2010
#151,532
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Horsager
A Danish surname derived from the Old Norse words for "horse" and "servant" or "tender".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 115 Americans carry the last name Horsager. That puts it at #155,682 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,980,473 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Horsager 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
115
1 in 2,980,473
Census rank
#155,682
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
100
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 100 bearers of the surname Horsager in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 155682nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Horsager, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (12.0%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Horsager
The surname HORSAGER is believed to have originated in Denmark, dating back to the medieval period. It is thought to be derived from the Old Danish words "hors" meaning horse and "ager" meaning field or pasture, suggesting that the name may have referred to someone who worked with horses or lived near a horse pasture.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the HORSAGER name can be found in the Danish Censuses of 1787, which listed several individuals with this surname residing in various regions of Denmark, such as Jutland and Zealand. The name has also been found in some historical records from the 17th and 18th centuries, including church records and land registries.
While the HORSAGER name does not appear in any major historical manuscripts or chronicles, there are a few notable individuals who have carried this surname throughout history. One such person was Hans HORSAGER (1812-1887), a Danish farmer and landowner who lived in the town of Odense on the island of Funen. Another was Jens HORSAGER (1857-1932), a Danish immigrant to the United States who settled in Minnesota and worked as a farmer.
In the 19th century, the HORSAGER name can be found in various Danish census records and church registers, often associated with rural areas and agricultural communities. Some variations in spelling, such as HORSAGGER or HORSAGHER, were also observed during this time period, likely due to regional dialects and scribal errors.
One notable figure was Peter HORSAGER (1876-1957), a Danish-American author and journalist who wrote extensively about the experiences of Danish immigrants in the United States. He was born in Denmark but immigrated to the United States in the late 19th century and settled in Iowa, where he worked as a newspaper editor and published several books on Danish-American culture and history.
Another individual of note was Niels HORSAGER (1895-1976), a Danish-American farmer and community leader who lived in Minnesota. He was born in Denmark and immigrated to the United States in the early 20th century, settling in the rural community of Tyler, Minnesota, where he became actively involved in various agricultural organizations and local politics.
While the HORSAGER surname is not among the most common Danish surnames, it has a long history and has been carried by individuals from various walks of life, including farmers, landowners, authors, and community leaders, both in Denmark and among Danish immigrant communities in other countries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Horsager
Among Census respondents with the surname Horsager, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (12.0%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Horsager 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 Horsager surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.0% · 80
- Hispanic or Latino12.0% · 12
- Two or more races4.0% · 4
- Black or African American3.0% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Horsager
Horsager appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#155,682
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 100
-8 bearers (-7.4%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 4,150 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #151,532 | 108 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #155,682 | 100 | 0.03 | -8 bearers (-7.4%) | Down 4,150 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 Horsager 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 | #151,532 | #155,682 | -2.7% |
| Count | 108 | 100 | -7.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -16.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Horsager bearers went from 108 to 100 (-7.4% change). The surname moved down 4,150 positions in the national ranking, going from #151,532 to #155,682.
FAQ
Horsager surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Horsager?
Name Census estimates that about 115 living Americans carry the surname Horsager. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,980,473 residents.
How common is Horsager?
Horsager ranks #155,682 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 100 people with the surname Horsager. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (115), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Horsager.
Has Horsager become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Horsager went from 108 recorded bearers to 100. That is a decrease of 8 (-7.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #151,532 to #155,682.
What does the Census say about the background of Horsager?
Among Census respondents with the surname Horsager, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (12.0%) and Two or More Races (4.0%). 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 Horsager in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.0% (80 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Horsager appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (80.0%), Hispanic (12.0%), Two or More Races (4.0%). 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 Horsager (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 Horsager mean?
A Danish surname derived from the Old Norse words for "horse" and "servant" or "tender". 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 Horsager (0.03 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 Horsager?
See how many Americans have the surname Horsager on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.