2000
#149,328
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 101
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Mjoen
A Norwegian surname likely derived from a topographic name referring to a small inlet or bay.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 127 Americans carry the last name Mjoen. That puts it at #148,665 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,698,853 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mjoen surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
127
1 in 2,698,853
Census rank
#148,665
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
111
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 111 bearers of the surname Mjoen in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 148665th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mjoen, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (12.6%) and Two or More Races (5.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Mjoen
The surname Mjoen is of Norwegian origin, with roots dating back to the Viking era in the 9th century. It is believed to have originated from the Old Norse word "mjór," meaning "narrow," which may have been used to describe a person who lived near a narrow inlet or a narrow piece of land.
The earliest recorded instances of the name can be traced back to the 13th century in various Norwegian records and manuscripts. One notable example is the mention of a man named Thorstein Mjoen in the Icelandic Sagas, a collection of historical narratives from the 13th century.
During the Middle Ages, the name was often associated with certain geographic locations in Norway, such as the Mjøen farm in Viken county or the Mjøen village in Møre og Romsdal county. These place names likely influenced the spelling and pronunciation of the surname over time.
In the 16th century, the name appears in the records of the Bergen Diocese, where a man named Nils Mjoen is documented as a landowner and farmer. This suggests that the name had gained some prominence among the farming and landowning class in Norway during that period.
One of the earliest known bearers of the Mjoen surname was Olav Mjoen, a Norwegian explorer who participated in the voyages of Willem Barents to the Arctic regions in the late 16th century. His birth and death dates are uncertain, but he is believed to have lived between 1550 and 1620.
Another notable figure bearing the Mjoen name was Peder Mjoen, a Norwegian military officer and landowner who served under King Christian IV of Denmark-Norway in the early 17th century. He was born around 1580 and died in 1645.
In the 18th century, the name gained further recognition with Hans Mjoen, a Norwegian shipbuilder and merchant who established a successful shipyard in Kristiansand. He was born in 1715 and died in 1789.
During the 19th century, the Mjoen surname continued to be prominent in Norway, with several individuals making notable contributions. One such person was Anders Mjoen, a Norwegian farmer and politician who served as a member of the Storting (Norwegian parliament) from 1854 to 1857. He was born in 1801 and died in 1879.
Another notable bearer of the Mjoen name was Ingrid Mjoen, a Norwegian author and poet who wrote extensively about rural life in Norway. She was born in 1852 and died in 1923.
Throughout its history, the Mjoen surname has maintained a strong presence in Norway, with many bearers contributing to various fields, including exploration, military service, politics, and literature.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mjoen
Among Census respondents with the surname Mjoen, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (12.6%) and Two or More Races (5.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Mjoen bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Mjoen surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.2% · 89
- Hispanic or Latino12.6% · 14
- Two or more races5.4% · 6
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mjoen
Mjoen appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#154,907
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 105
+4 bearers (+4.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 5,579 places
2020
#148,665
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
+6 bearers (+5.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 6,242 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #149,328 | 101 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #154,907 | 105 | 0.04 | +4 bearers (+4.0%) | Down 5,579 places |
| 2020 | #148,665 | 111 | 0.04 | +6 bearers (+5.7%) | Up 6,242 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Mjoen surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #154,907 | #148,665 | 4.0% |
| Count | 105 | 111 | 5.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -7.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mjoen bearers went from 105 to 111 (+5.7% change). The surname moved up 6,242 positions in the national ranking, going from #154,907 to #148,665.
FAQ
Mjoen surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mjoen?
Name Census estimates that about 127 living Americans carry the surname Mjoen. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,698,853 residents.
How common is Mjoen?
Mjoen ranks #148,665 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 111 people with the surname Mjoen. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (127), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Mjoen.
Has Mjoen become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mjoen went from 105 recorded bearers to 111. That is an increase of 6 (+5.7%). In the national ranking it rose from #154,907 to #148,665.
What does the Census say about the background of Mjoen?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mjoen, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (12.6%) and Two or More Races (5.4%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Mjoen in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.2% (89 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mjoen appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (80.2%), Hispanic (12.6%), Two or More Races (5.4%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Mjoen (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Mjoen mean?
A Norwegian surname likely derived from a topographic name referring to a small inlet or bay. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Mjoen (0.04 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How common is the surname Mjoen?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how common the surname Mjoen is at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.