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

Nordman, 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 Nordman surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Nordman in America

Nordman is the 18385th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Nordman surname appeared 1,506 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Nordman.

We can also compare 2010 data for Nordman 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 Nordman

The surname Nordman has its origins in Scandinavia, specifically in the countries of Sweden, Norway, and Denmark. It is derived from the Old Norse words "norðr" meaning "north" and "maðr" meaning "man." The name likely referred to someone who had migrated or originated from the northern regions of these countries.

Nordman can be traced back to the Viking Age, which lasted from the 8th to the 11th century. During this period, the Vikings, who were Scandinavian seafarers, traders, and raiders, ventured across Europe and even reached parts of North America. It is possible that some individuals with the name Nordman were associated with these Viking expeditions or settlements.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Nordman can be found in the Icelandic sagas, which are collections of stories and histories from the medieval period. These sagas often mentioned individuals with the surname Nordman or variations of it, such as Norðmaðr or Norðmanni.

In the 11th century, a Norwegian nobleman named Erling Nordman was mentioned in the Heimskringla, a collection of sagas written by the Icelandic scholar Snorri Sturluson. Erling Nordman played a significant role in the conflicts between Norwegian kings and earls during that time.

Another notable individual with the surname Nordman was Johan Nordman, a Swedish military officer who lived from 1655 to 1712. He served in the Great Northern War under King Charles XII and played a crucial role in several battles against Russian and Danish forces.

In the 19th century, a Finnish writer and journalist named Carl Nordman (1825-1888) gained recognition for his contributions to Finnish literature and journalism. He was a prominent figure in the Finnish nationalist movement and wrote extensively about Finnish culture and history.

The surname Nordman has also been associated with the exploration and settlement of North America. One example is the Norwegian-American explorer and author Carl Ferdinand Nordman (1830-1909), who documented his travels and experiences in the American West in his book "The Sunny Lands of the Western Prairie."

Throughout history, the surname Nordman has been spelled in various ways, depending on the language and region. Some variations include Nordmann, Norrman, and Noorman. Additionally, the name may have been influenced by or derived from specific place names or locations in Scandinavia, such as villages or regions where the name was prevalent.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Nordman

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!