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

Theunissen, 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 Theunissen surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Theunissen in America

Theunissen is the 72105th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Theunissen surname appeared 270 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 Theunissen.

We can also compare 2010 data for Theunissen 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 Theunissen

The surname Theunissen originated in the Netherlands during the late Middle Ages. It is a patronymic name, derived from the Medieval Dutch given name Theun, which is a shortened form of the Germanic name Theodwin, meaning "people's friend" or "national friend." The suffix "-issen" or "-issen" was added to create the patronymic form, indicating "son of Theun."

The earliest recorded instances of the Theunissen surname can be traced back to the 14th century in various regions of the Netherlands, including Friesland, Groningen, and Drenthe. Some of the earliest known bearers of the name include Heyne Theunissen, who was mentioned in a record from Groningen in 1387, and Symon Theunissen, who was recorded in a document from Deventer in 1424.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Theunissen surname became more widespread as Dutch settlers and traders ventured to other parts of Europe and the Dutch colonies. In the 17th century, the name was found in records from the Dutch Cape Colony in South Africa, indicating that some Theunissens had emigrated there during the early years of Dutch colonization.

One notable bearer of the Theunissen surname was Gerrit Theunissen, a Dutch sailor and explorer who was part of the crew of the ship Duyfken, which made the first documented European landing on the Australian mainland in 1606. Another prominent individual was Adriaen Theunissen, a Dutch Golden Age painter active in the mid-17th century, known for his landscape paintings and scenes of everyday life.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, the Theunissen surname continued to be found in various parts of the Netherlands, as well as in Dutch communities in other countries. For example, Johannes Cornelis Theunissen (1787-1857) was a Dutch-born entrepreneur and landowner who settled in South Africa and played a significant role in the development of the Cape Colony.

Other notable individuals with the Theunissen surname include Antonie Theunissen (1872-1935), a Dutch painter and etcher known for his landscapes and cityscapes, and Joachim Theunissen (1932-2016), a Dutch philosopher and academic who specialized in phenomenology and the works of Martin Heidegger.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Theunissen

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

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

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

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