2000
#52,935
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 367
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.14
Very Rare Last name
Syvertsen
A patronymic surname of Scandinavian origin meaning "son of Syvert".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 403 Americans carry the last name Syvertsen. That puts it at #61,734 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.12 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 850,507 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Syvertsen 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
403
1 in 850,507
Census rank
#61,734
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
351
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 351 bearers of the surname Syvertsen in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.12 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 61734th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Syvertsen, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.8%) and Hispanic (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Syvertsen
The surname Syvertsen originates from Norway, where it first appeared in the 16th century. It is a patronymic name, derived from the personal name Syvert, which is a Scandinavian form of the name Severin. The name Severin comes from the Latin name Severinus, meaning "severe" or "stern."
Syvertsen was initially found in coastal regions of Norway, particularly in the areas around Bergen and Stavanger. It is believed to have been most common among fishing communities and those involved in maritime trades.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Syvertsen can be found in the Diplomatarium Norvegicum, a collection of medieval Norwegian documents dating back to the 13th century. In this collection, there is a reference to a man named Syvert Halvorsson, who lived in the late 15th century.
In the 17th century, the name Syvertsen appeared in several parish records and census documents in various parts of Norway. For example, in 1675, a man named Syvert Syvertsen was recorded as living in the parish of Sola, near Stavanger.
Notable individuals with the surname Syvertsen include Peder Syvertsen (1614-1687), a Norwegian merchant and shipowner who played a significant role in the development of the Norwegian whaling industry. Another notable figure was Severin Syvertsen (1809-1874), a Norwegian shipbuilder and shipowner who established one of the largest shipyards in Norway during the 19th century.
In the 18th century, the name Syvertsen was found in the parish records of Kinsarvik, a village located in the Hardanger region of Norway. One example from these records is Syvert Syvertsen, born in 1734.
The name Syvertsen has also been associated with the island of Sømna, located off the coast of northern Norway. In the 19th century, there were several families with the surname Syvertsen living on this island, including Severin Syvertsen, who was born in 1823.
Another notable individual with the surname Syvertsen was Nils Syvertsen (1876-1954), a Norwegian-American author and journalist who wrote extensively about the experiences of Norwegian immigrants in the United States.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Syvertsen
Among Census respondents with the surname Syvertsen, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.8%) and Hispanic (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Syvertsen 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 Syvertsen surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.7% · 322
- Two or more races2.8% · 10
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 9
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 5
- Black or African American1.1% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Syvertsen
Syvertsen 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
#56,710
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 360
-7 bearers (-1.9%)
Per 100,000 0.12
Rank movement Down 3,775 places
2020
#61,734
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 351
-9 bearers (-2.5%)
Per 100,000 0.12
Rank movement Down 5,024 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #52,935 | 367 | 0.14 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #56,710 | 360 | 0.12 | -7 bearers (-1.9%) | Down 3,775 places |
| 2020 | #61,734 | 351 | 0.12 | -9 bearers (-2.5%) | Down 5,024 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 Syvertsen 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 | #56,710 | #61,734 | -8.9% |
| Count | 360 | 351 | -2.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.12 | 0.12 | -2.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Syvertsen bearers went from 360 to 351 (-2.5% change). The surname moved down 5,024 positions in the national ranking, going from #56,710 to #61,734.
FAQ
Syvertsen surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Syvertsen?
Name Census estimates that about 403 living Americans carry the surname Syvertsen. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 850,507 residents.
How common is Syvertsen?
Syvertsen ranks #61,734 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.12 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 351 people with the surname Syvertsen. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (403), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.12 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.12 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 Syvertsen.
Has Syvertsen become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Syvertsen went from 360 recorded bearers to 351. That is a decrease of 9 (-2.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #56,710 to #61,734.
What does the Census say about the background of Syvertsen?
Among Census respondents with the surname Syvertsen, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.8%) and Hispanic (2.6%). 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 Syvertsen in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.7% (322 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Syvertsen appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.7%), Two or More Races (2.8%), Hispanic (2.6%). 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 Syvertsen (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 Syvertsen mean?
A patronymic surname of Scandinavian origin meaning "son of Syvert". 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 Syvertsen (0.12 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 Syvertsen?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the last name Syvertsen at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.