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

Paulson, 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 Paulson surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Paulson in America

Paulson is the 1857th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Paulson surname appeared 19,331 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 7 people would have the surname Paulson.

We can also compare 2010 data for Paulson 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 Paulson

The surname Paulson has its roots in Scandinavia, particularly in Sweden and Norway. It originated from a patronymic naming system, where "son" was added to the father's first name to indicate lineage. In this case, "Paulson" means "son of Paul."

The name Paul itself has its origins in the Latin name Paulus, which was derived from the Roman family name Paulli. It was a common practice among early Christians to adopt the name Paul in honor of the apostle Paul, who played a significant role in spreading Christianity throughout the Roman Empire.

Paulson is believed to have first appeared in written records during the medieval period, particularly in Scandinavian chronicles and parish registers. One of the earliest known references to the name can be found in the Diplomatarium Norvegicum, a collection of Norwegian medieval documents, dating back to the 13th century.

In England, the name Paulson appeared in various forms, such as Paulinson and Paullinson, reflecting the influence of Scandinavian settlers in the region. The Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of land ownership in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086, does not contain any direct references to the surname Paulson, but it does include entries for individuals with the given name Paul.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Paulson was Hans Paulson, a Swedish clergyman who lived in the 16th century. Another notable figure was Jöns Paulson, a Swedish politician and landowner who served as a member of the Riksdag (Swedish parliament) in the 17th century.

In the United States, the name Paulson can be traced back to the early waves of Scandinavian immigration in the 19th century. One of the most famous individuals bearing this surname was Henry Paulson, an American banker and politician who served as the 74th United States Secretary of the Treasury from 2006 to 2009 under President George W. Bush.

Other notable individuals with the surname Paulson include:

1. Gunnar Paulson (1919-2009), a Swedish chess grandmaster.
2. Sarah Paulson (born 1974), an American actress known for her roles in films and television series such as "American Horror Story" and "Ratched."
3. Terry Paulson (born 1949), an American motivational speaker and author.
4. Heikki Paulson (1922-2011), a Finnish writer and journalist.
5. Björn Paulson (born 1953), a Swedish businessman and professional poker player.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Paulson

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

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

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

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