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

Selin, 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 Selin surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Selin in America

Selin is the 31453rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Selin surname appeared 736 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Selin.

We can also compare 2010 data for Selin 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 Selin

The surname Selin has its origins in Sweden, where it first emerged in the late 16th century. It is believed to be derived from the Old Swedish word "sele," which referred to a harness used on horses or other animals for pulling carts or plows. This suggests that the name may have originally been an occupational surname for someone who worked with harnesses or in a related trade.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Selin surname can be found in the Swedish church records from the parish of Mjölby in the province of Östergötland, where a man named Nils Selin was listed in 1598. The name also appeared in various other parish records throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, often with slight variations in spelling, such as Selin, Seelin, or Seelin.

In the 19th century, the Selin surname began to spread beyond Sweden's borders, as some individuals bearing the name emigrated to other parts of the world. For example, a man named Johan Selin, born in 1825 in the Swedish province of Värmland, is recorded as having immigrated to the United States in the late 1800s and settled in Minnesota.

Throughout history, there have been notable individuals who carried the Selin surname. One such figure was Anders Selin (1799-1869), a Swedish politician and member of the Riksdag (Swedish parliament) who represented the province of Västmanland in the early 19th century. Another was Carl Selin (1886-1957), a Swedish artist and painter known for his landscapes and portraits.

In the field of science, Erik Selin (1897-1982) was a Swedish botanist and professor at the University of Uppsala, known for his research on the flora of the Nordic countries. More recently, Vera Selin (1932-2020) was a Russian-Swedish painter and sculptor who gained recognition for her abstract and surrealist works.

One of the most prominent individuals with the Selin surname was Lars-Erik Selin (1920-2005), a Swedish diplomat and ambassador who served as the Permanent Representative of Sweden to the United Nations from 1975 to 1983. He played a significant role in various international negotiations and peace efforts during his career.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Selin

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

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

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

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