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

Olness, 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 Olness surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Olness in America

Olness is the 99378th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Olness surname appeared 182 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 Olness.

We can also compare 2010 data for Olness 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 Olness

The surname Olness originated in Norway during the medieval period. It is believed to be derived from the Old Norse words "öl" meaning "ale" and "nes" meaning "headland" or "promontory." This suggests that the name may have referred to a place where ale was brewed or sold, situated on a headland or promontory.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name dates back to the 13th century, when a person named Olaf Olnesson was mentioned in a Norwegian legal document from 1268. This suggests that the name may have originally been a patronymic, with "Olnesson" meaning "son of Olne."

In the 14th century, a variant spelling "Olnæs" appeared in a Danish census record from 1379, referring to a person named Niels Olnæs. This spelling is likely derived from the Old Danish word "næs," which also meant "headland" or "promontory."

The name Olness has been associated with several notable individuals throughout history. One of the earliest was Olav Olnesson (c. 1380-1450), a Norwegian farmer and landowner who was involved in a legal dispute over land rights in the region of Trøndelag.

Another prominent figure with this surname was Hans Olness (1550-1624), a Norwegian merchant and ship owner who traded goods between Norway and the Netherlands in the late 16th and early 17th centuries.

In the 19th century, Nils Olness (1823-1901) was a Norwegian-American immigrant who settled in Wisconsin and became a respected farmer and community leader.

Inga Olness (1887-1974) was a Norwegian-American author and educator who wrote several books on Norwegian culture and folklore, including "The Norwegian Stave Churches" published in 1935.

Lastly, Erling Olness (1910-1998) was a Norwegian-American physicist who made significant contributions to the field of particle physics and worked at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Illinois.

While the name has Norwegian roots, it has spread to other parts of the world due to migration and immigration, particularly to the United States and Canada.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Olness

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

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

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

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