2000
#1,743
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 18,831
First available Census row
Per 100,000 6.98
Uncommon Last name
Jacobsen
Danish and Norwegian patronymic surname meaning "son of Jacob."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 20,825 Americans carry the last name Jacobsen. That puts it at #1,938 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 6.08 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 16,459 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Jacobsen 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Jacobsen with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
21K
1 in 16,459
Census rank
#1,938
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
6.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
18K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 18,160 bearers of the surname Jacobsen in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 6.08 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1938th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Jacobsen, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Two or More Races (3.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Jacobsen
The surname Jacobsen is of Scandinavian origin, specifically Danish and Norwegian. It is a patronymic name, meaning it was originally derived from the personal name Jacob, which itself comes from the Hebrew name Ya'aqov, meaning "supplanter" or "heel-catcher."
In Denmark and Norway, the name Jacobsen emerged as a common surname in the late medieval period, around the 13th or 14th century. It was formed by adding the patronymic suffix "-sen" to the personal name Jacob, creating a name that literally means "son of Jacob."
The earliest recorded instances of the name Jacobsen can be found in Danish and Norwegian historical records and church registers from the 16th and 17th centuries. Some notable individuals with this surname from this era include Hans Jacobsen (1565-1636), a Danish astronomer and mathematician, and Jens Jacobsen (1591-1654), a Norwegian clergyman and writer.
Throughout the centuries, the Jacobsen surname has been associated with various notable figures across different fields. One prominent example is Arne Jacobsen (1902-1971), a renowned Danish architect and furniture designer, known for his contributions to the Danish modern style.
Another noteworthy bearer of the name is Jens Peter Jacobsen (1847-1885), a Danish novelist and poet who is considered one of the pioneers of the modern breakthrough in Scandinavian literature. His novel "Niels Lyhne" is regarded as a seminal work in Danish literature.
In the realm of science, Søren Jacobsen (1940-2021) was a Danish-American geochemist and professor at Harvard University, renowned for his contributions to the study of the Earth's mantle and the formation of the Solar System.
Moving to the arts, Jens Ferdinand Willumsen (1863-1958), a Danish painter and sculptor, was born Jens Ferdinand Jacobsen but later changed his surname to Willumsen.
Lastly, Ivar Jacobsen (born 1939) is a Norwegian computer scientist and software engineer, best known for his work on object-oriented software engineering and the development of the Unified Modeling Language (UML).
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who have carried the Jacobsen surname throughout history, reflecting the rich cultural heritage and diverse accomplishments associated with this name of Scandinavian origin.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jacobsen
Among Census respondents with the surname Jacobsen, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Two or More Races (3.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Jacobsen 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 Jacobsen surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.5% · 16,615
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 677
- Two or more races3.1% · 570
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 170
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 66
- Black or African American0.3% · 62
Timeline
Historical Census data for Jacobsen
Jacobsen 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
#1,914
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 18,820
-11 bearers (-0.1%)
Per 100,000 6.38
Rank movement Down 171 places
2020
#1,938
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 18,160
-660 bearers (-3.5%)
Per 100,000 6.08
Rank movement Down 24 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,743 | 18,831 | 6.98 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,914 | 18,820 | 6.38 | -11 bearers (-0.1%) | Down 171 places |
| 2020 | #1,938 | 18,160 | 6.08 | -660 bearers (-3.5%) | Down 24 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 Jacobsen 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 | #1,914 | #1,938 | -1.3% |
| Count | 18,820 | 18,160 | -3.5% |
| Per 100K | 6.38 | 6.08 | -4.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Jacobsen bearers went from 18,820 to 18,160 (-3.5% change). The surname moved down 24 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,914 to #1,938.
FAQ
Jacobsen surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Jacobsen?
Name Census estimates that about 20,825 living Americans carry the surname Jacobsen. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 16,459 residents.
How common is Jacobsen?
Jacobsen ranks #1,938 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 6.08 per 100,000 residents, which is about 6 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 18,160 people with the surname Jacobsen. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (20,825), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 6.08 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 6.08 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 6 of them to have the surname Jacobsen.
Has Jacobsen become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Jacobsen went from 18,820 recorded bearers to 18,160. That is a decrease of 660 (-3.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,914 to #1,938.
What does the Census say about the background of Jacobsen?
Among Census respondents with the surname Jacobsen, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Two or More Races (3.1%). 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 Jacobsen in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.5% (16,615 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Jacobsen appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.5%), Hispanic (3.7%), Two or More Races (3.1%). 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 Jacobsen (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 Jacobsen mean?
Danish and Norwegian patronymic surname meaning "son of Jacob." 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 Jacobsen (6.08 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 have the last name Jacobsen?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people are called Jacobsen at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.