Utne last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Utne

A topographic surname referring to someone living near an outlying farm or dwelling.

Utne, 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 Utne surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Utne in America

Utne is the 145220th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Utne surname appeared 114 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 Utne.

We can also compare 2010 data for Utne 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 145220 124109 15.68%
Count 114 128 -11.57%
Proportion per 100k 0.04 0.05 -22.22%

The history of the last name Utne

The surname Utne has its origins in Norway, where it first emerged during the medieval period. The name is believed to be derived from the Old Norse words "Ășt" meaning "out" and "nes" meaning "headland" or "promontory." This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone who lived near a prominent coastal outcropping or on a remote peninsula.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Utne surname can be found in the Diplomatarium Norvegicum, a collection of medieval Norwegian documents dating back to the 12th century. In a charter from 1342, a man named Thorvald Utne is mentioned as a witness to a land transaction in the region of Hordaland, on the western coast of Norway.

By the 16th century, the Utne name had spread to various parts of Norway, with families bearing the surname residing in coastal areas as well as inland regions. In the 1567 census of the Stavanger region, several households with the name Utne are listed, indicating that the name had become well-established in that part of the country.

One notable bearer of the Utne surname was Nils Utne (1560-1638), a Norwegian clergyman who served as the bishop of the Diocese of Stavanger from 1622 until his death. Another significant figure was Peder Utne (1684-1757), a wealthy merchant and ship owner from the town of Haugesund, whose trading ventures helped establish Norway's economic ties with countries across Europe.

In the 19th century, the Utne name gained recognition through the work of Hans Utne (1823-1896), a Norwegian philologist and linguist who made significant contributions to the study of the Sami languages. His research helped shed light on the linguistic heritage of the indigenous Sami people of Scandinavia.

Towards the end of the 19th century, the Utne surname began to appear in records of Norwegian immigrants to the United States. One such individual was Ole Utne (1842-1922), who settled in Minnesota and became a prominent farmer and landowner in the region.

Throughout its history, the Utne surname has been associated with various place names and locations in Norway. These include the villages of Utne and Utnefjorden in the municipality of Kvam, as well as the island of Utne in the Hardanger fjord region. These places likely derived their names from the same Old Norse roots as the surname itself, reflecting the close connection between the Utne family and the rugged coastal landscapes of western Norway.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Utne

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

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 Utne was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 94.74% 108
Non-Hispanic Black Only 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races (S)% (S)
Hispanic Origin (S)% (S)

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 Utne has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 94.74% 96.88% -2.23%
Black 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
Asian and Pacific Islander (S)% (S)% (S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
Two or More Races (S)% (S)% (S)%
Hispanic (S)% (S)% (S)%

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

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

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"Utne last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on December 22, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/utne-surname-popularity/.

"Utne last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/utne-surname-popularity/. Accessed 22 December, 2024

Utne last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/utne-surname-popularity/.

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