2000
#8,737
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,462
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.28
Rare Last name
Nilson
A patronymic surname meaning "son of Nils," a Scandinavian form of Nicholas, which means "victory of the people."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,634 Americans carry the last name Nilson. That puts it at #7,876 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.35 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 73,965 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Nilson 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 Nilson with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.6K
1 in 73,965
Census rank
#7,876
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,041 bearers of the surname Nilson in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.35 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 7876th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Nilson, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.9%. The next largest groups are Black (12.3%) and Hispanic (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Nilson
The surname Nilson has its origins in Scandinavia, particularly in Sweden and Norway. It is derived from the Old Norse personal name "Nils," which is a shortened form of the name "Nikolaus" or "Nicholas." The suffix "-son" indicates that the name originally denoted "son of Nils."
In the early medieval period, the use of patronymic surnames, which identified a person as the son or daughter of their father, was a common practice in Scandinavian countries. The Nilson surname likely emerged during this time as a way to distinguish families and establish lineages.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Nilson surname can be found in the Icelandic Sagas, which date back to the 13th and 14th centuries. These literary works often mentioned individuals with patronymic surnames, reflecting the cultural significance of such naming conventions in Norse societies.
In Sweden, the Nilson surname has a long history, with records indicating its presence as early as the 16th century. Notable individuals with this surname include Carl Nilson Skänsk (1601-1662), a Swedish statesman and military leader, and Nils Nilson Cronstedt (1676-1741), a Swedish merchant and shipowner.
The Nilson surname also has a strong presence in Norway, where it can be traced back to the 17th century. One notable Norwegian bearer of the name was Peter Andreas Nilson (1837-1901), a pioneering Norwegian Lutheran pastor and theologian who played a significant role in the establishment of the Lutheran Free Church in Norway.
In the United States, the Nilson surname has been present since the early waves of Scandinavian immigration in the 19th century. One of the earliest recorded individuals with this surname was John Nilson, a Swedish immigrant who settled in Minnesota in the 1850s and became a prominent farmer and community leader.
Other notable individuals with the Nilson surname include Roberta Nilson (1901-1995), an American artist and art educator; Lennart Nilson (1904-1980), a Swedish photographer and author known for his groundbreaking work on human embryology; and Ulf Nilson (1956-present), a Swedish businessman and entrepreneur who co-founded the successful software company Axis Communications.
While the Nilson surname has evolved over centuries and across different regions, its origins can be traced back to the early patronymic naming traditions of Scandinavia, where it emerged as a way to identify individuals as the sons of Nils or Nicholas.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nilson
Among Census respondents with the surname Nilson, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.9%. The next largest groups are Black (12.3%) and Hispanic (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Nilson 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 Nilson surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.9% · 3,270
- Black or African American12.3% · 498
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 109
- Two or more races2.6% · 106
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 34
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 24
Timeline
Historical Census data for Nilson
Nilson 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
#3,562
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 10,010
+6,548 bearers (+189.1%)
Per 100,000 3.39
Rank movement Up 5,175 places
2020
#7,876
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,041
-5,969 bearers (-59.6%)
Per 100,000 1.35
Rank movement Down 4,314 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,737 | 3,462 | 1.28 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,562 | 10,010 | 3.39 | +6,548 bearers (+189.1%) | Up 5,175 places |
| 2020 | #7,876 | 4,041 | 1.35 | -5,969 bearers (-59.6%) | Down 4,314 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 Nilson 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 | #3,562 | #7,876 | -121.1% |
| Count | 10,010 | 4,041 | -59.6% |
| Per 100K | 3.39 | 1.35 | -60.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Nilson bearers went from 10,010 to 4,041 (-59.6% change). The surname moved down 4,314 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,562 to #7,876.
FAQ
Nilson surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Nilson?
Name Census estimates that about 4,634 living Americans carry the surname Nilson. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 73,965 residents.
How common is Nilson?
Nilson ranks #7,876 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.35 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 4,041 people with the surname Nilson. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,634), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.35 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.35 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 Nilson.
Has Nilson become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Nilson went from 10,010 recorded bearers to 4,041. That is a decrease of 5,969 (-59.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,562 to #7,876.
What does the Census say about the background of Nilson?
Among Census respondents with the surname Nilson, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.9%. The next largest groups are Black (12.3%) and Hispanic (2.7%). 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 Nilson in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.9% (3,270 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Nilson appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (80.9%), Black (12.3%), Hispanic (2.7%). 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 Nilson (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 Nilson mean?
A patronymic surname meaning "son of Nils," a Scandinavian form of Nicholas, which means "victory of the people." 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 Nilson (1.35 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 are called Nilson?
For a quick modern take, check how common the surname Nilson is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.