2000
#132,259
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Truedson
An English surname likely derived from "true son", denoting a legal or legitimate heir.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 116 Americans carry the last name Truedson. That puts it at #155,270 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,954,779 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Truedson 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
116
1 in 2,954,779
Census rank
#155,270
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
101
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 101 bearers of the surname Truedson in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 155270th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Truedson, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.0%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (2.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Truedson
The surname TRUEDSON has its origins in Scandinavia, particularly in the regions of Norway and Sweden during the Middle Ages. It is believed to be derived from the Old Norse words "trú" meaning "true" and "son," indicating a literal translation of "true son" or "trustworthy son."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Icelandic Sagas, which are narratives depicting the lives and struggles of prominent Norse families between the 9th and 11th centuries. The name TRUEDSON appears in the Saga of Gisli Sursson, where it is mentioned in reference to a character named Thorstein Truedson.
During the Viking Age, the TRUEDSON name was commonly associated with individuals of noble or respected lineage, as the concept of being a "true son" carried significant weight in Norse society. The name was likely bestowed upon those born to prominent families or as a way to acknowledge the integrity and loyalty of an individual.
In the 13th century, a variant spelling of the name, "Trwdsyn," was recorded in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of land ownership in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. This suggests that individuals bearing the TRUEDSON name had migrated to England during the Norse invasions and settlements in the British Isles.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the TRUEDSON surname was Olaf Truedson, a Norwegian chieftain who lived in the late 10th century and is mentioned in the Heimskringla, a collection of Norse sagas written by the Icelandic scholar Snorri Sturluson (1179-1241).
Another notable figure was Haakon Truedson, a Norwegian nobleman and military commander who played a pivotal role in the Battle of Stiklestad in 1030, where King Olaf II of Norway was slain. Haakon Truedson was born around 995 and died in 1064.
In the 15th century, the name TRUEDSON appeared in records from the town of Roskilde in Denmark, where a merchant named Bjorn Truedson was documented as having traded goods with merchants from the Hanseatic League, a powerful economic alliance of merchant guilds and towns in Northern Europe.
During the 16th century, a Swedish clergyman named Erik Truedson (1508-1583) gained prominence as a Lutheran reformer and served as the Archbishop of Uppsala, one of the most influential religious positions in Sweden at the time.
Throughout its history, the TRUEDSON surname has been associated with individuals of integrity, loyalty, and noble heritage, reflecting the cultural values and societal structures of the Norse and Scandinavian regions from which it originated.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Truedson
Among Census respondents with the surname Truedson, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.0%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (2.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Truedson 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 Truedson surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White98.0% · 99
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.0% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Truedson
Truedson 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
#152,628
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 107
-11 bearers (-9.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 20,369 places
2020
#155,270
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 101
-6 bearers (-5.6%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 2,642 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #132,259 | 118 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #152,628 | 107 | 0.04 | -11 bearers (-9.3%) | Down 20,369 places |
| 2020 | #155,270 | 101 | 0.03 | -6 bearers (-5.6%) | Down 2,642 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 Truedson 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 | #152,628 | #155,270 | -1.7% |
| Count | 107 | 101 | -5.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -15.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Truedson bearers went from 107 to 101 (-5.6% change). The surname moved down 2,642 positions in the national ranking, going from #152,628 to #155,270.
FAQ
Truedson surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Truedson?
Name Census estimates that about 116 living Americans carry the surname Truedson. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,954,779 residents.
How common is Truedson?
Truedson ranks #155,270 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 101 people with the surname Truedson. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (116), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Truedson.
Has Truedson become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Truedson went from 107 recorded bearers to 101. That is a decrease of 6 (-5.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #152,628 to #155,270.
What does the Census say about the background of Truedson?
Among Census respondents with the surname Truedson, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.0%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (2.0%). 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 Truedson in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.0% (99 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Truedson appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (98.0%), American Indian/Alaska Native (2.0%). 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 Truedson (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 Truedson mean?
An English surname likely derived from "true son", denoting a legal or legitimate heir. 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 Truedson (0.03 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 many Americans have the surname Truedson?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.