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

Nielson, 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 Nielson surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Nielson in America

Nielson is the 3137th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Nielson surname appeared 11,511 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 4 people would have the surname Nielson.

We can also compare 2010 data for Nielson 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 Nielson

The surname Nielson has its origins primarily in Scandinavia, particularly Norway and Denmark. It is a patronymic name, meaning it was derived from the name of the father or an ancestor. The root of the name is "Niel" or "Nils," which is a Scandinavian form of the name Nicholas.

In the Middle Ages, it was common practice in Scandinavia to identify individuals by their father's name, using the suffix "-son" or "-sen" to indicate "son of." Thus, Nielson would have originally referred to the son of a man named Niel or Nils.

The earliest recorded instances of the name Nielson can be traced back to the 13th and 14th centuries in Norway and Denmark, appearing in various historical records and documents from that time period. Some variations in spelling include Nielssen, Nielssen, and Nielsson.

One notable historical figure bearing the name Nielson was Niels Ebbesen Nielson, a Danish landowner and military leader who played a significant role in the Burning of the Castle of Copenhagen in 1368, an event that marked the beginning of the Kalmar Union between Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.

Another prominent individual was Niels Henrik Nielson (1808-1874), a Danish mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the field of celestial mechanics and the study of the orbits of comets and asteroids.

In the United States, one of the earliest recorded instances of the name Nielson dates back to the late 18th century, with the arrival of Norwegian and Danish immigrants. Hans Nielson, a Norwegian-born merchant and ship owner, settled in New York City in the late 1700s and played a role in the city's maritime trade.

Peter Nielson (1802-1864), a Danish-American businessman and politician, was one of the earliest settlers of Racine, Wisconsin, and served as a member of the Wisconsin Territorial Legislature in the 1840s.

Another notable figure was Neils Nielson (1865-1936), a Norwegian-American architect who designed several notable buildings in Chicago, including the Auditorium Building and the Studebaker Theater.

While the surname Nielson is more commonly found in Scandinavia and among descendants of Scandinavian immigrants, it has also been adopted by individuals of various backgrounds over time, reflecting the movement and assimilation of populations throughout history.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Nielson

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

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

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

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