Find out how popular the last name Stensaas is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Stensaas.

Stensaas, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Stensaas surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Stensaas in America

Stensaas is the 113155th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Stensaas surname appeared 155 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Stensaas.

We can also compare 2010 data for Stensaas to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Stensaas

The surname Stensaas originates from Norway, tracing its roots back to the Middle Ages. The name is believed to have derived from a combination of the Old Norse words "steinn" meaning stone and "ås" meaning ridge or hill, suggesting that the earliest bearers of this name lived near a prominent rocky ridge or hill.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Diplomatorium Norvegicum, a collection of medieval Norwegian documents dating back to the 13th century. The name is mentioned in a land transaction record from the year 1276, where a person named Torstein Stensaas is listed as a witness.

The Stensaas family is known to have originated from the Gudbrandsdalen valley in central Norway, where they were landowners and farmers. This region was historically populated by Norse settlers, and the name Stensaas likely emerged as a way to identify families based on the unique geographic features of their land holdings.

A notable figure bearing the Stensaas surname was Hans Stensaas (1570-1638), a prominent Norwegian farmer and landowner from the Gudbrandsdalen valley. He is recorded as having owned substantial tracts of land and played a significant role in the local community affairs of his time.

Another individual of note was Nils Stensaas (1835-1912), a Norwegian-American immigrant who settled in Wisconsin in the mid-19th century. He was a farmer and community leader, and his descendants have contributed greatly to the cultural and economic development of the region.

Inga Stensaas (1857-1932), born in Norway, was a renowned author and playwright who wrote several works depicting the lives and struggles of Norwegian immigrants in America. Her novels and plays were widely acclaimed and helped shed light on the immigrant experience of her time.

Olav Stensaas (1901-1987), a Norwegian-American physicist, made significant contributions to the field of nuclear physics. He worked on the Manhattan Project during World War II and later served as a professor at the University of Minnesota, where he mentored many aspiring scientists.

Throughout history, the Stensaas name has been associated with various professions, including farming, academia, literature, and community leadership, reflecting the diverse paths taken by those who bore this surname.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Stensaas

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Stensaas.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Stensaas was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Stensaas has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Stensaas was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Stensaas, please contact us.

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