2000
#135,837
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Frigaard
A Danish place name referring to someone who lived near a bog or marshy area.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 131 Americans carry the last name Frigaard. That puts it at #146,495 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,616,445 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Frigaard surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
131
1 in 2,616,445
Census rank
#146,495
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
114
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 114 bearers of the surname Frigaard in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 146495th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Frigaard, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.6%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Frigaard
The surname Frigaard originates from Denmark, where it first emerged during the medieval period. It is derived from the Old Danish words "fryg," meaning "cold," and "gaard," meaning "farm" or "homestead." This suggests that the name was likely given to someone who resided on a farm or homestead located in a particularly cold or exposed region.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Frigaard can be found in the Danish Census Rolls of 1572, where a farmer named Niels Frigaard is listed as residing in the village of Hvalsø, located in the eastern part of Zealand. This suggests that the name had already been in use for several generations by that point.
In the 17th century, the Frigaard surname is mentioned in several historical documents related to the Danish city of Aalborg. For example, a merchant named Jens Frigaard is recorded as having been involved in trade dealings with the Dutch East India Company in the 1640s.
During the 18th century, the name Frigaard began to spread beyond Denmark, with some individuals bearing the surname immigrating to other parts of Scandinavia and Europe. One notable figure from this period was Hans Frigaard (1712-1789), a Danish-born military officer who served in the Swedish army during the Great Northern War.
In the 19th century, as immigration from Scandinavia to the Americas increased, the Frigaard surname began to appear in various records and documents related to these new settlements. For instance, a farmer named Ole Frigaard (1825-1901) is recorded as having immigrated to the United States from Norway in the 1850s, settling in the state of Wisconsin.
Other notable individuals with the surname Frigaard include the Danish painter and illustrator Vilhelm Frigaard (1838-1889), the Norwegian explorer and Arctic researcher Fridtjof Frigaard (1861-1930), and the Swedish author and playwright Ingrid Frigaard (1896-1972).
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Frigaard
Among Census respondents with the surname Frigaard, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.6%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Frigaard bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Frigaard surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White96.5% · 110
- Two or more races2.6% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Frigaard
Frigaard appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#125,282
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 137
+23 bearers (+20.2%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Up 10,555 places
2020
#146,495
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114
-23 bearers (-16.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 21,213 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #135,837 | 114 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #125,282 | 137 | 0.05 | +23 bearers (+20.2%) | Up 10,555 places |
| 2020 | #146,495 | 114 | 0.04 | -23 bearers (-16.8%) | Down 21,213 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Frigaard surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #125,282 | #146,495 | -16.9% |
| Count | 137 | 114 | -16.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.04 | -23.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Frigaard bearers went from 137 to 114 (-16.8% change). The surname moved down 21,213 positions in the national ranking, going from #125,282 to #146,495.
FAQ
Frigaard surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Frigaard?
Name Census estimates that about 131 living Americans carry the surname Frigaard. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,616,445 residents.
How common is Frigaard?
Frigaard ranks #146,495 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 114 people with the surname Frigaard. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (131), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Frigaard.
Has Frigaard become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Frigaard went from 137 recorded bearers to 114. That is a decrease of 23 (-16.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #125,282 to #146,495.
What does the Census say about the background of Frigaard?
Among Census respondents with the surname Frigaard, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.6%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (0.9%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Frigaard in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.5% (110 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Frigaard appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (96.5%), Two or More Races (2.6%), American Indian/Alaska Native (0.9%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Frigaard (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Frigaard mean?
A Danish place name referring to someone who lived near a bog or marshy area. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Frigaard (0.04 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many Americans have the surname Frigaard?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.