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

Thorsen, 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 Thorsen surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Thorsen in America

Thorsen is the 10324th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Thorsen surname appeared 3,121 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Thorsen.

We can also compare 2010 data for Thorsen 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 Thorsen

The surname Thorsen originates from Denmark and is a patronymic name, meaning "son of Thor." It is derived from the Old Norse name Thor, which was the name of the god of thunder in Norse mythology. The name first appeared in the Viking Age (793-1066 AD) in Scandinavia, particularly in Denmark and Norway.

The earliest recorded instances of the name Thorsen can be traced back to the 13th century in Danish and Norwegian medieval records and manuscripts. One of the earliest documented individuals with this surname was Thore Thorsen, a landowner from the village of Brønderslev in northern Denmark, who was mentioned in a land registry from 1268.

In the 14th century, the name Thorsen appeared in the Diplomatarium Norvegicum, a collection of medieval Norwegian diplomas and documents. One notable individual from this time period was Thorvald Thorsen, a Norwegian nobleman and landowner from the Trøndelag region, who was born around 1320.

During the 16th century, the name Thorsen was found in various parish records and census documents from Denmark and Norway. One prominent figure was Hans Thorsen, a Danish merchant and shipowner from Copenhagen, who lived from 1520 to 1592.

In the 17th century, the name Thorsen was associated with several notable individuals, including Ole Thorsen, a Norwegian clergyman and author who lived from 1612 to 1677, and Niels Thorsen, a Danish military officer and landowner from the island of Funen, who was born in 1634.

In the 18th century, the name Thorsen gained prominence with individuals such as Peter Thorsen, a Danish painter and artist who lived from 1722 to 1789, and Hans Christian Thorsen, a Norwegian merchant and ship owner from Bergen, who was born in 1745.

The 19th century saw the name Thorsen continue to be prevalent in Scandinavia, with individuals like Thorvald Thorsen, a Norwegian explorer and Arctic researcher who lived from 1838 to 1901, and Niels Thorsen, a Danish architect and builder who designed several notable buildings in Copenhagen in the latter half of the 19th century.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Thorsen

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

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

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

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