2000
#24,061
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 978
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.36
Rare Last name
Selander
Swedish surname derived from sele, meaning "harness" or "saddler".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,112 Americans carry the last name Selander. That puts it at #26,496 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.32 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 308,232 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Selander 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
1.1K
1 in 308,232
Census rank
#26,496
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
970
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 970 bearers of the surname Selander in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.32 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 26496th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Selander, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.6%) and Two or More Races (1.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Selander
The surname Selander has its origins in the Scandinavian region, particularly in Sweden and Norway. It is believed to have emerged during the Middle Ages, around the 13th or 14th century.
Selander is derived from the Old Norse word "Salundr," which means "willow tree" or "willow grove." This suggests that the name may have initially been associated with individuals who lived near or were associated with willow trees or groves.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Selander can be found in the Swedish parish records from the 16th century. These records often contained variations of the spelling, such as "Sälander" or "Sälender."
In the 17th century, the name Selander appeared in various historical documents and records, including the Swedish Census Tax Records (Mantalslängder) and the Swedish Church Records (Husförhörslängder).
Notable individuals with the surname Selander throughout history include:
1. Johan Selander (1594-1668), a Swedish clergyman and theologian who served as the Bishop of Västerås from 1646 until his death.
2. Carl Selander (1766-1835), a Swedish architect and city planner who designed several notable buildings in Stockholm.
3. Nils Selander (1834-1912), a Swedish-American pioneer and farmer who settled in Minnesota in the late 19th century.
4. Anna Selander (1870-1935), a Swedish novelist and playwright known for her works exploring social issues and the lives of working-class women.
5. Lesley Selander (1900-1979), an American film director and actor who directed numerous westerns and action films during the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s.
The surname Selander has also been associated with various place names in Scandinavia, such as Sälander, a village in Sweden, and Selander, a farm in Norway. These place names likely originated from the same root word as the surname, referring to the presence of willow trees or groves in those areas.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Selander
Among Census respondents with the surname Selander, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.6%) and Two or More Races (1.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Selander 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 Selander surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.7% · 919
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 25
- Two or more races1.6% · 16
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 8
- Black or African American0.2% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Selander
Selander 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
#25,701
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 959
-19 bearers (-1.9%)
Per 100,000 0.33
Rank movement Down 1,640 places
2020
#26,496
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 970
+11 bearers (+1.1%)
Per 100,000 0.32
Rank movement Down 795 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #24,061 | 978 | 0.36 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #25,701 | 959 | 0.33 | -19 bearers (-1.9%) | Down 1,640 places |
| 2020 | #26,496 | 970 | 0.32 | +11 bearers (+1.1%) | Down 795 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 Selander 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 | #25,701 | #26,496 | -3.1% |
| Count | 959 | 970 | 1.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.33 | 0.32 | -1.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Selander bearers went from 959 to 970 (+1.1% change). The surname moved down 795 positions in the national ranking, going from #25,701 to #26,496.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Selander
FAQ
Selander surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Selander?
Name Census estimates that about 1,112 living Americans carry the surname Selander. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 308,232 residents.
How common is Selander?
Selander ranks #26,496 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.32 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 970 people with the surname Selander. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,112), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.32 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.32 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 Selander.
Has Selander become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Selander went from 959 recorded bearers to 970. That is an increase of 11 (+1.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #25,701 to #26,496.
What does the Census say about the background of Selander?
Among Census respondents with the surname Selander, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.6%) and Two or More Races (1.6%). 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 Selander in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.7% (919 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Selander appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.7%), Hispanic (2.6%), Two or More Races (1.6%). 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 Selander (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 Selander mean?
Swedish surname derived from sele, meaning "harness" or "saddler". 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 Selander (0.32 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 Selander?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.