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

Nielsen, 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 Nielsen surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Nielsen in America

Nielsen is the 810th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Nielsen surname appeared 42,773 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 15 people would have the surname Nielsen.

We can also compare 2010 data for Nielsen 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 Nielsen

The surname Nielsen is of Danish origin and dates back to the medieval period. It is a patronymic surname, meaning "son of Niels." Niels is a Danish form of the name Nicholas, which derives from the Greek name Nikolaos, meaning "victory of the people."

The earliest recorded instances of the Nielsen surname can be traced back to the 15th century in Denmark. In some regions, the name was also spelled as Nielssen or Nielson. The surname was particularly common in the Danish islands of Zealand and Funen, as well as in the regions of North Jutland and Schleswig-Holstein.

One of the earliest documented individuals with the Nielsen surname was Peder Nielsen, a Danish clergyman and theologian who lived from around 1480 to 1542. He was known for his contributions to the Protestant Reformation in Denmark.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Nielsen surname began to spread beyond Denmark's borders. In Norway, the name was often spelled as Nielssen or Nilssen. In Sweden, it appeared as Nilsson or Nielsson.

One notable bearer of the Nielsen surname was Ludvig Nielsen, a Danish naval officer and explorer who lived from 1832 to 1891. He is known for leading several expeditions to Greenland and contributing to the mapping of the island's coastline.

In the 19th century, the Nielsen surname also gained prominence in the United States due to Danish immigration. One example is Adolphus Nielsen, a Danish-American businessman and politician who lived from 1857 to 1938. He served as a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly.

Another individual of note is Niels Henrik David Bohr, a Danish physicist who lived from 1885 to 1962. He is renowned for his contributions to the understanding of atomic structure and quantum theory, for which he received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1922.

The Nielsen surname has also been associated with various place names in Denmark, such as Nielstrup, Nielsby, and Nielsholm, which likely derived from individuals bearing the name who lived in or owned those localities.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Nielsen

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

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

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

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