2000
#135,837
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Tallakson
A patronymic surname derived from a Norwegian given name meaning "tall son".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 136 Americans carry the last name Tallakson. That puts it at #142,788 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,520,252 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Tallakson 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
136
1 in 2,520,252
Census rank
#142,788
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
119
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 119 bearers of the surname Tallakson in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 142788th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Tallakson, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (10.9%) and Hispanic (6.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Tallakson
The surname TALLAKSON is of Norwegian origin, with its roots tracing back to the Viking era of the 8th to 11th centuries. The name is believed to have derived from the Old Norse words "tallr" meaning "pine tree" and "akr" meaning "field," suggesting it may have initially referred to someone who lived near a pine field or forest.
In the early days, surnames were often descriptive, indicating a person's occupation, location, or physical characteristics. The TALLAKSON name likely originated as a locational surname, referring to a specific area or settlement where pine trees were abundant.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the TALLAKSON name dates back to the 12th century, found in the Icelandic Sagas, a collection of historical and literary works documenting the lives of Scandinavian settlers in Iceland. A prominent figure bearing this surname was Tallak Tallakson, a renowned Viking chieftain who led raids along the coasts of present-day Norway and Scotland in the late 9th century.
During the Middle Ages, the TALLAKSON name appeared in various Norwegian and Icelandic records, such as the Landnámabók, a medieval Icelandic manuscript detailing the settlement of Iceland. One notable individual from this period was Gunnhild Tallakson (c. 1230-1298), a prominent landowner and chieftain in western Iceland.
As the centuries passed, the TALLAKSON name spread throughout Norway and other Scandinavian regions. In the 16th century, Olav Tallakson (1510-1587) was a respected merchant and shipowner from Bergen, Norway, who played a significant role in the city's trade with other European nations.
In the 19th century, the TALLAKSON name gained further recognition with the birth of Hans Tallakson (1835-1912), a renowned Norwegian explorer and cartographer who led several expeditions to the Arctic regions and made significant contributions to the mapping of Svalbard.
Another notable figure was Ingrid Tallakson (1892-1978), a Norwegian-American writer and activist who advocated for women's rights and played a pivotal role in the early feminist movement in the United States.
Throughout its history, the TALLAKSON surname has undergone various spelling variations, such as Tallaksson, Tallaksen, and Tallaksen, reflecting regional dialects and linguistic changes over time. However, the name's strong connection to its Scandinavian roots and the symbolism of pine trees and fields has remained a consistent thread in its etymology.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tallakson
Among Census respondents with the surname Tallakson, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (10.9%) and Hispanic (6.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Tallakson 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 Tallakson surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White79.8% · 95
- Two or more races10.9% · 13
- Hispanic or Latino6.7% · 8
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 2
- Black or African American0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Tallakson
Tallakson 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
#123,064
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 140
+26 bearers (+22.8%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Up 12,773 places
2020
#142,788
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119
-21 bearers (-15.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 19,724 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #135,837 | 114 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #123,064 | 140 | 0.05 | +26 bearers (+22.8%) | Up 12,773 places |
| 2020 | #142,788 | 119 | 0.04 | -21 bearers (-15.0%) | Down 19,724 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 Tallakson 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 | #123,064 | #142,788 | -16.0% |
| Count | 140 | 119 | -15.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.04 | -20.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Tallakson bearers went from 140 to 119 (-15.0% change). The surname moved down 19,724 positions in the national ranking, going from #123,064 to #142,788.
FAQ
Tallakson surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Tallakson?
Name Census estimates that about 136 living Americans carry the surname Tallakson. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,520,252 residents.
How common is Tallakson?
Tallakson ranks #142,788 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 119 people with the surname Tallakson. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (136), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Tallakson.
Has Tallakson become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Tallakson went from 140 recorded bearers to 119. That is a decrease of 21 (-15.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #123,064 to #142,788.
What does the Census say about the background of Tallakson?
Among Census respondents with the surname Tallakson, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (10.9%) and Hispanic (6.7%). 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 Tallakson in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.8% (95 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Tallakson appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (79.8%), Two or More Races (10.9%), Hispanic (6.7%). 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 Tallakson (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 Tallakson mean?
A patronymic surname derived from a Norwegian given name meaning "tall son". 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 Tallakson (0.04 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 Tallakson?
See how many people are called Tallakson on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.