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

Mendelson, 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 Mendelson surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Mendelson in America

Mendelson is the 12670th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Mendelson surname appeared 2,439 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Mendelson.

We can also compare 2010 data for Mendelson 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 Mendelson

The surname Mendelson is of Ashkenazi Jewish origin, tracing its roots back to the German language. It is a patronymic name, derived from the personal name Mendel, which itself comes from the biblical name Manasseh. Mendelson literally means "son of Mendel."

The earliest recorded instances of the name Mendelson can be found in historical documents from the 16th and 17th centuries in various parts of Central and Eastern Europe, where Ashkenazi Jewish communities thrived. The name is believed to have emerged as a way to identify individuals within these communities.

One of the earliest known references to the name Mendelson can be found in the records of the Jewish community in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, dating back to the late 16th century. These records mention a Jacob Mendelson, who was a prominent member of the community.

Another notable individual with the surname Mendelson was Moses Mendelson, a renowned scholar and philosopher who lived in the late 18th century. He was born in Dessau, Germany, in 1729 and is best known for his contributions to the Haskalah, the Jewish Enlightenment movement.

In the 19th century, the name Mendelson gained wider recognition with the rise of the composer Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847), whose grandfather's surname was originally Mendelson. Felix Mendelssohn is considered one of the most influential composers of the Romantic era and is known for his instrumental works, such as the Violin Concerto in E minor and the Overture to "A Midsummer Night's Dream."

Other notable individuals with the surname Mendelson include Walter Mendelson (1915-2004), an American lawyer and civil rights activist who played a crucial role in the desegregation of public schools in the United States. He worked closely with the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund and was involved in several landmark cases, including Brown v. Board of Education.

Lastly, Joseph Mendelson (1890-1967) was a prominent American labor leader and lawyer. He served as the president of the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU) from 1937 to 1967 and played a significant role in improving working conditions and wages for garment workers in the United States.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Mendelson

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

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

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

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