How common is the surname Olsen?

59,356 people in the United States had the surname Olsen in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 5,202 Americans. It ranked 566th of 162,253 surnames.

What ethnicity is the surname Olsen?

In the 2010 Census, 94% of people named Olsen identified as white (not Hispanic), and 2.6% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

Who is the most famous person named Olsen?

Elizabeth Olsen, American actress (born 1989), followed by Mary-Kate Olsen.

Where is the surname Olsen most common?

Wikidata records people named Olsen in the United States, Spain and Austria and 2 other countries.

Is the surname Olsen getting more or less common?

More common. 57,357 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 59,356 in 2010, up 3.5%.

The surname Olsen

A Danish patronymic surname, carried by 59,356 people in the United States.

2 syllables Soundex O425

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Olsen is more common than 99.7% of them.

Origin

Danish origin

Borrowed from Danish Olsen, patronymic from Ole + -sen.

Olsen 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 59,356 people named Olsen in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 5,202 Americans. That is up 3.5% since 2000, when the Census counted 57,357.

#566

rank among US surnames

59,356

people in 2010

per 100,000 Americans

+3.5%

change since 2000 (was #521)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#557	Shepherd	60,479	5,105
#558	Bautista	60,264	5,123
#559	Ali	60,002	5,146
#560	Shaffer	59,943	5,151
#561	Lamb	59,913	5,153
#562	Trevino	59,882	5,156
#563	McKenzie	59,595	5,181

Who is named Olsen

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

94% of people named Olsen identified as white (not Hispanic), 2.6% as Hispanic or Latino (any race) and 1.8% as two or more races.

White (not Hispanic) 94%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.6%
Two or more races 1.8%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.8%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.8%
Black (not Hispanic) 0.3%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Olsens

27 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Elizabeth Olsen
American actress (born 1989)
Mary-Kate Olsen
American businesswoman and actress (born 1986)
Ashley Olsen
American businesswoman, fashion designer and actress (born 1986)
Eric Christian Olsen
American actor, born 1977
Ken Olsen
American engineer and businessman (1926–2011)
Gregory Olsen
American astronaut and businessman, born 1945
Ben Olsen
American soccer player and coach, born 1977
Angel Olsen
American indie pop singer-songwriter, born 1987
Jon Olsen
American swimmer, born 1969
Moroni Olsen
American actor (1889–1954)
Merlin Olsen
American football player and actor (1940-2010)
Tillie Olsen
American writer (1912–2007)

Notable Olsens come mostly from the United States (23), Spain (1) and Austria (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Olsen

Olsen has the Soundex code O425, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code O425.

Other Danish surnames

All 50 Danish surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Olsen come from?: Borrowed from Danish Olsen, patronymic from Ole + -sen.
How common is the surname Olsen?: 59,356 people in the United States had the surname Olsen in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 5,202 Americans. It ranked 566th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Olsen?: In the 2010 Census, 94% of people named Olsen identified as white (not Hispanic), and 2.6% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).
Who is the most famous person named Olsen?: Elizabeth Olsen, American actress (born 1989), followed by Mary-Kate Olsen.
Where is the surname Olsen most common?: Wikidata records people named Olsen in the United States, Spain and Austria and 2 other countries.
What type of surname is Olsen?: Olsen is a patronymic surname, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.
Is the surname Olsen getting more or less common?: More common. 57,357 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 59,356 in 2010, up 3.5%.