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

Urdahl, 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 Urdahl surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Urdahl in America

Urdahl is the 62714th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Urdahl surname appeared 319 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 Urdahl.

We can also compare 2010 data for Urdahl 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 Urdahl

The surname Urdahl has its origins in Norway, and it is believed to have emerged during the Middle Ages. The name is derived from the Old Norse words "ur" meaning "stone" and "dal" meaning "valley". This suggests that the name originally referred to someone who lived in a stony valley or a valley with rocky terrain.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Diplomatarium Norvegicum, a collection of Norwegian historical documents dating back to the 13th century. The name is mentioned in a document from 1337, which refers to a person named Torstein Urdahl.

As with many Norwegian surnames, Urdahl was initially used as a descriptive term or a byname to identify a person's place of origin or residence. Over time, it became an inherited family name passed down from generation to generation.

In the late 16th century, a man named Iver Urdahl was recorded as living in the region of Telemark, a county in southern Norway known for its rugged landscape and valleys. It is likely that his ancestors had lived in an area with a stony valley, hence the name Urdahl.

During the 18th century, the name appears in several historical records from the Norwegian parishes of Eidsvoll and Ullensaker, located in the eastern part of the country. One notable individual from this period was Hans Urdahl, a farmer born in Eidsvoll in 1712.

Another prominent figure with the surname Urdahl was Anders Urdahl, a Norwegian politician and farmer who lived from 1828 to 1896. He served as a member of the Storting, the Norwegian parliament, representing the district of Buskerud.

In the 20th century, Rolf Urdahl, born in 1914, gained recognition as a Norwegian actor and director. He appeared in several films and television series, and directed plays for the Norwegian National Theatre.

Sigrid Urdahl, born in 1923, was a Norwegian historian and author known for her research on Norwegian women's history and feminist movements. She published several books and articles on these topics.

While the surname Urdahl is not among the most common in Norway, it has a rich history and reflects the country's tradition of using descriptive bynames derived from geographical features and settlements.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Urdahl

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

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

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

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