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

Nessen, 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 Nessen surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Nessen in America

Nessen is the 51176th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Nessen surname appeared 407 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 Nessen.

We can also compare 2010 data for Nessen 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 Nessen

The surname Nessen originates from Germany, specifically from the Lower Rhine region, and dates back to the late medieval period, around the 14th century. It is derived from the Germanic root "ness," which means "promontory" or "headland," suggesting that the name may have initially referred to someone residing near a prominent natural feature or landmark.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Nessen can be found in the Cologne City Archives, where a certain Henrich Nessen was mentioned in a document dated 1387. This suggests that the name was already well-established in the region by that time.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, several variations of the name emerged, such as Nesse, Nessen, and Nesschen, reflecting regional dialects and scribal errors common in that era. These variations were often associated with specific locations, such as the town of Nessen in the Rhineland-Palatinate region of Germany.

Notably, the name Nessen appears in the records of the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648), with a Captain Johann Nessen serving in the Swedish Army during this turbulent period of European history.

In the 18th century, the name gained prominence with the birth of Johann Gottfried Nessen (1733-1807), a German philosopher and theologian who authored several works on ethics and morality.

Another notable figure was Heinrich Nessen (1818-1892), a German-American artist and painter who immigrated to the United States in the mid-19th century and became renowned for his landscape paintings depicting scenes from the American West.

The 19th century also saw the emergence of Wilhelm Nessen (1842-1918), a German industrialist and entrepreneur who established several successful manufacturing companies in the Ruhr region of Germany.

In more recent times, the name Nessen has been associated with several accomplished individuals, such as Elin Nessen (1930-2005), a Swedish author and playwright known for her works exploring themes of gender and identity.

Throughout its history, the surname Nessen has maintained a strong presence in Germany, particularly in the western regions along the Rhine River, and has also found its way into other parts of Europe and beyond through migration and cultural exchange.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Nessen

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

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

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

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