2000
#10,386
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,843
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.05
Rare Last name
Lunde
A toponymic surname of Norwegian origin, referring to someone who lived near a grove or small forest.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,165 Americans carry the last name Lunde. That puts it at #11,003 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.92 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 108,295 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Lunde surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
3.2K
1 in 108,295
Census rank
#11,003
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,760 bearers of the surname Lunde in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.92 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11003rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Lunde, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.8%) and Hispanic (2.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Lunde
The surname LUNDE is of Norwegian origin and can be traced back to the medieval period. It is believed to have derived from the Old Norse word "lundr," which refers to a small grove or a wooded area. This suggests that the name was initially given to someone who lived near or in a small forest or wooded area.
In Norway, the name can be found in various historical records, including the Norwegian Census Book from the 16th century. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is found in the Diplomatarium Norvegicum, a collection of medieval Norwegian documents, where a person named Thorstein Lunde is mentioned in the year 1389.
The name LUNDE is also associated with several place names in Norway, such as Lunde in Vestfold county and Lunde in Rogaland county. These place names likely originated from the Old Norse word "lundr" and may have influenced the surname's development.
Historically, the LUNDE surname has been represented by several notable individuals. One of the earliest was Arne Lunde (1486-1534), a Norwegian nobleman and landowner who played a significant role in the Norwegian Reformation. Another prominent figure was Ludvig Lunde (1781-1851), a Norwegian theologian and educator who served as the rector of the Cathedral School in Trondheim.
In the 19th century, Niels Lunde (1825-1898) was a Norwegian politician and lawyer who served as the Minister of Justice and the Police from 1884 to 1888. Joachim Lunde (1854-1923) was a Norwegian engineer and inventor, best known for his contributions to the development of the paper industry.
More recently, Kåre Lunde (1920-2005) was a Norwegian author and journalist who received the prestigious Dobloug Prize for his literary works in 1991. He was also a member of the Norwegian Academy for Language and Literature.
While these are just a few examples, the LUNDE surname has a rich history in Norway and has been carried by individuals from various walks of life throughout the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lunde
Among Census respondents with the surname Lunde, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.8%) and Hispanic (2.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Lunde bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Lunde surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.3% · 2,576
- Two or more races2.8% · 78
- Hispanic or Latino2.0% · 54
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 27
- Black or African American0.7% · 18
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Lunde
Lunde appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#10,692
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,989
+146 bearers (+5.1%)
Per 100,000 1.01
Rank movement Down 306 places
2020
#11,003
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,760
-229 bearers (-7.7%)
Per 100,000 0.92
Rank movement Down 311 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,386 | 2,843 | 1.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,692 | 2,989 | 1.01 | +146 bearers (+5.1%) | Down 306 places |
| 2020 | #11,003 | 2,760 | 0.92 | -229 bearers (-7.7%) | Down 311 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Lunde surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #10,692 | #11,003 | -2.9% |
| Count | 2,989 | 2,760 | -7.7% |
| Per 100K | 1.01 | 0.92 | -8.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Lunde bearers went from 2,989 to 2,760 (-7.7% change). The surname moved down 311 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,692 to #11,003.
FAQ
Lunde surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Lunde?
Name Census estimates that about 3,165 living Americans carry the surname Lunde. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 108,295 residents.
How common is Lunde?
Lunde ranks #11,003 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.92 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,760 people with the surname Lunde. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,165), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.92 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.92 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Lunde.
Has Lunde become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Lunde went from 2,989 recorded bearers to 2,760. That is a decrease of 229 (-7.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #10,692 to #11,003.
What does the Census say about the background of Lunde?
Among Census respondents with the surname Lunde, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.8%) and Hispanic (2.0%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Lunde in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.3% (2,576 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Lunde appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.3%), Two or More Races (2.8%), Hispanic (2.0%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Lunde (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Lunde mean?
A toponymic surname of Norwegian origin, referring to someone who lived near a grove or small forest. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Lunde (0.92 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the surname Lunde?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.