Last Names

Surnames / N

Nansen

How common is the last name Nansen?

About this name

We do not yet have a written origin for Nansen, so here is what the census records show.

Surname origins are rarely settled, and we would rather say nothing than guess. The sources below are the best places to look, and our guide to how surnames began explains the usual types.

Names nearby in the census

#103,655

Nansen was the 103,655th most common surname in the 2010 US Census, with 173 people, about 0.1 in every 100,000.

Who carries it

  • White (non-Hispanic)64.7%
  • Hispanic or Latino2.9%
  • Black (non-Hispanic)<0.1%
  • Asian or Pacific Islander20.2%
  • Two or more races9.3%
  • American Indian or Alaska Native<0.1%

The Census Bureau withholds some figures for small groups, so these shares add up to 97.1%.

Check the sources

For a name you are serious about, compare the dictionaries: Reaney and Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames; Hanks, Dictionary of American Family Names.