2000
#123,314
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 129
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Rensvold
A Scandinavian topographic surname derived from a place name meaning "reindeer pasture."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 126 Americans carry the last name Rensvold. That puts it at #149,446 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,720,273 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rensvold surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
126
1 in 2,720,273
Census rank
#149,446
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
110
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 110 bearers of the surname Rensvold in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 149446th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rensvold, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.5%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rensvold
The surname Rensvold has its origins in Norway, dating back to the Middle Ages. It is believed to have derived from the Old Norse word "rein," meaning "reindeer," and "voll," meaning "field" or "meadow." This suggests that the name may have referred to an area or place where reindeer grazed.
Rensvold is a locational surname, meaning it was likely taken from a specific place name. While the exact location is uncertain, it is possible that the name originated in one of the northern regions of Norway, where reindeer herding was a common practice among the Sami people.
Early records of the Rensvold name can be found in Norwegian church registers and census documents from the 16th and 17th centuries. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Bjørn Rensvold, a farmer who lived in the Trøndelag region of Norway in the late 1500s.
In the 18th century, Hans Rensvold (1712-1788) was a notable figure who served as a Lutheran minister in the village of Oppdal, located in the central region of Norway. His son, Peder Rensvold (1745-1820), followed in his father's footsteps and became a respected clergyman in the same area.
During the 19th century, the Rensvold name began to spread beyond Norway's borders as some families emigrated to other parts of the world. One such individual was Erik Rensvold (1821-1901), who left Norway in the late 1840s and settled in the United States, becoming one of the first Rensvolds in the country.
Another notable bearer of the Rensvold name was Arne Rensvold (1888-1964), a Norwegian mathematician and professor who made significant contributions to the field of geometry. He spent much of his career teaching at the University of Oslo.
As the Rensvold name continued to disperse throughout the 20th century, it maintained its strongest presence in Norway, Sweden, and North America, particularly in areas with significant Scandinavian populations.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rensvold
Among Census respondents with the surname Rensvold, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.5%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Rensvold bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Rensvold surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.9% · 100
- Two or more races4.5% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.7% · 3
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rensvold
Rensvold appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#137,327
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 122
-7 bearers (-5.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 14,013 places
2020
#149,446
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
-12 bearers (-9.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 12,119 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #123,314 | 129 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #137,327 | 122 | 0.04 | -7 bearers (-5.4%) | Down 14,013 places |
| 2020 | #149,446 | 110 | 0.04 | -12 bearers (-9.8%) | Down 12,119 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Rensvold surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #137,327 | #149,446 | -8.8% |
| Count | 122 | 110 | -9.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -8.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rensvold bearers went from 122 to 110 (-9.8% change). The surname moved down 12,119 positions in the national ranking, going from #137,327 to #149,446.
FAQ
Rensvold surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rensvold?
Name Census estimates that about 126 living Americans carry the surname Rensvold. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,720,273 residents.
How common is Rensvold?
Rensvold ranks #149,446 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 110 people with the surname Rensvold. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (126), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Rensvold.
Has Rensvold become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rensvold went from 122 recorded bearers to 110. That is a decrease of 12 (-9.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #137,327 to #149,446.
What does the Census say about the background of Rensvold?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rensvold, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.5%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (2.7%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Rensvold in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.9% (100 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rensvold appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.9%), Two or More Races (4.5%), American Indian/Alaska Native (2.7%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Rensvold (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Rensvold mean?
A Scandinavian topographic surname derived from a place name meaning "reindeer pasture." The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Rensvold (0.04 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How common is the surname Rensvold?
Want to know how many people have the last name Rensvold? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.