2000
#23,796
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 992
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.37
Rare Last name
Helgerson
From an Anglicized variant of the Scandinavian surname meaning "son of Helger".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,232 Americans carry the last name Helgerson. That puts it at #24,300 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.36 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 278,210 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Helgerson 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
1.2K
1 in 278,210
Census rank
#24,300
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,074 bearers of the surname Helgerson in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.36 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 24300th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Helgerson, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.8%) and Hispanic (1.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Helgerson
The surname Helgerson originates from Sweden, where it emerged in the 16th century as a patronymic name. It is derived from the Old Norse masculine given name Helgi, which means "holy" or "blessed." The suffix "-son" was commonly added to denote "son of."
Helgerson first appeared in Swedish parish records and census documents from the late 16th and early 17th centuries. It was particularly prevalent in the regions of Dalarna and Västmanland, where many early bearers of the name resided.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Helgerson was Lars Helgerson, who was born in the village of Grängesberg, Dalarna, in 1612. Another notable early bearer was Olof Helgerson, a farmer from Norberg, Västmanland, who was mentioned in local records from the mid-17th century.
In the 18th century, the Helgerson surname began to spread beyond its traditional heartland in central Sweden. Johan Helgerson, born in 1725 in Norberg, Västmanland, later relocated to Stockholm, where he worked as a merchant and played a role in the city's thriving trade networks.
As Sweden's population grew and migration patterns shifted, the Helgerson surname gradually dispersed to other parts of the country and eventually abroad. Nils Helgerson, born in 1801 in Rättvik, Dalarna, was among the early Swedish emigrants to the United States, settling in Minnesota in the mid-19th century.
Notable figures with the Helgerson surname include the Swedish historian and writer Carl Helgerson (1879-1962), who authored several works on the history and culture of the Dalarna region. Another prominent individual was the American businessman and philanthropist John Helgerson (1912-2001), who co-founded the medical device company Medtronic and played a significant role in the development of the pacemaker.
While the Helgerson surname has its roots in Sweden, it has since spread to other parts of the world through migration and intermarriage. Despite its relatively uncommon nature, it remains a distinctive surname with a rich historical legacy tied to the cultural heritage of central Sweden.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Helgerson
Among Census respondents with the surname Helgerson, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.8%) and Hispanic (1.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Helgerson 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 Helgerson surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.8% · 1,018
- Two or more races2.8% · 30
- Hispanic or Latino1.4% · 15
- Black or African American0.5% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Helgerson
Helgerson 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
#24,201
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,038
+46 bearers (+4.6%)
Per 100,000 0.35
Rank movement Down 405 places
2020
#24,300
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,074
+36 bearers (+3.5%)
Per 100,000 0.36
Rank movement Down 99 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #23,796 | 992 | 0.37 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #24,201 | 1,038 | 0.35 | +46 bearers (+4.6%) | Down 405 places |
| 2020 | #24,300 | 1,074 | 0.36 | +36 bearers (+3.5%) | Down 99 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 Helgerson 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 | #24,201 | #24,300 | -0.4% |
| Count | 1,038 | 1,074 | 3.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.35 | 0.36 | 2.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Helgerson bearers went from 1,038 to 1,074 (+3.5% change). The surname moved down 99 positions in the national ranking, going from #24,201 to #24,300.
FAQ
Helgerson surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Helgerson?
Name Census estimates that about 1,232 living Americans carry the surname Helgerson. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 278,210 residents.
How common is Helgerson?
Helgerson ranks #24,300 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.36 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 1,074 people with the surname Helgerson. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,232), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.36 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.36 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 Helgerson.
Has Helgerson become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Helgerson went from 1,038 recorded bearers to 1,074. That is an increase of 36 (+3.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #24,201 to #24,300.
What does the Census say about the background of Helgerson?
Among Census respondents with the surname Helgerson, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.8%) and Hispanic (1.4%). 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 Helgerson in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.8% (1,018 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Helgerson appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.8%), Two or More Races (2.8%), Hispanic (1.4%). 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 Helgerson (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 Helgerson mean?
From an Anglicized variant of the Scandinavian surname meaning "son of Helger". 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 Helgerson (0.36 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 people are called Helgerson?
Find out how many people are called Helgerson on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.