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Name Lineage

    The surname Neilson

    A patronymic surname, carried by 6,553 people in the United States.

    Pronounced /ˈniːl.sən/ 2 syllables Soundex N425

    Neilson: #5,319 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott#10Martinez#100Jimenez#1,000Archer Neilson #5,319, 6,553 people Neilson: #5,319 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott#100Jimenez Neilson #5,319, 6,553 people
    Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Neilson is more common than 96.7% of them.

    Origin

    From Neil + -son.

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

    Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

    How common it is

    2010 US Census

    There were 6,553 people named Neilson in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 47,115 Americans. That is up 4.1% since 2000, when the Census counted 6,297.

    #5,319
    rank among US surnames
    6,553
    people in 2010
    2.2
    per 100,000 Americans
    +4.1%
    change since 2000 (was #5,114)
    RankSurnamePeople1 in
    #5,315Mallett6,55647,094
    #5,316Barcia6,55547,101
    #5,317McCleary6,55447,108
    #5,319Giese6,55347,115

    Who is named Neilson

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

    92% of people named Neilson identified as white (not Hispanic), 2.4% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.4% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

    • White (not Hispanic) 92%
    • Black (not Hispanic) 2.4%
    • Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.4%
    • Two or more races 1.7%
    • Asian and Pacific Islander 0.6%
    • American Indian and Alaska Native 0.6%

    Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

    Famous Neilsons

    3 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

    • Sandy Neilson
      American swimmer, Olympic gold medalist, former world record holder, born 1956
    • James Neilson
      American television director (1909–1979)
    • Adelaide Neilson
      British actress (1848-1880)

    Notable Neilsons come mostly from the United States (2) and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1).

    Spellings and sound-alikes

    Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

    Surnames that sound like Neilson

    Neilson has the Soundex code N425, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code N425.

    Questions

    Where does the surname Neilson come from?
    From Neil + -son.
    How common is the surname Neilson?
    6,553 people in the United States had the surname Neilson in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 47,115 Americans. It ranked 5,319th of 162,253 surnames.
    What ethnicity is the surname Neilson?
    In the 2010 Census, 92% of people named Neilson identified as white (not Hispanic), and 2.4% as Black (not Hispanic).
    Who is the most famous person named Neilson?
    Sandy Neilson, American swimmer, Olympic gold medalist, former world record holder, followed by James Neilson.
    Where is the surname Neilson most common?
    Wikidata records people named Neilson in the United States and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
    How do you pronounce Neilson?
    Neilson is /ˈniːl.sən/, 2 syllables.
    What type of surname is Neilson?
    Neilson is a patronymic surname, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.
    Is the surname Neilson getting more or less common?
    More common. 6,297 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 6,553 in 2010, up 4.1%.