2000
#32,703
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 662
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.25
Very Rare Last name
Urness
A surname derived from the Old Norse word "urð" meaning a rocky promontory or headland.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 783 Americans carry the last name Urness. That puts it at #35,485 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.23 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 437,745 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Urness 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
783
1 in 437,745
Census rank
#35,485
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
683
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 683 bearers of the surname Urness in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.23 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 35485th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Urness, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Urness
Among Census respondents with the surname Urness, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Urness 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 Urness surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.5% · 632
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 26
- Two or more races2.8% · 19
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Urness
Urness 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
#35,147
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 641
-21 bearers (-3.2%)
Per 100,000 0.22
Rank movement Down 2,444 places
2020
#35,485
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 683
+42 bearers (+6.6%)
Per 100,000 0.23
Rank movement Down 338 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #32,703 | 662 | 0.25 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #35,147 | 641 | 0.22 | -21 bearers (-3.2%) | Down 2,444 places |
| 2020 | #35,485 | 683 | 0.23 | +42 bearers (+6.6%) | Down 338 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 Urness 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 | #35,147 | #35,485 | -1.0% |
| Count | 641 | 683 | 6.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.22 | 0.23 | 3.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Urness bearers went from 641 to 683 (+6.6% change). The surname moved down 338 positions in the national ranking, going from #35,147 to #35,485.
FAQ
Urness surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Urness?
Name Census estimates that about 783 living Americans carry the surname Urness. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 437,745 residents.
How common is Urness?
Urness ranks #35,485 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.23 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 683 people with the surname Urness. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (783), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.23 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.23 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 Urness.
Has Urness become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Urness went from 641 recorded bearers to 683. That is an increase of 42 (+6.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #35,147 to #35,485.
What does the Census say about the background of Urness?
Among Census respondents with the surname Urness, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Urness in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.5% (632 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Urness appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.5%), Hispanic (3.8%), Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Urness (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 Urness mean?
A surname derived from the Old Norse word "urð" meaning a rocky promontory or headland. 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 Urness (0.23 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 people have the surname Urness?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.