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

Urness, 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 Urness surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Urness in America

Urness is the 35147th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Urness surname appeared 641 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 Urness.

We can also compare 2010 data for Urness 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 Urness

The surname Urness is believed to have originated in Norway during the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Old Norse word "urð," meaning "fate" or "destiny." This suggests that the name might have been given to someone who was considered to have a strong connection to the concept of fate or destiny.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Urness can be found in the Diplomatarium Norvegicum, a collection of medieval Norwegian documents dating back to the 13th century. In this collection, a person named Thorstein Urness is mentioned in a document from the year 1298.

The name Urness is also closely linked to the village of Urnes, located in the Luster municipality of Norway. This village is home to the Urnes Stave Church, a remarkable example of Norwegian medieval architecture dating back to the 12th century. It is possible that the surname Urness originated from this specific location.

In the 16th century, a Norwegian scholar and historian named Erik Valkendorf (c. 1465-1542) mentioned the surname Urness in his writings, suggesting that the name was well-established in Norway by that time.

One notable individual with the surname Urness was Olav Urness (1540-1608), a Norwegian priest and scholar who served as the Bishop of Stavanger from 1596 until his death.

Another significant figure was Peder Urness (1570-1638), a Norwegian mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the development of trigonometry and astronomical calculations.

In the 19th century, the surname Urness gained prominence with the birth of Ole Urness (1825-1902), a Norwegian-American farmer and pioneer who settled in Minnesota, United States, and played a crucial role in the early development of the Norwegian-American community in the region.

It is worth noting that while the surname Urness is relatively uncommon, it has been found in various parts of the world, likely due to Norwegian migration and settlement patterns over the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Urness

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

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

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

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