2000
#149,328
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 101
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Solfest
A surname derived from a celebration or festival related to the summer solstice.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 114 Americans carry the last name Solfest. That puts it at #156,005 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 3,006,617 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Solfest 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
114
1 in 3,006,617
Census rank
#156,005
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
99
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 99 bearers of the surname Solfest in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 156005th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Solfest, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.0%. The next largest groups are Black (1.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Solfest
The surname Solfest has its origins in Scandinavia, specifically Sweden and Norway. It is believed to have originated during the Viking era, sometime between the 8th and 11th centuries. The name is derived from the Old Norse words "sol" meaning "sun" and "fest" meaning "strong" or "firm". Together, the name could be interpreted as "strong as the sun" or "sun-strong".
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Solfest can be found in the Gesta Danorum, a 12th-century work by the Danish historian Saxo Grammaticus. In this text, there is a reference to a Norse warrior named Solfest who fought alongside King Canute the Great in the early 11th century.
Another historical reference to the name Solfest comes from the Icelandic Sagas, a collection of medieval manuscripts that chronicle the lives of early Scandinavian settlers in Iceland. In the Saga of Gisli, there is a character named Solfest Thorvaldsson, who lived in the 10th century and was known for his strength and bravery.
During the Middle Ages, the name Solfest was also found in various Norwegian and Swedish records, often with different spellings such as Solffest, Solffeste, or Solffæste. One notable bearer of the name was Solfest Håkonsson, a Norwegian nobleman who lived in the 13th century and was a prominent figure in the court of King Håkon IV.
In the 16th century, there was a Swedish military commander named Solfest Eriksson, who played a significant role in the Swedish War of Liberation against Denmark. He is credited with leading several successful campaigns and contributing to Sweden's eventual independence.
Another notable figure with the surname Solfest was Solfest Andersson, a Swedish merchant and ship-owner who lived in the 17th century. He was involved in the lucrative trade between Sweden and the Netherlands, and his ships carried goods such as timber, iron, and tar.
In more recent history, there was a Norwegian artist named Solfest Kristiansen (1875-1943), who was known for his landscape paintings depicting the rugged beauty of Norway's fjords and mountains.
While the surname Solfest is not as common today as it once was, it remains a part of Scandinavian history and culture, a testament to the strength and resilience of the Viking spirit.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Solfest
Among Census respondents with the surname Solfest, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.0%. The next largest groups are Black (1.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Solfest 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 Solfest surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White99.0% · 98
- Black or African American1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Solfest
Solfest 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
#144,141
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
+14 bearers (+13.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 5,187 places
2020
#156,005
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 99
-16 bearers (-13.9%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 11,864 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #149,328 | 101 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #144,141 | 115 | 0.04 | +14 bearers (+13.9%) | Up 5,187 places |
| 2020 | #156,005 | 99 | 0.03 | -16 bearers (-13.9%) | Down 11,864 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 Solfest 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 | #144,141 | #156,005 | -8.2% |
| Count | 115 | 99 | -13.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -17.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Solfest bearers went from 115 to 99 (-13.9% change). The surname moved down 11,864 positions in the national ranking, going from #144,141 to #156,005.
FAQ
Solfest surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Solfest?
Name Census estimates that about 114 living Americans carry the surname Solfest. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 3,006,617 residents.
How common is Solfest?
Solfest ranks #156,005 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 99 people with the surname Solfest. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (114), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Solfest.
Has Solfest become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Solfest went from 115 recorded bearers to 99. That is a decrease of 16 (-13.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #144,141 to #156,005.
What does the Census say about the background of Solfest?
Among Census respondents with the surname Solfest, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.0%. The next largest groups are Black (1.0%). 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 Solfest in the 2020 Census, accounting for 99.0% (98 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Solfest appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (99.0%), Black (1.0%). 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 Solfest (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 Solfest mean?
A surname derived from a celebration or festival related to the summer solstice. 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 Solfest (0.03 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 many people share the surname Solfest?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.