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

Mattson, 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 Mattson surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Mattson in America

Mattson is the 2247th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Mattson surname appeared 16,203 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 5 people would have the surname Mattson.

We can also compare 2010 data for Mattson 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 Mattson

The surname Mattson has its origins in Sweden. It is a patronymic surname, meaning that it derives from a father's given name. In this case, Mattson means "son of Matt" or "son of Matthew." The name can be traced back to the late medieval period in Scandinavia.

The earliest recorded instances of the surname Mattson date back to the 16th century in Sweden. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Nils Mattson, a farmer from Dalarna, Sweden, who was mentioned in parish records from the 1580s. Another early example is Karin Mattsdotter, a woman from Östergötland, Sweden, who was born in the late 16th century.

In the 17th century, the name Mattson began to spread beyond Sweden. During this period, many Swedes emigrated to Finland, which was then part of the Swedish Empire. As a result, the surname Mattson became established in Finland as well.

One notable individual with the surname Mattson was Johan Mattson Lind, a Swedish-Finnish military officer and explorer who lived from 1789 to 1839. He is known for leading several expeditions to northern Scandinavia and Russia, and for his contributions to the mapping of these regions.

Another significant figure was Carl Mattson, a Swedish-American entrepreneur who lived from 1851 to 1932. He founded the Mattson Boat Company in Wisconsin, which played a vital role in the development of the freshwater fishing industry in the Great Lakes region.

In the 19th century, many Swedes and Swedish-Finns bearing the surname Mattson immigrated to the United States, particularly to the Upper Midwest. One such individual was Anders Mattson, who was born in 1820 in Dalarna, Sweden, and later settled in Minnesota.

Another notable person with the surname Mattson was Anna Mattson, a Swedish-American author and educator who lived from 1873 to 1954. She wrote several books on Swedish-American culture and history, and played a significant role in preserving and promoting Swedish heritage in the United States.

Over time, the surname Mattson has undergone various spellings and regional variations, such as Matson, Matthson, and Mathson. However, the core meaning and origin of the name have remained consistent throughout its history.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Mattson

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

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

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

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