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

Johannessen, 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 Johannessen surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Johannessen in America

Johannessen is the 26853rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Johannessen surname appeared 905 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 Johannessen.

We can also compare 2010 data for Johannessen 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 Johannessen

The surname Johannessen has its origins in Norway, dating back to the medieval period. It is a patronymic surname, derived from the personal name Johannes, which is the Norwegian form of the Hebrew name Yohanan, meaning "God is gracious." The name was commonly used in Norway during the Middle Ages, influenced by the spread of Christianity in the region.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Johannessen can be found in the Diplomatarium Norvegicum, a collection of medieval Norwegian diplomatic documents. In a document dated 1368, a person named Erling Johannessen is mentioned as a witness to a land transaction.

During the Viking Age, many Norwegians settled in various parts of the British Isles, including the Shetland and Orkney Islands. Some of the earliest records of the surname Johannessen can be traced to these islands, where it was spelled in various forms, such as Johannison or Joannison.

In the 16th century, the surname Johannessen appeared in the Icelandic Annals, which documented important events and genealogies in Iceland. One notable figure was Gudmundur Johannessen (1535-1590), an Icelandic clergyman and scholar who wrote extensively on Icelandic history and literature.

Another historically significant person with the surname Johannessen was Hans Johannessen (1573-1645), a Norwegian sea captain and explorer. He is known for his expeditions to Spitsbergen (now part of Svalbard) and his contributions to the early exploration of the Arctic regions.

In the 19th century, Knud Johannessen (1842-1923) was a Norwegian politician and writer who served as the Prime Minister of Norway from 1891 to 1892. He was also a prominent figure in the Norwegian language movement, advocating for the use of the Nynorsk language form.

The surname Johannessen has also been associated with several notable artists and writers. One example is Olav Johannessen (1870-1959), a Norwegian painter and illustrator known for his landscape and portrait paintings, capturing the beauty of Norwegian rural life.

Additionally, Asbjørn Johannessen (1914-1993) was a renowned Norwegian poet and novelist who explored themes of nature, identity, and the human condition in his works. His novel "Til ungdommen" (To the Youth) is considered a classic of modern Norwegian literature.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Johannessen

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

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

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

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