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Name Lineage

    The surname Carlson

    A Danish patronymic surname, carried by 120,552 people in the United States.

    2 syllables Soundex C642

    Carlson: #252 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott#10Martinez#100Jimenez#1,000Archer#10,001Dubon Carlson #252, 120,552 people Carlson: #252 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott Carlson #252, 120,552 people
    Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Carlson is more common than 99.8% of them.

    Origin

    Danish origin

    Borrowed from Danish and Norwegian Carlsen, equivalent to Carl + -son.

    Carlson is a patronymic surname: formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.

    One of 50 Danish surnames on this site.

    Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

    How common it is

    2010 US Census

    There were 120,552 people named Carlson in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 2,561 Americans. That is about the same as in 2000, when the Census counted 120,124.

    #252
    rank among US surnames
    120,552
    people in 2010
    41
    per 100,000 Americans
    +0.4%
    change since 2000 (was #225)
    RankSurnamePeople1 in
    #243Wheeler125,0582,469
    #244Valdez124,9952,470
    #245Harper124,4612,481
    #246Burke122,8772,513
    #247Larson122,5872,519
    #248Santiago122,2122,526
    #249Maldonado121,5262,541

    Who is named Carlson

    Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

    95% of people named Carlson identified as white (not Hispanic), 2.1% as Hispanic or Latino (any race) and 1.4% as two or more races.

    • White (not Hispanic) 95%
    • Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.1%
    • Two or more races 1.4%
    • Asian and Pacific Islander 0.8%
    • American Indian and Alaska Native 0.5%
    • Black (not Hispanic) 0.5%

    Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

    Famous Carlsons

    25 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

    • Tucker Carlson
      American conservative political commentator (born 1969)
    • Chester Carlson
      American physicist (1906-1968)
    • Amy Carlson
      American actress, born 1968
    • Gretchen Carlson
      American broadcast journalist, author, television personality and female empowerment advoc, born 1966
    • Richard Carlson
      American actor, television and film director, and screenwriter (1912–1977)
    • John Carlson
      American ice hockey player, born 1990
    • Frank Carlson
      American politician who served as the 30th Governor of Kansas (1893–1987)
    • Jessica Carlson
      American actress, born 1993
    • Linda Carlson
      Actress, 1945–2021
    • Carolyn Carlson
      American dancer, born 1943
    • Dylan Carlson
      American guitarist, born 1968
    • Leslie Carlson
      American actor (1933-2014)

    Notable Carlsons come mostly from the United States (24) and Germany (1).

    Spellings and sound-alikes

    Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

    Variant spellings

    Surnames that sound like Carlson

    Carlson has the Soundex code C642, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code C642.

    Other Danish surnames

    All 50 Danish surnames

    Questions

    Where does the surname Carlson come from?
    Borrowed from Danish and Norwegian Carlsen, equivalent to Carl + -son.
    How common is the surname Carlson?
    120,552 people in the United States had the surname Carlson in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 2,561 Americans. It ranked 252nd of 162,253 surnames.
    What ethnicity is the surname Carlson?
    In the 2010 Census, 95% of people named Carlson identified as white (not Hispanic), and 2.1% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).
    Who is the most famous person named Carlson?
    Tucker Carlson, American conservative political commentator (born 1969), followed by Chester Carlson.
    Where is the surname Carlson most common?
    Wikidata records people named Carlson in the United States and Germany.
    What type of surname is Carlson?
    Carlson is a patronymic surname, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.
    Is the surname Carlson getting more or less common?
    More common. 120,124 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 120,552 in 2010, up 0.4%.
    What are other spellings of Carlson?
    Carlsen.