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

Melander, 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 Melander surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Melander in America

Melander is the 24201st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Melander surname appeared 1,038 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 Melander.

We can also compare 2010 data for Melander 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 Melander

The surname Melander is of Swedish origin, with roots dating back to the 16th century. It is derived from the Swedish word "melander," which means "one who comes from the meadows." This suggests that the name originated among those who lived or worked in meadows or grassy areas.

The earliest known record of the Melander surname appears in the Swedish church records of the late 1500s. During this time, Sweden was transitioning from a primarily agricultural society to one with a growing urban population, and surnames were becoming more widespread.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the Melander surname was Nils Melander, a farmer from Västergötland, Sweden, born around 1580. His son, Johan Melander (1592-1663), was a prominent military commander who served under King Gustavus Adolphus during the Thirty Years' War.

Another notable figure with the Melander surname was Anders Melander (1689-1763), a Swedish architect and engineer. He was responsible for designing several notable buildings in Stockholm, including the Royal Palace's Operahuset and the Oxenstierna Palace.

In the 19th century, Carl Melander (1818-1892) was a Swedish botanist and professor at the University of Lund. He made significant contributions to the study of Nordic flora and is remembered for his work on the classification of mosses and liverworts.

The Melander surname also has ties to place names in Sweden. For instance, the village of Melander in Dalarna County was likely named after an early settler with the surname. Similarly, the farm Melanders in Västergötland may have been named after a family with the same name.

Over the centuries, the Melander surname has been subject to various spellings, including Mellander, Melandar, and Melandher. However, the modern spelling of Melander has remained consistent since the late 18th century.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Melander

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

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

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

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