2000
#134,929
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Solien
A surname potentially derived from a nickname related to the sun or light.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 131 Americans carry the last name Solien. That puts it at #146,495 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,616,445 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Solien 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
131
1 in 2,616,445
Census rank
#146,495
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
114
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 114 bearers of the surname Solien in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 146495th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Solien, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.1%) and Two or More Races (6.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Solien
The surname SOLIEN originated in Scandinavia, likely in the region that is now known as Norway. It dates back to the early medieval period, around the 9th or 10th century. The name is believed to derive from the Old Norse word "solen," which means "the sun." This suggests that the original bearers of this name may have lived in a place that was particularly sunny or had a strong connection to the sun.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the SOLIEN surname can be found in the Icelandic Sagas, which were written in the 13th and 14th centuries. These sagas mention a character named Solveig Solien, who lived in the late 10th century. It is possible that this character was based on a real person, and her name provides an early written record of the SOLIEN surname.
The SOLIEN name also appears in some Norwegian census records from the 16th and 17th centuries. One notable example is Knut Solien, a farmer who lived in the Gudbrandsdalen valley in the late 16th century. His name is recorded in the parish records of the time.
In the 18th century, the SOLIEN surname spread to other parts of Scandinavia, including Sweden and Denmark. One famous bearer of this name was Fredrik Solien, a Swedish naval officer who served during the Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815). He was known for his bravery and leadership in several naval battles against the British.
Another notable figure with the SOLIEN surname was Else Solien, a Norwegian painter who lived from 1858 to 1938. She was one of the first women to achieve recognition as a professional artist in Norway and was known for her landscape paintings and portraits.
In the 19th century, the SOLIEN name also began to appear in North America, likely due to immigration from Scandinavia. One example is Nils Solien, a Norwegian immigrant who settled in Wisconsin in the 1860s and became a prominent farmer and community leader.
Over time, the spelling of the SOLIEN surname has varied slightly, with alternative spellings such as Solien, Soljen, and Sölien appearing in different regions and historical records. However, the meaning and origin of the name have remained consistent, rooted in the Old Norse word for the sun and the long history of this surname in Scandinavia.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Solien
Among Census respondents with the surname Solien, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.1%) and Two or More Races (6.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Solien 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 Solien surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.7% · 100
- Hispanic or Latino6.1% · 7
- Two or more races6.1% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Solien
Solien 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
#148,347
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
-4 bearers (-3.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 13,418 places
2020
#146,495
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114
+3 bearers (+2.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 1,852 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #134,929 | 115 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #148,347 | 111 | 0.04 | -4 bearers (-3.5%) | Down 13,418 places |
| 2020 | #146,495 | 114 | 0.04 | +3 bearers (+2.7%) | Up 1,852 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 Solien 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 | #148,347 | #146,495 | 1.2% |
| Count | 111 | 114 | 2.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -4.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Solien bearers went from 111 to 114 (+2.7% change). The surname moved up 1,852 positions in the national ranking, going from #148,347 to #146,495.
FAQ
Solien surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Solien?
Name Census estimates that about 131 living Americans carry the surname Solien. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,616,445 residents.
How common is Solien?
Solien ranks #146,495 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 114 people with the surname Solien. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (131), 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 Solien.
Has Solien become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Solien went from 111 recorded bearers to 114. That is an increase of 3 (+2.7%). In the national ranking it rose from #148,347 to #146,495.
What does the Census say about the background of Solien?
Among Census respondents with the surname Solien, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.1%) and Two or More Races (6.1%). 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 Solien in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.7% (100 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Solien appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.7%), Hispanic (6.1%), Two or More Races (6.1%). 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 Solien (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 Solien mean?
A surname potentially derived from a nickname related to the sun or light. 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 Solien (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 many people share the surname Solien?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.