2000
#10,148
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,919
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.08
Rare Last name
Henriksen
Son of Henrik, a Danish and Norwegian patronymic surname derived from the given name Henrik.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,223 Americans carry the last name Henriksen. That puts it at #10,825 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.94 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 106,346 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Henriksen 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Henriksen with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.2K
1 in 106,346
Census rank
#10,825
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,811 bearers of the surname Henriksen in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.94 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10825th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Henriksen, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.1%) and Hispanic (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Henriksen
The surname Henriksen is of Danish and Norwegian origin, derived from the personal name Henrik, a Scandinavian form of the German name Heinrich, meaning "ruler of the home." The suffix "-sen" is a patronymic, indicating "son of."
The name likely emerged in the Middle Ages when patronymic surnames became more widespread in Scandinavia. It would have initially referred to the son of a man named Henrik, denoting lineage and family ties.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the 1601 Danish Census, where a Hans Henriksen is listed as residing in Copenhagen. This suggests that the surname was already in use by the late 16th century in Denmark.
In Norway, the name can be traced back to the 17th century. A notable early bearer was Niels Henriksen Lund (1609-1670), a Norwegian clergyman and bishop of the Diocese of Trondheim.
During the 18th and 19th centuries, variations of the spelling emerged, such as Henrichsen and Hendriksen, reflecting regional dialect differences or scribal variations.
Prominent individuals with the Henriksen surname include:
1. Olaus Henriksen Aaraas (1672-1759), a Norwegian farmer and politician who served as a representative in the Gulating assembly.
2. Hans Henriksen (1800-1881), a Danish painter known for his landscape and maritime works.
3. Sofie Henriksen (1847-1923), a Norwegian writer and advocate for women's rights and education.
4. Vilhelm Henriksen (1865-1945), a Danish author and playwright who wrote extensively about life in rural Denmark.
5. Ludvig Henriksen (1890-1952), a Norwegian military officer and recipient of the War Cross with Sword for his service during World War II.
The surname Henriksen has also been associated with various place names, particularly in Denmark and Norway, where localities or farms may have been named after early bearers of the name.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Henriksen
Among Census respondents with the surname Henriksen, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.1%) and Hispanic (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Henriksen 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 Henriksen surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.1% · 2,589
- Two or more races3.1% · 86
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 78
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 29
- Black or African American0.6% · 16
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 13
Timeline
Historical Census data for Henriksen
Henriksen 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
#10,851
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,935
+16 bearers (+0.5%)
Per 100,000 0.99
Rank movement Down 703 places
2020
#10,825
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,811
-124 bearers (-4.2%)
Per 100,000 0.94
Rank movement Up 26 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,148 | 2,919 | 1.08 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,851 | 2,935 | 0.99 | +16 bearers (+0.5%) | Down 703 places |
| 2020 | #10,825 | 2,811 | 0.94 | -124 bearers (-4.2%) | Up 26 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 Henriksen 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 | #10,851 | #10,825 | 0.2% |
| Count | 2,935 | 2,811 | -4.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.99 | 0.94 | -5.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Henriksen bearers went from 2,935 to 2,811 (-4.2% change). The surname moved up 26 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,851 to #10,825.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Henriksen
FAQ
Henriksen surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Henriksen?
Name Census estimates that about 3,223 living Americans carry the surname Henriksen. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 106,346 residents.
How common is Henriksen?
Henriksen ranks #10,825 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.94 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,811 people with the surname Henriksen. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,223), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.94 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.94 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Henriksen.
Has Henriksen become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Henriksen went from 2,935 recorded bearers to 2,811. That is a decrease of 124 (-4.2%). In the national ranking it rose from #10,851 to #10,825.
What does the Census say about the background of Henriksen?
Among Census respondents with the surname Henriksen, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.1%) and Hispanic (2.8%). 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 Henriksen in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.1% (2,589 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Henriksen appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.1%), Two or More Races (3.1%), Hispanic (2.8%). 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 Henriksen (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 Henriksen mean?
Son of Henrik, a Danish and Norwegian patronymic surname derived from the given name Henrik. 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 Henriksen (0.94 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 common is the surname Henriksen?
Want to know how many Americans have the surname Henriksen? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.