2000
#11,416
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,532
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.94
Rare Last name
Nordin
A Swedish surname derived from the Old Norse personal name Northin, meaning "northern" or "from the north."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,727 Americans carry the last name Nordin. That puts it at #12,459 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.80 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 125,689 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Nordin 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.
Bearers in the US
2.7K
1 in 125,689
Census rank
#12,459
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,378 bearers of the surname Nordin in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.80 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12459th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Nordin, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (3.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Nordin
The surname Nordin originated in Scandinavia, particularly in Sweden and Norway. It is an old Norse name derived from the words "norðr" meaning "north" and "vin" meaning "friend" or "meadow." The earliest recorded instances of the name date back to the 13th century.
In Sweden, the Nordin surname was prevalent in the northern regions, such as Norrland and parts of Svealand. It was often associated with people who lived in the northern areas or had connections to those regions. Some historical records indicate that the name was sometimes spelled as Nordhin or Nordvin in its earlier forms.
One of the earliest known bearers of the Nordin name was Nils Nordin, a Swedish merchant who lived in the 15th century. He was documented in the records of the Hanseatic League, a powerful trading network that dominated maritime commerce in Northern Europe during that time.
In Norway, the Nordin surname was more commonly found in the western and central regions, such as Vestlandet and Trøndelag. Some notable Norwegians with this surname include Lars Nordin, a 17th-century priest and author, and Olav Nordin, a 19th-century politician and member of the Norwegian Parliament.
The Nordin name also has historical connections to Finland, where it is often spelled as Nordlund or Nordlund. One of the earliest recorded instances of this variation is from the 16th century, when a man named Erik Nordlund was mentioned in the tax records of the town of Åbo (now Turku).
Another notable bearer of the Nordin surname was Johan Nordin, a Swedish mathematician and astronomer who lived in the 18th century. He made significant contributions to the study of celestial mechanics and was a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
In the United States, the Nordin surname can be traced back to Swedish and Norwegian immigrants who arrived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. One of the earliest recorded instances is from 1887, when a man named Carl Nordin settled in Minnesota.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nordin
Among Census respondents with the surname Nordin, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (3.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Nordin 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 Nordin surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.4% · 2,150
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 86
- Two or more races3.2% · 76
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 31
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 28
- Black or African American0.3% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Nordin
Nordin 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
#11,846
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,642
+110 bearers (+4.3%)
Per 100,000 0.90
Rank movement Down 430 places
2020
#12,459
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,378
-264 bearers (-10.0%)
Per 100,000 0.80
Rank movement Down 613 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,416 | 2,532 | 0.94 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,846 | 2,642 | 0.90 | +110 bearers (+4.3%) | Down 430 places |
| 2020 | #12,459 | 2,378 | 0.80 | -264 bearers (-10.0%) | Down 613 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 Nordin 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 | #11,846 | #12,459 | -5.2% |
| Count | 2,642 | 2,378 | -10.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.90 | 0.80 | -11.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Nordin bearers went from 2,642 to 2,378 (-10.0% change). The surname moved down 613 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,846 to #12,459.
FAQ
Nordin surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Nordin?
Name Census estimates that about 2,727 living Americans carry the surname Nordin. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 125,689 residents.
How common is Nordin?
Nordin ranks #12,459 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.80 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 2,378 people with the surname Nordin. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,727), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.8 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.80 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 Nordin.
Has Nordin become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Nordin went from 2,642 recorded bearers to 2,378. That is a decrease of 264 (-10.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,846 to #12,459.
What does the Census say about the background of Nordin?
Among Census respondents with the surname Nordin, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (3.2%). 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 Nordin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.4% (2,150 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Nordin appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.4%), Hispanic (3.6%), Two or More Races (3.2%). 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 Nordin (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 Nordin mean?
A Swedish surname derived from the Old Norse personal name Northin, meaning "northern" or "from the north." 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 Nordin (0.80 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 share the surname Nordin?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.