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

Tonsager, 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 Tonsager surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Tonsager in America

Tonsager is the 91981st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Tonsager surname appeared 200 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 Tonsager.

We can also compare 2010 data for Tonsager 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 Tonsager

The surname Tonsager originates from Norway, tracing its roots back to the late medieval period around the 13th or 14th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old Norse words "tun" meaning a piece of enclosed land or a farmstead, and "setr" which referred to a mountain pasture or summer farm.

The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in Norwegian parish records and census documents from the 16th and 17th centuries, often appearing in various spellings such as Tonsæter, Tonnsæter, or Tonnsetter. These variations likely reflected the regional dialects and scribal variations of the time.

One notable early bearer of the name was Nils Tonsager, a farmer and landowner who lived in the Gudbrandsdalen valley of Norway in the late 16th century. Records show he held significant landholdings in the area, which may have contributed to the establishment of the surname.

In the 19th century, the name Tonsager began to appear in historical records outside of Norway, as Norwegian emigrants settled in other parts of the world, particularly the United States and Canada. One such individual was Ole Tonsager, born in 1842 in Norway, who immigrated to Wisconsin in the 1860s and became a prominent farmer and community leader.

Another notable figure was Gro Tonsager, a Norwegian-American educator and author who lived from 1878 to 1962. She published several works on Norwegian culture and language, helping to preserve the heritage of Norwegian immigrants in the United States.

In more recent history, the name Tonsager has been carried by individuals such as Marvin Tonsager, an American businessman and philanthropist who co-founded the successful manufacturing company Tonsager Fieldturf in the mid-20th century.

While the surname Tonsager may have originated in a specific region of Norway, it has since spread across the globe, carried by individuals who have made significant contributions in various fields, from agriculture and business to education and literature.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Tonsager

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

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

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

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