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

Johnsen, 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 Johnsen surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Johnsen in America

Johnsen is the 4528th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Johnsen surname appeared 7,831 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 people would have the surname Johnsen.

We can also compare 2010 data for Johnsen 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 Johnsen

The surname Johnsen is of Scandinavian origin, primarily from Norway and Denmark. It is a patronymic name, derived from the given name John, which itself is an English form of the Hebrew name Yohanan, meaning "Yahweh is gracious."

The earliest recorded instances of the name Johnsen can be traced back to the 13th century in Norway. It was a common practice in Scandinavia at the time to form surnames by adding the suffix "-sen" or "-son" to the father's given name, creating patronymic surnames like Johnsen, which literally means "son of John."

One of the earliest documented individuals with the surname Johnsen was Erling Johnsen, a Norwegian nobleman who lived in the late 13th century. He was mentioned in several historical records from that period, including the Icelandic Sagas.

In the 16th century, a notable figure with the surname Johnsen was Hans Johnsen, a Danish explorer and navigator who participated in several expeditions to Greenland and the Arctic regions. He was born in Copenhagen in 1530 and died around 1595.

Another prominent individual with this surname was Jens Johnsen, a Norwegian composer and organist who lived from 1724 to 1785. He is known for his contributions to the development of Norwegian church music during the 18th century.

In the 19th century, one of the most influential figures with the surname Johnsen was Henrik Ibsen, the renowned Norwegian playwright and poet. Although his surname was originally spelled Ibsen, it is believed to have derived from the patronymic Johnsen. Ibsen was born in 1828 and died in 1906, leaving a lasting impact on modern drama with his works such as "A Doll's House" and "Peer Gynt."

Another notable individual with the surname Johnsen was Eivind Johnsen, a Norwegian painter and artist who lived from 1841 to 1923. He is considered one of the pioneers of Norwegian landscape painting and is renowned for his depictions of Norwegian nature and rural life.

The surname Johnsen has also been found in historical records and documents from other Scandinavian countries, such as Sweden and Iceland, indicating its widespread use throughout the region. It is a name deeply rooted in Scandinavian history and culture, reflecting the region's rich heritage and tradition of patronymic naming practices.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Johnsen

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

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

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Johnsen, 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!