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

Svensen, 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 Svensen surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Svensen in America

Svensen is the 125282nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Svensen surname appeared 137 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 Svensen.

We can also compare 2010 data for Svensen 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 Svensen

The surname Svensen originated in Scandinavia, primarily in Norway and Denmark. It is a patronymic name, meaning it was derived from the given name of the father or an ancestor. The prefix "Sven" comes from the Old Norse name Sveinn, which means "young man" or "boy." The suffix "-sen" is a common Scandinavian patronymic ending, indicating "son of."

The earliest known records of the Svensen name date back to the Viking Age, around the 8th to 11th centuries. During this period, Scandinavian explorers and settlers ventured across Europe and beyond, carrying their names with them. The name Svensen likely originated in coastal regions of Norway and Denmark, where many Vikings came from.

In the Middle Ages, the use of hereditary surnames became more widespread across Europe. The Svensen name appeared in various historical records, such as parish registers and legal documents. One notable example is the mention of Sven Svensen in the Diplomatarium Norvegicum, a collection of Norwegian medieval documents from the 12th to the 16th centuries.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Svensen was Sven Jonsson Svensen, a Norwegian farmer and landowner who lived in the 14th century. Another notable figure was Hans Svensen, a Danish sailor and explorer who accompanied Vitus Bering on his expeditions to the Arctic in the early 18th century.

In the 19th century, the Svensen name gained recognition through the work of Johan Svensen, a Norwegian linguist and scholar who made significant contributions to the study of Old Norse literature and language. He was born in 1816 and published several influential works, including a comprehensive dictionary of Old Norse.

Another prominent individual with the Svensen surname was Sven Svensen, a Norwegian military officer and politician who served as the Prime Minister of Norway from 1891 to 1893. He played a crucial role in the modernization of Norway's defense forces and the establishment of a parliamentary system.

The Svensen name has also been associated with various place names in Scandinavia, such as Svensby (Sven's farm or village) and Svensholm (Sven's island or homestead). These place names often derived from individuals with the Svensen surname who lived in or owned those areas.

While the Svensen surname originated in Scandinavia, it has since spread to other parts of the world through immigration and cultural exchanges. Today, variations of the name, such as Svensson and Svenson, can be found in various countries with significant Scandinavian populations or historical ties to the region.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Svensen

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

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 Svensen 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 Svensen 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 Svensen was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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