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

Karlson, 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 Karlson surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Karlson in America

Karlson is the 14006th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Karlson surname appeared 2,150 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Karlson.

We can also compare 2010 data for Karlson 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 Karlson

The surname Karlson is of Swedish origin, first appearing in historical records from the 15th century. It is derived from the Old Norse name Karlr, meaning "freeman" or "free man," combined with the patronymic suffix "-son," indicating "son of."

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Karlson surname can be found in the Dano-Norwegian census records from the late 16th century, where it appears spelled as both "Karlson" and "Carlson." The name was particularly prevalent in the regions of Skåne and Halland, which were under Danish rule at the time.

In the 17th century, the Karlson name began to appear more frequently in Swedish church records, particularly in the provinces of Småland and Västergötland. One notable individual from this period was Johan Karlson, a Swedish military officer born in 1661, who served in the Great Northern War under King Charles XII.

During the 18th century, the Karlson surname continued to spread throughout Sweden, and several prominent individuals bore this name. Among them was Anders Karlson (1701-1779), a Swedish clergyman and author who served as the rector of the Linköping Cathedral School.

In the 19th century, the Karlson surname gained international recognition with the birth of Emil Karlson (1852-1926), a Swedish chemist and professor at the University of Uppsala. He is best known for his contributions to the study of organic chemistry and the development of the Karlson-Winkler method for determining the molecular weight of liquids.

Another notable figure from this era was Gustaf Karlson (1855-1927), a Swedish artist and painter whose works often depicted scenes from rural life in Sweden. His paintings are displayed in several museums across the country, including the Nationalmuseum in Stockholm.

As Swedish immigration to North America increased in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Karlson surname also found its way to the United States and Canada. One prominent individual from this period was Erik Karlson (1882-1953), a Swedish-American engineer and inventor who held numerous patents for his contributions to the development of the modern washing machine.

These examples illustrate the rich history and global reach of the Karlson surname, which has its roots in the ancient Nordic tradition but has since spread across the world, carried by individuals who have made significant contributions in various fields.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Karlson

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

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

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

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