2000
#136,783
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Solvang
A Danish surname meaning sunny fields or sunny meadows.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 116 Americans carry the last name Solvang. That puts it at #155,270 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,954,779 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Solvang 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
116
1 in 2,954,779
Census rank
#155,270
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
101
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 101 bearers of the surname Solvang in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 155270th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Solvang, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Solvang
The surname "Solvang" is of Danish origin, originating in the 19th century. It is a compound word derived from the Danish words "sol" meaning "sun" and "vang" meaning "meadow" or "field." The name likely originated as a descriptive term for a sunny meadow or field, later adopted as a surname.
The earliest recorded instances of the surname "Solvang" can be traced back to various regions of Denmark, particularly in the central and southern parts of the country. It is believed that the name was initially used as a topographic name, referring to a specific location or geographic feature.
Historical records from Denmark in the late 19th and early 20th centuries mention several individuals with the surname "Solvang." One notable example is Hans Christian Solvang, a Danish painter and illustrator born in 1858 in Odense, Denmark, and died in 1932. His works depicted landscapes and scenes from rural Danish life.
Another individual of note was Karen Marie Solvang, born in 1872 in Aalborg, Denmark. She was a prominent figure in the Danish women's rights movement and worked tirelessly to promote education and equal opportunities for women in Denmark during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
In the late 19th century, a group of Danish immigrants settled in the Santa Ynez Valley of California and established a town they named "Solvang," meaning "sunny field" in Danish. This town, founded in 1911, served as a Danish cultural hub and became known for its Danish-style architecture and traditions.
One of the founders of the town of Solvang, California, was Jorgen Solvang, born in 1879 in Copenhagen, Denmark. He played a crucial role in the establishment and development of the town, which continues to celebrate its Danish heritage to this day.
Another notable individual with the surname "Solvang" was Niels Solvang, a Danish-American artist born in 1881 in Aalborg, Denmark. He immigrated to the United States in the early 20th century and became known for his landscape paintings depicting scenes from the American West and California's central coast region.
While the surname "Solvang" is not among the most common Danish surnames, it holds a unique place in both Danish and American history, reflecting the cultural ties between the two countries and the influence of Danish immigrants in shaping certain communities in the United States.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Solvang
Among Census respondents with the surname Solvang, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Solvang 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 Solvang surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.1% · 88
- Hispanic or Latino6.9% · 7
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.0% · 2
- Two or more races2.0% · 2
- Black or African American1.0% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Solvang
Solvang 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
#153,769
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 106
-7 bearers (-6.2%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 16,986 places
2020
#155,270
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 101
-5 bearers (-4.7%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 1,501 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #136,783 | 113 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #153,769 | 106 | 0.04 | -7 bearers (-6.2%) | Down 16,986 places |
| 2020 | #155,270 | 101 | 0.03 | -5 bearers (-4.7%) | Down 1,501 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 Solvang 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 | #153,769 | #155,270 | -1.0% |
| Count | 106 | 101 | -4.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -15.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Solvang bearers went from 106 to 101 (-4.7% change). The surname moved down 1,501 positions in the national ranking, going from #153,769 to #155,270.
FAQ
Solvang surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Solvang?
Name Census estimates that about 116 living Americans carry the surname Solvang. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,954,779 residents.
How common is Solvang?
Solvang ranks #155,270 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 101 people with the surname Solvang. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (116), 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 Solvang.
Has Solvang become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Solvang went from 106 recorded bearers to 101. That is a decrease of 5 (-4.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #153,769 to #155,270.
What does the Census say about the background of Solvang?
Among Census respondents with the surname Solvang, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.0%). 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 Solvang in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.1% (88 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Solvang appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.1%), Hispanic (6.9%), Asian/Pacific Islander (2.0%). 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 Solvang (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 Solvang mean?
A Danish surname meaning sunny fields or sunny meadows. 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 Solvang (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 Americans have the surname Solvang?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.