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

Michelson, 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 Michelson surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Michelson in America

Michelson is the 10224th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Michelson surname appeared 3,153 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 Michelson.

We can also compare 2010 data for Michelson 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 Michelson

The surname Michelson is of German origin, derived from the medieval personal name Michel, which in turn was a Germanic form of the Hebrew name Michael, meaning "who is like God?" The name likely emerged in the Middle Ages, between the 12th and 15th centuries, in various regions of present-day Germany.

In its earliest recorded forms, the surname appeared as Michelsen, Michels, or Michelsohn, reflecting the common Germanic patronymic naming conventions of the time. These variations indicated "son of Michel" or a direct lineage connection to an ancestor named Michel.

One of the earliest known references to the Michelson name can be found in the Kirchenbücher (church records) of the town of Lübeck in northern Germany, dating back to the late 16th century. These records document several individuals with the Michelson surname residing in the area.

Notably, the celebrated American physicist Albert Abraham Michelson (1852-1931), renowned for his groundbreaking experiments on the measurement of the speed of light, was born to a Jewish family in Strelno, Prussia (now part of Poland). His surname reflects the German-Jewish heritage of his ancestors.

Another prominent historical figure bearing the Michelson name was Carl Adolph Michelsen (1835-1925), a Norwegian shipowner and businessman who was instrumental in the development of the Norwegian merchant marine in the late 19th century.

In the realm of literature, the Norwegian author and playwright Hartvig Michelsen (1849-1932) left a lasting mark with his works exploring themes of rural life and social issues in Norway during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The Michelson surname has also been associated with notable figures in the arts, such as the Danish-American painter and printmaker Emil Michelsen (1859-1925), known for his landscapes and seascapes depicting the rugged beauty of the American West.

While the Michelson name is most commonly found in Germany, Norway, and other Scandinavian countries, it has also been carried by individuals in various parts of the world due to migration and dispersal over the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Michelson

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

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

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

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