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Name Lineage

    The surname Olson

    A Swedish patronymic surname, carried by 164,035 people in the United States.

    Pronounced /ˈoʊlsən/ 2 syllables Soundex O425

    Olson: #157 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott#10Martinez#1,000Archer#10,001Dubon Olson #157, 164,035 people Olson: #157 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott Olson #157, 164,035 people
    Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Olson is more common than 99.9% of them.

    Origin

    Swedish origin

    In the USA, a common anglicization of Swedish Olsson and Danish and Norwegian Olsen, all meaning "son of Olaf".

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

    One of 133 Swedish surnames on this site.

    Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

    How common it is

    2010 US Census

    There were 164,035 people named Olson in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 1,882 Americans. That is about the same as in 2000, when the Census counted 163,502.

    #157
    rank among US surnames
    164,035
    people in 2010
    56
    per 100,000 Americans
    +0.3%
    change since 2000 (was #136)
    RankSurnamePeople1 in
    #148Vargas173,8351,776
    #149Henry170,9641,806
    #150Chen169,5801,821
    #151Freeman169,1491,825
    #152Webb168,8781,828
    #153Tucker167,4461,844
    #154Guzman167,0441,848

    Who is named Olson

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

    95% of people named Olson identified as white (not Hispanic), 2.0% as Hispanic or Latino (any race) and 1.4% as two or more races.

    • White (not Hispanic) 95%
    • Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.0%
    • Two or more races 1.4%
    • American Indian and Alaska Native 0.7%
    • Asian and Pacific Islander 0.7%
    • Black (not Hispanic) 0.4%

    Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

    Spellings and sound-alikes

    Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

    Variant spellings

    Surnames that sound like Olson

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

    Other Swedish surnames

    All 133 Swedish surnames

    Questions

    Where does the surname Olson come from?
    In the USA, a common anglicization of Swedish Olsson and Danish and Norwegian Olsen, all meaning "son of Olaf".
    How common is the surname Olson?
    164,035 people in the United States had the surname Olson in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 1,882 Americans. It ranked 157th of 162,253 surnames.
    What ethnicity is the surname Olson?
    In the 2010 Census, 95% of people named Olson identified as white (not Hispanic), and 2.0% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).
    How do you pronounce Olson?
    Olson is /ˈoʊlsən/, 2 syllables.
    What type of surname is Olson?
    Olson is a patronymic surname, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.
    Is the surname Olson getting more or less common?
    More common. 163,502 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 164,035 in 2010, up 0.3%.
    What are other spellings of Olson?
    Oleson.