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

Jessen, 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 Jessen surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Jessen in America

Jessen is the 7327th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Jessen surname appeared 4,553 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Jessen.

We can also compare 2010 data for Jessen 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 Jessen

The surname Jessen has its origins in Denmark, with the name believed to have been derived from the Old Norse personal name "Jesse". This name itself is thought to have come from the Hebrew name "Yishay", meaning "gift" or "wealthy".

The earliest recorded instances of the name Jessen can be traced back to the early 16th century in various parish records and census documents from the Danish regions of Zealand and Jutland. Some of the earliest spellings of the name included Iessen, Jessøn, and Jessøen.

One of the earliest known individuals with the surname Jessen was Hans Jessen, a merchant and landowner who lived in the town of Næstved on the island of Zealand in the late 16th century. Another notable figure was Nis Jessen, a farmer and local official who resided in the village of Ølgod in western Jutland during the early 17th century.

The Jessen surname is also associated with several place names in Denmark, such as the village of Jessen near Holbæk on the island of Zealand, and the town of Jels in southern Jutland. These place names may have influenced the development and spread of the surname in certain regions.

One of the most prominent individuals with the Jessen surname was Peter Jessen, a Danish lawyer and politician who served as the Minister of Justice from 1859 to 1863. He was born in 1813 in the town of Ribe and played a significant role in the drafting of Denmark's first democratic constitution.

Another notable figure was Jens Christian Jessen, a Danish educator and author who lived from 1821 to 1901. He was a prominent advocate for the education of the deaf and wrote several influential works on the subject.

In the field of science, the name Jessen is associated with Theodor Jessen, a German-Danish botanist and mycologist who made significant contributions to the study of fungi. He was born in 1836 in the Danish town of Sønderborg and published numerous works on the flora of northern Europe.

While the surname Jessen is predominantly found in Denmark and other Scandinavian countries, it has also been carried by individuals of Danish descent in other parts of the world, particularly in regions with historically significant Danish communities or settlements.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Jessen

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!