2000
#2,104
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 15,833
First available Census row
Per 100,000 5.87
Uncommon Last name
Sorenson
Derived from the Scandinavian patronymic name "Sǿrenssǿn," meaning "son of Sǿren" (Sǿren being a Danish form of Severinus).
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 17,344 Americans carry the last name Sorenson. That puts it at #2,351 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 5.06 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 19,762 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Sorenson 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Sorenson with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
17K
1 in 19,762
Census rank
#2,351
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
5.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
15K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 15,125 bearers of the surname Sorenson in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 5.06 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2351st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Sorenson, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (3.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Sorenson
The surname Sorenson is of Scandinavian origin, specifically Danish and Norwegian. It is a patronymic surname, meaning it was originally derived from the given name of the father or an ancestor. Sorenson translates to "son of Soren" or "son of Soren." Soren is a variant of the name Severin, which is derived from the Latin name Severinus, meaning "stern" or "severe."
The Sorenson surname is believed to have first appeared in Denmark and Norway during the Middle Ages, around the 12th or 13th century. It was common in these regions for surnames to be formed by adding the suffix "-son" to the father's given name, creating a patronymic surname.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Sorenson surname is found in the Diplomatarium Norvegicum, a collection of medieval Norwegian diplomas and documents. In this collection, there are references to individuals with the surname Sorenson dating back to the 14th century.
Another notable historical reference is the appearance of the Sorenson surname in the Icelandic sagas, which are prose narratives written in Old Norse that recount the lives of Icelandic families and their ancestors. Several characters with the surname Sorenson are mentioned in these sagas, which date back to the 13th and 14th centuries.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals with the surname Sorenson:
1. Hans Sorenson (1539-1623), a Danish admiral and naval officer who served under King Christian IV of Denmark.
2. Peter Sorenson (1776-1859), a Norwegian-American farmer and pioneer who was one of the first Norwegian settlers in the Midwest region of the United States.
3. Theodore Sorenson (1928-2010), an American lawyer, writer, and presidential adviser who served as a speechwriter and counsel for President John F. Kennedy.
4. Lene Sorenson (born 1952), a Danish author and journalist known for her novels and children's books.
5. Bjarne Stroustrup (born 1950), a Danish computer scientist and the designer and original implementer of the C++ programming language. Stroustrup was born Bjarne Sorenson but later changed his surname.
The Sorenson surname has also been associated with various place names, particularly in Scandinavia. For example, the village of Sorenson in Denmark is believed to have derived its name from the surname, indicating that it was likely founded or settled by individuals with that surname.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sorenson
Among Census respondents with the surname Sorenson, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (3.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Sorenson 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 Sorenson surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.0% · 13,915
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 482
- Two or more races3.1% · 475
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 124
- Black or African American0.5% · 71
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 58
Timeline
Historical Census data for Sorenson
Sorenson 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
#2,284
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 15,962
+129 bearers (+0.8%)
Per 100,000 5.41
Rank movement Down 180 places
2020
#2,351
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 15,125
-837 bearers (-5.2%)
Per 100,000 5.06
Rank movement Down 67 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,104 | 15,833 | 5.87 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,284 | 15,962 | 5.41 | +129 bearers (+0.8%) | Down 180 places |
| 2020 | #2,351 | 15,125 | 5.06 | -837 bearers (-5.2%) | Down 67 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 Sorenson 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 | #2,284 | #2,351 | -2.9% |
| Count | 15,962 | 15,125 | -5.2% |
| Per 100K | 5.41 | 5.06 | -6.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Sorenson bearers went from 15,962 to 15,125 (-5.2% change). The surname moved down 67 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,284 to #2,351.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Sorenson
FAQ
Sorenson surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Sorenson?
Name Census estimates that about 17,344 living Americans carry the surname Sorenson. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 19,762 residents.
How common is Sorenson?
Sorenson ranks #2,351 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 5.06 per 100,000 residents, which is about 5 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 15,125 people with the surname Sorenson. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (17,344), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 5.06 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 5.06 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 5 of them to have the surname Sorenson.
Has Sorenson become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Sorenson went from 15,962 recorded bearers to 15,125. That is a decrease of 837 (-5.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,284 to #2,351.
What does the Census say about the background of Sorenson?
Among Census respondents with the surname Sorenson, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (3.1%). 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 Sorenson in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.0% (13,915 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Sorenson appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.0%), Hispanic (3.2%), Two or More Races (3.1%). 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 Sorenson (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 Sorenson mean?
Derived from the Scandinavian patronymic name "Sǿrenssǿn," meaning "son of Sǿren" (Sǿren being a Danish form of Severinus). 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 Sorenson (5.06 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 Sorenson?
Find out how common the surname Sorenson is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.