Find out how popular the last name Matsen is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Matsen.
A surname derived from a place name, likely referring to someone from a town or area called Matsen.
Matsen, 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 Matsen surname is from the 2010 census data.
Matsen is the 45653rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.
The Matsen surname appeared 468 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 Matsen.
We can also compare 2010 data for Matsen 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.
| 2010 | 2000 | Change (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | 45653 | 43875 | 3.97% |
| Count | 468 | 463 | 1.07% |
| Proportion per 100k | 0.16 | 0.17 | -6.06% |
The surname Matsen originated in Norway, with the earliest known records dating back to the 12th century. It is believed to be derived from the Old Norse word "matr," meaning food or provisions, and may have been an occupational surname for someone who worked in the food industry or managed provisions.
In the early 13th century, the name was recorded as "Matssøn" in the Gulating Law, one of the earliest Norwegian legal codes. This spelling suggests that the name was initially a patronymic, formed by adding the suffix "-son" to the given name "Mats," which is a shortened form of "Mattis" or "Matthias."
One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Ivar Matsen, a Norwegian farmer who lived in the village of Lom in the Gudbrandsdalen valley during the late 14th century. His name appears in several land records from that period.
In the 16th century, the name was also found in Denmark, suggesting that some Matsen families may have migrated from Norway to Denmark during that time. One notable figure from this period was Rasmus Matsen, a Danish merchant who was involved in the Baltic Sea trade in the mid-1500s.
The name Matsen has also been documented in Sweden, particularly in the regions of Västergötland and Bohuslän, where it is believed to have been introduced by Norwegian settlers in the 17th and 18th centuries.
Notable individuals with the surname Matsen include:
While the surname Matsen is not among the most common in Norway today, it has a rich history dating back several centuries and has been borne by notable individuals in various fields.
We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Matsen.
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:
For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Matsen was:
| Race/Ethnicity | Percentage | Total Occurrences |
|---|---|---|
| Non-Hispanic White Only | 91.88% | 430 |
| Non-Hispanic Black Only | 1.28% | 6 |
| Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only | (S)% | (S) |
| Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native | (S)% | (S) |
| Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races | 2.56% | 12 |
| Hispanic Origin | 3.85% | 18 |
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 Matsen has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.
| 2010 | 2000 | Change (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 91.88% | 92.01% | -0.14% |
| Black | 1.28% | (S)% | (S)% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | (S)% | (S)% | (S)% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | (S)% | (S)% | (S)% |
| Two or More Races | 2.56% | 1.73% | 38.69% |
| Hispanic | 3.85% | 5.18% | -29.46% |
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 Matsen was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.
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