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

Laxa, 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 Laxa surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Laxa in America

Laxa is the 67318th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Laxa surname appeared 293 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 Laxa.

We can also compare 2010 data for Laxa 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 Laxa

The surname Laxa has its origins in the Scandinavian countries, particularly Norway and Sweden. It is believed to have derived from Old Norse words related to water flow, such as "lax" or "laxá," which referred to a salmon river or a stream.

Laxa likely emerged as a toponymic surname, indicating that the earliest bearers of the name resided near a salmon river or a stream. This type of surname was common during the Middle Ages, as people were often identified by their place of residence or a prominent geographic feature in their vicinity.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Laxa surname can be traced back to the 13th century in Norwegian records. In the Diplomatarium Norvegicum, a collection of medieval Norwegian diplomas and letters, there is a reference to a person named Thorstein Laxa from around 1280.

In Sweden, the name Laxa has been documented since the 16th century. One notable figure was Sven Laxa, a Swedish military officer who served in the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648) under King Gustavus Adolphus. He was born around 1590 and played a significant role in various battles during the conflict.

Another prominent individual bearing the Laxa surname was Hans Laxa, a Danish-Norwegian merchant and ship owner who lived in the 17th century. He was born in Copenhagen in 1625 and was actively involved in the lucrative trade between Denmark and Norway during that time.

In the 18th century, there was a Norwegian poet and playwright named Johan Herman Wessel Laxa (1742-1785). He was known for his satirical works and is considered one of the most important figures in Norwegian literature from the Enlightenment period.

Moving forward to the 19th century, a notable bearer of the Laxa surname was Carl Gustaf Laxa (1814-1895), a Swedish educator and author. He wrote several textbooks and educational materials that were widely used in Swedish schools during his time.

It is worth noting that the Laxa surname has also been associated with various place names in Scandinavia, such as Laxå in Sweden and Laksevåg in Norway, further reinforcing its geographic origins and connections to water bodies.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Laxa

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

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

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