2000
#144,908
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 105
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Wincentsen
A toponymic surname likely referring to someone from Wincent, a Dutch place name.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 132 Americans carry the last name Wincentsen. That puts it at #145,757 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,596,624 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Wincentsen 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
132
1 in 2,596,624
Census rank
#145,757
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
115
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 115 bearers of the surname Wincentsen in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 145757th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Wincentsen, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.8%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (2.6%) and Hispanic (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Wincentsen
The surname Wincentsen has its origins in Scandinavia, specifically in Denmark and Norway. The name emerged around the 16th century and is derived from a patronymic form meaning "son of Vincent." The given name Vincent itself has Latin roots, originating from the word "vincere," which means "to conquer." The suffix sen is a common Scandinavian patronymic suffix, indicating "son of."
Wincentsen is closely related to other variations such as Wincentson and Vincentson, which emerged in different regions but carried the same underlying meaning. The name is relatively rare and did not appear frequently in historical documents, but instances can be found in church records and legal documents from the late 16th and early 17th centuries, particularly in Danish and Norwegian contexts.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname is in a 1593 baptismal record in Jutland, Denmark, where a boy named Jens Wincentsen was baptized. Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, the Wincentsen family name spread to various parts of Norway, including regional towns and smaller villages, often associated with farming and artisanal occupations.
A notable individual from the 18th century was Lars Wincentsen, a farmer from the village of Vestfold in Norway, who played a significant role in local community leadership and is mentioned in the regional archives dating back to 1754. Another member, Henrik Wincentsen, born in 1798 in Copenhagen, Denmark, was known for his contributions to early 19th-century Danish literature and theological discourse.
Moving into the 19th century, Hans Wincentsen, born in 1820, made a name for himself as a shipbuilder in Aalesund, Norway. His work contributed to the maritime boom in the region, and records from 1856 detail his innovations in ship design listed in the maritime registries.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, some members of the Wincentsen family emigrated to the United States, seeking better opportunities. Among them was Ole Wincentsen, who arrived in Ellis Island in 1892 and eventually settled in Minnesota, where he became a prominent figure in local Norwegian-American communities.
Olaf Wincentsen, born in 1889, was another notable figure and a descendent of the Wincentsen lineage. He was a well-regarded engineer who contributed to early structural developments in urban areas in both Norway and the United States, leaving behind a legacy documented in engineering journals of the time.
The surname Wincentsen's history reflects a modest but enduring familial lineage that has contributed to various facets of Scandinavian and emigrant American life.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Wincentsen
Among Census respondents with the surname Wincentsen, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.8%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (2.6%) and Hispanic (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Wincentsen 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 Wincentsen surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.8% · 109
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.6% · 3
- Hispanic or Latino1.7% · 2
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Wincentsen
Wincentsen 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
#131,379
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 129
+24 bearers (+22.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 13,529 places
2020
#145,757
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
-14 bearers (-10.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 14,378 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #144,908 | 105 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #131,379 | 129 | 0.04 | +24 bearers (+22.9%) | Up 13,529 places |
| 2020 | #145,757 | 115 | 0.04 | -14 bearers (-10.9%) | Down 14,378 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 Wincentsen 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 | #131,379 | #145,757 | -10.9% |
| Count | 129 | 115 | -10.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -3.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Wincentsen bearers went from 129 to 115 (-10.9% change). The surname moved down 14,378 positions in the national ranking, going from #131,379 to #145,757.
FAQ
Wincentsen surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Wincentsen?
Name Census estimates that about 132 living Americans carry the surname Wincentsen. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,596,624 residents.
How common is Wincentsen?
Wincentsen ranks #145,757 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 115 people with the surname Wincentsen. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (132), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Wincentsen.
Has Wincentsen become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Wincentsen went from 129 recorded bearers to 115. That is a decrease of 14 (-10.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #131,379 to #145,757.
What does the Census say about the background of Wincentsen?
Among Census respondents with the surname Wincentsen, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.8%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (2.6%) and Hispanic (1.7%). 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 Wincentsen in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.8% (109 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Wincentsen appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.8%), Asian/Pacific Islander (2.6%), Hispanic (1.7%). 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 Wincentsen (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 Wincentsen mean?
A toponymic surname likely referring to someone from Wincent, a Dutch place name. 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 Wincentsen (0.04 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 Wincentsen?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.