2000
#14,503
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,884
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.70
Rare Last name
Skoglund
A surname of Swedish origin meaning one who lived near or in a small wood or grove.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,151 Americans carry the last name Skoglund. That puts it at #15,098 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.63 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 159,347 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Skoglund 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
2.2K
1 in 159,347
Census rank
#15,098
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,876 bearers of the surname Skoglund in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.63 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15098th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Skoglund, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Skoglund
The surname Skoglund is of Swedish origin, derived from the Old Swedish words "skog" meaning "forest" and "lund" meaning "grove." It originated as a topographic name, referring to someone who lived near or in a forest grove. The name likely emerged during the Viking Age, between the 8th and 11th centuries.
Skoglund was initially concentrated in the southern regions of Sweden, particularly in the provinces of Småland and Östergötland. The earliest recorded instances of the name date back to the 16th century, with mentions in parish records and tax rolls from that time period.
One of the earliest known individuals with the surname Skoglund was Per Skoglund, a farmer from Eksjö, Småland, who was born around 1580. Another notable figure was Johan Skoglund (1592-1668), a Lutheran minister and theologian from Vadstena, Östergötland.
In the 17th century, the name appeared in the Oxenstierna family archives, which documented the estates and landholdings of the influential Swedish noble family. This suggests that individuals with the Skoglund surname may have been associated with or employed by the Oxenstiernas during that time.
Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, the name remained prevalent in rural areas of southern Sweden, with many Skoglunds working as farmers, foresters, or in related occupations tied to the land and forests.
One notable Skoglund was Carl Johan Skoglund (1786-1858), a military officer and landowner from Växjö, Småland, who served in the Swedish-Norwegian War of 1808-1809. Another was Anders Skoglund (1818-1892), a farmer and politician from Sävsjö, Småland, who served in the Riksdag, the national legislature of Sweden.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, some Skoglunds emigrated from Sweden to North America, settling in areas with established Swedish communities, such as Minnesota and Wisconsin in the United States, and Alberta and Saskatchewan in Canada.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Skoglund
Among Census respondents with the surname Skoglund, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Skoglund 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 Skoglund surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.8% · 1,740
- Two or more races3.6% · 68
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 27
- Hispanic or Latino1.3% · 25
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 10
- Black or African American0.3% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Skoglund
Skoglund 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
#15,272
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,923
+39 bearers (+2.1%)
Per 100,000 0.65
Rank movement Down 769 places
2020
#15,098
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,876
-47 bearers (-2.4%)
Per 100,000 0.63
Rank movement Up 174 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #14,503 | 1,884 | 0.70 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #15,272 | 1,923 | 0.65 | +39 bearers (+2.1%) | Down 769 places |
| 2020 | #15,098 | 1,876 | 0.63 | -47 bearers (-2.4%) | Up 174 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 Skoglund 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 | #15,272 | #15,098 | 1.1% |
| Count | 1,923 | 1,876 | -2.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.65 | 0.63 | -3.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Skoglund bearers went from 1,923 to 1,876 (-2.4% change). The surname moved up 174 positions in the national ranking, going from #15,272 to #15,098.
FAQ
Skoglund surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Skoglund?
Name Census estimates that about 2,151 living Americans carry the surname Skoglund. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 159,347 residents.
How common is Skoglund?
Skoglund ranks #15,098 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.63 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,876 people with the surname Skoglund. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,151), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.63 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.63 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Skoglund.
Has Skoglund become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Skoglund went from 1,923 recorded bearers to 1,876. That is a decrease of 47 (-2.4%). In the national ranking it rose from #15,272 to #15,098.
What does the Census say about the background of Skoglund?
Among Census respondents with the surname Skoglund, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.4%). 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 Skoglund in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.8% (1,740 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Skoglund appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.8%), Two or More Races (3.6%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.4%). 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 Skoglund (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 Skoglund mean?
A surname of Swedish origin meaning one who lived near or in a small wood or grove. 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 Skoglund (0.63 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 Skoglund?
Want to know how many people have the last name Skoglund? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.