2000
#10,176
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,909
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.08
Rare Last name
Nickelson
A patronymic surname derived from the given name Nicholas, meaning "son of Nicholas" or "descendant of Nicholas."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,424 Americans carry the last name Nickelson. That puts it at #10,271 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.00 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 100,103 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Nickelson 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Nickelson with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.4K
1 in 100,103
Census rank
#10,271
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,986 bearers of the surname Nickelson in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.00 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10271st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Nickelson, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.2%. The next largest groups are Black (19.7%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Nickelson
The surname Nickelson has its origins in northern Europe, particularly in the Scandinavian countries of Norway and Sweden. It is believed to have emerged around the 13th century, deriving from the Old Norse personal name Nikkel, itself a diminutive form of the name Nikolaus or Nicholas.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Nickelson can be found in the Diplomatarium Norvegicum, a collection of Norwegian medieval diplomatic sources, dating back to the 14th century. The name is also mentioned in the Icelandic Sagas, a series of historical narratives written in the 13th and 14th centuries.
In its earliest forms, the surname was often spelled as Nikkelson, Nickelsen, or Nicholsson, reflecting the variations in spelling and pronunciation that were common during that time. The name is thought to have been initially associated with individuals who were the sons or descendants of someone named Nikkel or Nicholas.
As the name spread across northern Europe, it underwent further modifications and adaptations to suit the local languages and dialects. In Sweden, for example, the name was often rendered as Niklasson or Niclasson, while in Denmark, it took the form of Nikolajsen or Nielson.
One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was Nils Nickelson, a Norwegian farmer who lived in the late 14th century and owned land near the town of Trondheim. Another notable figure was Knut Nickelson, a Swedish merchant who traded in the Baltic Sea region in the early 15th century.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the name Nickelson began to appear in various records across northern Europe, including parish registers, tax rolls, and legal documents. Some notable individuals from this period include:
1. Hans Nickelson (c. 1520-1586), a Danish sailor and explorer who accompanied the first Danish expedition to Greenland in 1578.
2. Ingrid Nickelson (c. 1570-1642), a Norwegian landowner and businesswoman who owned several farms and mills in the Vestfold region.
3. Erik Nickelson (c. 1610-1678), a Swedish soldier who fought in the Thirty Years' War and later became a landowner in the province of Småland.
4. Olav Nickelson (c. 1650-1712), a Norwegian clergyman and author who wrote several religious treatises and served as a parish priest in Trondheim.
5. Johanna Nickelson (c. 1680-1745), a Danish midwife and herbalist who practiced in the city of Copenhagen and was renowned for her knowledge of traditional remedies.
Over time, the name Nickelson continued to spread and evolve, with various branches and spelling variations emerging in different parts of northern Europe and beyond.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nickelson
Among Census respondents with the surname Nickelson, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.2%. The next largest groups are Black (19.7%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Nickelson 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 Nickelson surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White72.2% · 2,156
- Black or African American19.7% · 587
- Two or more races4.2% · 124
- Hispanic or Latino2.2% · 67
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 33
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 19
Timeline
Historical Census data for Nickelson
Nickelson 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
#8,936
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,664
+755 bearers (+26.0%)
Per 100,000 1.24
Rank movement Up 1,240 places
2020
#10,271
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,986
-678 bearers (-18.5%)
Per 100,000 1.00
Rank movement Down 1,335 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,176 | 2,909 | 1.08 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,936 | 3,664 | 1.24 | +755 bearers (+26.0%) | Up 1,240 places |
| 2020 | #10,271 | 2,986 | 1.00 | -678 bearers (-18.5%) | Down 1,335 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 Nickelson 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 | #8,936 | #10,271 | -14.9% |
| Count | 3,664 | 2,986 | -18.5% |
| Per 100K | 1.24 | 1.00 | -19.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Nickelson bearers went from 3,664 to 2,986 (-18.5% change). The surname moved down 1,335 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,936 to #10,271.
FAQ
Nickelson surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Nickelson?
Name Census estimates that about 3,424 living Americans carry the surname Nickelson. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 100,103 residents.
How common is Nickelson?
Nickelson ranks #10,271 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.00 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,986 people with the surname Nickelson. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,424), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.00 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Nickelson.
Has Nickelson become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Nickelson went from 3,664 recorded bearers to 2,986. That is a decrease of 678 (-18.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #8,936 to #10,271.
What does the Census say about the background of Nickelson?
Among Census respondents with the surname Nickelson, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.2%. The next largest groups are Black (19.7%) and Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Nickelson in the 2020 Census, accounting for 72.2% (2,156 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Nickelson appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (72.2%), Black (19.7%), Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Nickelson (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 Nickelson mean?
A patronymic surname derived from the given name Nicholas, meaning "son of Nicholas" or "descendant of Nicholas." 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 Nickelson (1.00 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 many people have the surname Nickelson?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.