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

Ohlsen, 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 Ohlsen surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Ohlsen in America

Ohlsen is the 30825th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Ohlsen surname appeared 755 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Ohlsen.

We can also compare 2010 data for Ohlsen 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 Ohlsen

The surname Ohlsen has its origins in Denmark and Germany, with its earliest recorded use dating back to the 16th century. It is derived from the Old Danish and Old German words "oll" or "oll," meaning "old," and "sen," a patronymic suffix indicating "son of." Thus, the name originally referred to the son of someone named Oll or a similar variation.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Danish Census Records of 1645, where a man named Hans Ohlsen is listed as a resident of Copenhagen. In the same century, the name also appeared in German records, with a family of Ohlsens residing in the town of Lübeck.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Ohlsen name was particularly prominent in the region of Schleswig-Holstein, which was then a part of Denmark but later became a part of Germany. This area saw a significant migration of people with the Ohlsen surname, with many seeking new opportunities in other parts of Europe and North America.

One notable bearer of the Ohlsen name was Christian Ohlsen, a Danish theologian and philosopher who lived from 1692 to 1765. He was a prominent figure in the Lutheran church and wrote extensively on theological matters. Another notable individual was Hans Ohlsen, a German painter born in 1835, whose works are still displayed in various galleries across Europe.

In the 19th century, the name Ohlsen began to appear more frequently in records from the United States, as Danish and German immigrants with this surname sought new opportunities in the New World. One such immigrant was Peter Ohlsen, who arrived in New York in 1852 and later became a successful businessman in the city.

Another notable figure was Thorvald Ohlsen, a Norwegian-American explorer who was born in 1874. He was part of several expeditions to the Arctic regions and wrote several books documenting his travels and experiences in the harsh northern environment.

The spelling variations of the Ohlsen surname are numerous, with alternative forms including Olsen, Olsson, Ohlsson, and Ohlssen, among others. These variations often arose due to regional dialects and differences in pronunciation, as well as the challenges of transliterating names across languages.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Ohlsen

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

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

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

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