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

Olson, 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 Olson surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Olson in America

Olson is the 157th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Olson surname appeared 164,035 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 56 people would have the surname Olson.

We can also compare 2010 data for Olson 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 Olson

The surname Olson originated in Scandinavia and is a patronymic name, meaning "son of Ole". Ole was a common Scandinavian given name derived from the Old Norse name Áleifr, which was composed of the elements ál (meaning "ancestor") and eifr (meaning "ever" or "descendent").

This name has its roots in the Norse tradition of using patronymic surnames, where the son would take his father's given name and add the suffix "-son" to indicate their relationship. The earliest recorded instances of this surname can be traced back to medieval Sweden and Norway.

In Norway, the Olson surname can be found in historical records dating back to the 13th century. One notable example is the mention of Olaf Olson in the Icelandic Sagas, a collection of medieval Icelandic literature that dates back to the 13th and 14th centuries.

In Sweden, the Olson surname is also well-documented in historical records. One of the earliest known bearers of this name was Olof Olson, a Swedish farmer who lived in the village of Stora Tuna in the province of Dalarna in the late 15th century.

As the Scandinavian diaspora spread across the world, the Olson surname traveled with them. One famous bearer of this name was Ole Olson, a Norwegian-American sailor and whaler who lived from 1823 to 1899. He is known for being one of the first Norwegians to settle in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States.

Another notable figure with the Olson surname was Culbert Olson, an American politician who served as the 29th Governor of California from 1939 to 1943. He was born in 1876 in Kingsburg, California, and played a significant role in the state's political landscape during the mid-20th century.

In literature, the Olson surname is associated with the American poet and essayist Charles Olson, who was born in 1910 in Worcester, Massachusetts. He was a prominent figure in the Black Mountain College literary movement and is considered a major influence on the development of Projective Verse, a poetic form that emphasizes open composition.

While the Olson surname has its roots in Scandinavia, it has since become a widespread name found in many parts of the world, particularly in areas with significant Scandinavian immigrant populations.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Olson

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

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

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

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