Sweden, who lived in the late 16th century.
In the 17th century, the Hermanson name appears in various historical documents, such as land records and tax rolls. One notable individual was Johan Hermanson (1632-1708), a Swedish clergyman and author who served as the Bishop of Strängnäs.
Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, the Hermanson surname spread across Sweden and into other Scandinavian countries. Several individuals with this name achieved prominence, including Carl Herman Hermanson (1773-1851), a Swedish businessman and landowner, and Nils Hermanson (1818-1899), a Norwegian painter and art professor.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many Swedes bearing the Hermanson surname immigrated to the United States and other parts of the world. One notable American with this name was Charles Hermanson (1887-1962), a Swedish-American inventor and engineer who developed the first successful automatic transmission for automobiles.
Other notable individuals with the Hermanson surname include Gunnar Hermanson (1903-1991), a Swedish author and literary critic, and Hans Hermanson (1912-1998), a Swedish entrepreneur and industrialist who founded the Hermanson Group, a major international conglomerate.
The Hermanson surname has remained prevalent in Sweden and other Scandinavian countries, as well as among the Swedish diaspora around the world. While its origins can be traced back to medieval Sweden, the name has a rich history and has been borne by numerous notable individuals over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hermanson
Among Census respondents with the surname Hermanson, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.4%) and Hispanic (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Hermanson 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 Hermanson surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.0% · 3,186
- Two or more races3.4% · 117
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 94
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 28
- Black or African American0.6% · 22
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 16
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hermanson
Hermanson 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
#8,402
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,937
+136 bearers (+3.6%)
Per 100,000 1.33
Rank movement Down 354 places
2020
#9,058
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,463
-474 bearers (-12.0%)
Per 100,000 1.16
Rank movement Down 656 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,048 | 3,801 | 1.41 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,402 | 3,937 | 1.33 | +136 bearers (+3.6%) | Down 354 places |
| 2020 | #9,058 | 3,463 | 1.16 | -474 bearers (-12.0%) | Down 656 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 Hermanson 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 | #8,402 | #9,058 | -7.8% |
| Count | 3,937 | 3,463 | -12.0% |
| Per 100K | 1.33 | 1.16 | -12.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hermanson bearers went from 3,937 to 3,463 (-12.0% change). The surname moved down 656 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,402 to #9,058.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Hermanson
FAQ
Hermanson surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hermanson?
Name Census estimates that about 3,971 living Americans carry the surname Hermanson. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 86,314 residents.
How common is Hermanson?
Hermanson ranks #9,058 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.16 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,463 people with the surname Hermanson. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,971), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.16 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.16 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Hermanson.
Has Hermanson become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hermanson went from 3,937 recorded bearers to 3,463. That is a decrease of 474 (-12.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #8,402 to #9,058.
What does the Census say about the background of Hermanson?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hermanson, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.4%) and Hispanic (2.7%). 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 Hermanson in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.0% (3,186 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hermanson appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.0%), Two or More Races (3.4%), Hispanic (2.7%). 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 Hermanson (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 Hermanson mean?
Son of Herman, a Germanic personal name meaning "army man." 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 Hermanson (1.16 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 common is the surname Hermanson?
You can see how many people have the last name Hermanson on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.