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

Jensen, 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 Jensen surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Jensen in America

Jensen is the 265th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Jensen surname appeared 115,679 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 39 people would have the surname Jensen.

We can also compare 2010 data for Jensen 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 Jensen

The surname Jensen is of Scandinavian origin, primarily found in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It is a patronymic surname, derived from the personal name Jens, which is a Danish and Norwegian form of the biblical name Johannes, meaning "God is gracious."

The earliest known records of the Jensen surname can be traced back to the 13th century in Denmark. It is believed to have emerged as a way to distinguish individuals by their father's name, as was common practice in Scandinavian countries at the time. The suffix "-sen" or "-son" was added to the father's given name to create the patronymic surname.

One of the earliest documented instances of the Jensen surname is found in the Danish Census Book of 1645, which lists several individuals with this name living in various regions of Denmark. One notable early bearer of the Jensen surname was Peder Jensen Resen (1625-1688), a Danish historian and theologian who authored a influential work on Danish history titled "Fuldstændig Dansk Atlas" (Complete Danish Atlas).

In Norway, the Jensen surname can be traced back to the 16th century, with records showing individuals bearing this name in various coastal regions. One famous Norwegian Jensen was the explorer and whaler Svend Foyn Jensen (1809-1894), who is credited with pioneering modern whaling techniques and establishing the first successful whaling station in Antarctica.

Sweden also has a significant population of individuals with the Jensen surname, although its origins in that country are slightly later, dating back to the 17th century. One notable Swedish Jensen was the explorer and cartographer Jöns Jensson Holm (1628-1696), who was instrumental in mapping the Swedish territory of Ingria, located in present-day northwestern Russia.

Other notable individuals with the Jensen surname include:

1. Georg Jensen (1866-1935), a renowned Danish silversmith and sculptor, known for founding the eponymous luxury design company.
2. Johannes V. Jensen (1873-1950), a Danish novelist and essayist who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1944.
3. Viggo Jensen (1874-1923), a Danish painter and artist known for his landscapes and portraits.
4. Alfred Jensen (1903-1981), an American abstract expressionist painter of Danish descent.
5. Niels Kaj Jerne (1911-1994), a Danish immunologist who received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1984 for his work on antibody formation.

Over time, the Jensen surname has spread beyond Scandinavia and can now be found in various parts of the world, particularly in regions with significant Danish, Norwegian, or Swedish immigrant populations.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Jensen

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

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

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

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