2000
#12,133
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,358
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.87
Rare Last name
Swensen
A patronymic surname of Scandinavian origin meaning "son of Sven," derived from the Old Norse name Sveinn.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,926 Americans carry the last name Swensen. That puts it at #11,742 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.85 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 117,141 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Swensen 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
2.9K
1 in 117,141
Census rank
#11,742
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,552 bearers of the surname Swensen in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.85 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11742nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Swensen, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.3%) and Hispanic (3.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Swensen
The surname Swensen originated in Sweden, with its earliest known records dating back to the 16th century. It is a patronymic name, derived from the first name Sven, which is a Swedish variation of the Old Norse name Sveinn. This name is thought to have come from the Old Norse word "svanr," meaning "young man" or "young warrior."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Swensen surname can be found in the Swedish church records of the late 1500s. These records mention a family by the name of Swensen residing in the town of Malmö, located in the southern region of Sweden. It is likely that the name originally referred to the son of a man named Sven, with the "-sen" suffix being a common patronymic ending in Scandinavian names.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Swensen name began to spread across Scandinavia and into other parts of Europe as people migrated and settled in new areas. In Norway, for instance, there are records of a Swensen family living in the city of Bergen in the late 1700s.
As the name traveled, it underwent various spelling variations, such as Swanson, Swenson, and Svensson. These variations likely arose due to differences in local dialects and the ways in which the name was transcribed or translated from one language to another.
One notable individual bearing the Swensen name was Jens Swensen, a Norwegian-American explorer and adventurer who lived from 1828 to 1901. Swensen was part of the famous Klondike Gold Rush and is credited with discovering a major gold deposit in the Yukon Territory of Canada in the late 1800s.
Another prominent figure with the Swensen surname was Sven Swensen, a Swedish physicist and mathematician who lived from 1893 to 1967. Swensen made significant contributions to the field of quantum mechanics and was a professor at the prestigious University of Stockholm for many years.
In the literary world, the Swedish author and playwright Anna Swensen (1861-1939) gained recognition for her works that explored themes of social justice and women's rights. Her plays were widely performed throughout Scandinavia and helped to raise awareness of important societal issues.
The Swensen name also has ties to the culinary world, with the American businessman and entrepreneur John Swensen (1920-1989) being credited with popularizing the concept of the modern ice cream parlor. His chain of "Swensen's Ice Cream Parlors" became a beloved institution across the United States in the mid-20th century.
Lastly, one cannot discuss the Swensen surname without mentioning the Norwegian-American golfer Knud Swensen (1925-2008). Swensen was a highly successful professional golfer who won multiple PGA Tour events and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1987.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Swensen
Among Census respondents with the surname Swensen, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.3%) and Hispanic (3.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Swensen 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 Swensen surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.8% · 2,292
- Two or more races4.3% · 111
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 90
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 29
- Black or African American0.6% · 15
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 15
Timeline
Historical Census data for Swensen
Swensen 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
#11,919
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,627
+269 bearers (+11.4%)
Per 100,000 0.89
Rank movement Up 214 places
2020
#11,742
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,552
-75 bearers (-2.9%)
Per 100,000 0.85
Rank movement Up 177 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,133 | 2,358 | 0.87 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,919 | 2,627 | 0.89 | +269 bearers (+11.4%) | Up 214 places |
| 2020 | #11,742 | 2,552 | 0.85 | -75 bearers (-2.9%) | Up 177 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 Swensen 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 | #11,919 | #11,742 | 1.5% |
| Count | 2,627 | 2,552 | -2.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.89 | 0.85 | -4.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Swensen bearers went from 2,627 to 2,552 (-2.9% change). The surname moved up 177 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,919 to #11,742.
FAQ
Swensen surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Swensen?
Name Census estimates that about 2,926 living Americans carry the surname Swensen. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 117,141 residents.
How common is Swensen?
Swensen ranks #11,742 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.85 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,552 people with the surname Swensen. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,926), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.85 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.85 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Swensen.
Has Swensen become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Swensen went from 2,627 recorded bearers to 2,552. That is a decrease of 75 (-2.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #11,919 to #11,742.
What does the Census say about the background of Swensen?
Among Census respondents with the surname Swensen, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.3%) and Hispanic (3.5%). 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 Swensen in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.8% (2,292 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Swensen appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.8%), Two or More Races (4.3%), Hispanic (3.5%). 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 Swensen (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 Swensen mean?
A patronymic surname of Scandinavian origin meaning "son of Sven," derived from the Old Norse name Sveinn. 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 Swensen (0.85 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 are called Swensen?
See how many people are called Swensen on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.