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

Oleson, 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 Oleson surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Oleson in America

Oleson is the 8780th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Oleson surname appeared 3,734 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 Oleson.

We can also compare 2010 data for Oleson 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 Oleson

The surname Oleson has its origins in Scandinavia, particularly in Norway and Sweden, and dates back to the medieval period. It is believed to be derived from the old Norse personal name Olav, which means "ancestor's descendant" or "ancestor's heir." This name was popular among the Vikings and was often used as a first name.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Oleson can be found in the Danish Census of 1787, where it appears as "Olesen." This spelling variation suggests that the name may have been more prevalent in Denmark during that time period. It is also possible that the name was introduced to other parts of Scandinavia through migration and trade.

The Oleson surname has been associated with several notable individuals throughout history. One such individual was Niels Olesen (1834-1901), a Danish architect who designed several prominent buildings in Copenhagen, including the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek museum and the Christiansborg Palace.

Another notable figure was Olaf Oleson (1886-1962), a Norwegian-American wrestler who competed in the 1908 and 1912 Olympic Games. He won a gold medal in the heavyweight category at the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden.

In the United States, one of the earliest recorded instances of the name Oleson can be found in the 1850 census, which listed several families with this surname in Wisconsin and Minnesota. These were likely descendants of Norwegian or Swedish immigrants who had settled in these areas.

Carl Oleson (1857-1935) was an American businessman and politician from Minnesota. He served as a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives and was involved in various agricultural and business ventures.

Another prominent individual with the Oleson surname was Norma Oleson (1912-1995), an American actress and singer who appeared in several Broadway productions and television shows throughout her career.

It is worth noting that the Oleson surname has undergone various spelling variations over time, including Olsen, Olssen, and Olson, which reflect the different linguistic influences and regional variations within Scandinavia.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Oleson

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

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

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

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