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

Idelson, 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 Idelson surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Idelson in America

Idelson is the 149395th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Idelson surname appeared 110 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Idelson.

We can also compare 2010 data for Idelson 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 Idelson

The surname Idelson is believed to have originated in Russia, specifically in the region of Smolensk, during the 16th century. It is derived from the Russian personal name "Idel," which itself is derived from the Hebrew name "Yidel," meaning "beloved of God." The suffix "-son" indicates that the name is a patronymic, meaning "son of Idel."

The earliest known record of the name Idelson dates back to the late 16th century, where it appears in a census of Jewish families living in the Smolensk region. At that time, the name was spelled "Idelzon," reflecting the common variation in spelling that occurred in historical records.

In the 17th century, the Idelson family is mentioned in several documents related to the Jewish community in the town of Mogilev, which was then part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. One notable figure from this period was Rabbi Yitzhak Idelson, a scholar and teacher who lived in Mogilev in the mid-1600s.

As the centuries passed, the Idelson family spread throughout Eastern Europe, with branches settling in various towns and cities across what is now Belarus, Ukraine, and Poland. In the late 19th century, a significant number of Idelsons emigrated from these regions to escape persecution and seek better opportunities in the Americas and Western Europe.

One prominent individual with the surname Idelson was Abraham Idelson (1865-1942), a Russian-born lawyer and Zionist activist who played a crucial role in the early years of the Zionist movement. He was a close associate of Theodor Herzl and served as a member of the Zionist Executive Committee.

Another notable figure was Naftali Idelson (1885-1951), a Russian-born writer and playwright who authored several works in Yiddish and Hebrew. His plays were widely performed in Yiddish theaters throughout Eastern Europe and the United States in the early 20th century.

In the field of science, a significant contribution was made by Vladimir Idelson (1885-1953), a Russian biologist and geneticist who made important discoveries in the study of plant genetics and cytogenetics.

The Idelson surname can also be found among notable figures in the arts, such as the Russian-born painter and printmaker Joseph Idelson (1890-1957), whose works were exhibited in major galleries across Europe and the United States.

Finally, one of the most recent prominent individuals with the Idelson surname was Wolf Idelson (1920-2008), a Polish-born Holocaust survivor and author who wrote extensively about his experiences during World War II and the Nazi occupation of Poland.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Idelson

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

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

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

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