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

Rasmussen, 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 Rasmussen surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Rasmussen in America

Rasmussen is the 947th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Rasmussen surname appeared 36,636 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 12 people would have the surname Rasmussen.

We can also compare 2010 data for Rasmussen 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 Rasmussen

The surname Rasmussen is of Danish origin, originating in the late medieval period. It is a patronymic surname derived from the personal name Rasmus, which is a Danish form of the biblical name Erasmus. The name Erasmus itself is derived from the Greek word "erasmios," meaning "beloved" or "desired."

Rasmussen is one of the most common surnames in Denmark, where it is believed to have first emerged in the 14th or 15th century. The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in Danish census records and parish registers from that time period.

The name Rasmussen is closely tied to the Danish island of Funen, where it was particularly prevalent in the towns of Odense and Nyborg. It is thought that the name may have originated in these areas and then spread throughout Denmark and other Scandinavian countries.

One notable early bearer of the name was Rasmus Ludvigsen Rasmussen, a Danish priest and author who lived in the 17th century (1635-1699). He is known for his work "Danmarkis Beskrivelse" (Description of Denmark), which was an important early geographical account of the country.

Another significant figure with the Rasmussen surname was Jens Rasmussen Skomager, a Danish merchant and ship owner who lived in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. He is credited with establishing one of the first Danish trading companies in the East Indies.

In the 19th century, the name gained further prominence with the explorer and ethnographer Knud Rasmussen (1879-1933). He is best known for his expeditions to Greenland and his extensive studies of Inuit culture and traditions.

Other notable individuals with the Rasmussen surname include the Danish artist Vilhelm Rasmussen (1822-1865), known for his landscape paintings, and the Norwegian author and playwright Bjørn Rasmussen (1936-2017), who wrote several novels and plays exploring themes of identity and cultural conflicts.

While the name Rasmussen is most commonly associated with Denmark and other Scandinavian countries, it has also spread to other parts of the world through emigration. However, its origins can be traced back to the Danish patronymic naming tradition and the personal name Rasmus, which has its roots in the Greek language and biblical sources.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Rasmussen

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!