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

Thorson, 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 Thorson surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Thorson in America

Thorson is the 5173rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Thorson surname appeared 6,752 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Thorson.

We can also compare 2010 data for Thorson 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 Thorson

The surname Thorson originated in Scandinavia, particularly in Norway and Sweden, during the medieval period. It is derived from the Old Norse words "Þórr" (the name of the god of thunder) and "son" (son of), meaning "son of Thor."

The name likely emerged as a patronymic, indicating lineage from an ancestor named Thor or someone who followed the worship of the god Thor. Variations of the spelling include Thorsen, Thórsson, and Torstenson.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Thorson can be found in the Icelandic Sagas, which date back to the 13th century. These literary works often mentioned individuals with patronymic surnames like Thorson.

In the 14th century, a Norwegian chieftain named Thorstein Thorson was mentioned in historical records for his involvement in a conflict with the King of Norway.

During the Viking Age, many Scandinavians migrated to other parts of Europe, and it is possible that the surname Thorson was introduced to regions like Britain and parts of mainland Europe through these migrations.

A notable figure bearing the surname Thorson was Niels Thorson, a Danish explorer who accompanied Vitus Bering on his expeditions to the North Pacific in the 1730s.

In the 19th century, a Swedish immigrant to the United States named Johan Thorson became a successful businessman and landowner in Minnesota.

Another prominent individual with the surname was Sven Thorson, a Norwegian-American author and academic who wrote extensively about Scandinavian culture and literature in the early 20th century (1874-1947).

The Thorson name also appears in various place names, such as Thorson Creek in Alaska and Thorson Prairie in Minnesota, reflecting the geographic spread of individuals bearing this surname.

Overall, the surname Thorson has a long history rooted in Scandinavian culture and mythology, with its earliest known origins dating back to the medieval period.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Thorson

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

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

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

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