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

Paulsen, 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 Paulsen surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Paulsen in America

Paulsen is the 3211th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Paulsen surname appeared 11,243 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 4 people would have the surname Paulsen.

We can also compare 2010 data for Paulsen 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 Paulsen

The surname Paulsen has its roots in the Low German region of northern Germany and the Netherlands. It is derived from the personal name Paul, which itself comes from the Latin name Paulus, meaning "small" or "humble". The suffix "-sen" is a common patronymic ending in that region, indicating "son of".

Paulsen is believed to have originated as a surname in the 13th or 14th century, when it began to be used to distinguish between different individuals named Paul. The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in medieval records and documents from the region.

One notable historical reference to the name Paulsen is in the Hanseatic League, a powerful medieval trading confederation that dominated maritime commerce in northern Europe. Several merchants and traders with the surname Paulsen were active members of this league, facilitating trade between cities like Hamburg, Lübeck, and Bremen.

In the 16th century, the name Paulsen appears in the records of the Protestant Reformation, as several individuals with this surname were among the early supporters and followers of Martin Luther's teachings. One such figure was Hans Paulsen, a Lutheran theologian and reformer from Schleswig-Holstein (c. 1510-1570).

As the surname spread beyond its northern German origins, variations in spelling emerged, including Paulssen, Paulzen, and Paulzsohn. Some of these variations were influenced by local dialects and language differences in the areas where the name took root.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Paulsen was Jürgen Paulsen, a merchant and sea captain from Lübeck who lived in the late 15th century. Another notable figure was Detlev Paulsen, a Danish mathematician and astronomer from the 17th century (1623-1697).

In the 19th century, several individuals with the surname Paulsen achieved prominence. This includes the Norwegian writer and critic Bernhard Severin Ingemann Paulsen (1828-1897) and the German philosopher Friedrich Paulsen (1846-1908), known for his works on ethics and education.

Other notable historical figures with the surname Paulsen include the Danish composer and organist Carl August Paulsen (1833-1891) and the German-American architect William Paulsen (1856-1935), who designed several prominent buildings in New York City, including the Park Row Building and the Church of St. Paul the Apostle.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Paulsen

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

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

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

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