Nielsen is used as a family name or surname in Sweden, Scotland, Norway, Germany, Denmark. It is 7 characters long in length.

Family Name / Last Name: Nielsen
No. of characters: 7
Origin: Sweden, Scotland, Norway, Germany, Denmark
Meaning:

The lastname is a variation of Neilson. Three brothers of the surname of Oneal, came from Ireland to Scotland, in the reign of Robert the Bruce, where they got lands for their valour, and their issue changed their name a little from Oneal to Neilson; for Oneal and M'Neil are the same with Neilson. The first occurrence of thename noted by this author is in 1439, in Galloway.

The son of Niel meaning "champion".

Nielsen is a form of the Neilson. The son of Nel or Neil meaning "champion".

Nielsen is variation of Neilsen. The son of Nel or Neil meaning "champion".

A variant form of Niles. Descendant of Nils, a pet form of Nicholas meaning "people's victory"; descendant of Nilles, a pet form of Cornelius meaning "cornel tree"; dweller "atten iles," i.e., at the islands.

Form of Nilson. The son of Nils meaning "champion".

The lastname is a form of Neilson. The son of Neil.

How popular is Nielsen?

Nielsen is common in Denmark, United States, Canada, Norway, Germany, Australia, Sweden, Thailand, England, Argentina, Greenland, New Zealand, Brazil, France, South Africa, Faroe Islands, Spain, Switzerland, Netherlands, Chile, Iceland, Samoa, Belgium, Estonia, Mexico, Luxembourg, Saudi Arabia, Ireland, Dominican Republic, Italy, Finland, Scotland, Ecuador, Greece.

Nielsen is ranked 1612 on our list.

Despite the fact that the number of Nielsen bearers increased by 4.31 per cent in 2010 US census to 42773 since 2000, the surname slipped by 45 spots and ranked at 810. The last name was found in around 1 per ten thousand population. Please refer to following table for race and ethnicity.

Race 2010 2000
White 94.15 95.63
Hispanic or Latino 2.71 1.7
Others 1.5 1.23
Asian and Native Hawaiian
& Other Pacific Islander		 0.88 0.65
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.41 0.5
Black 0.35 0.29
Nielsen is quite popular last name mostly concentrated in Denmark which signifies that it is originated from Denmark. Around 338203 people have been found who wears Nielsen as their family name. Nielsen is used widely across the globe. More detailed information can be found below:
RankCountryCount
Countries with hundred thousands of Nielsen:
2 Denmark228,242
Countries with ten thousands of Nielsen:
729 United States57,843
Countries with thousands of Nielsen:
623 Canada8,270
53 Norway7,172
1,453 Germany7,096
576 Australia6,707
141 Sweden6,309
4,265 Thailand1,800
4,215 England1,762
2,296 Argentina1,561
4 Greenland1,423
604 New Zealand1,193
7,353 Brazil1,123
Countries with hundreds of Nielsen:
9,760 France948
9,464 South Africa712
9 Faroe Islands657
6,505 Spain630
2,991 Switzerland450
7,759 Netherlands370
2,839 Chile256
258 Iceland246
243 Samoa243
7,894 Belgium237
640 Estonia230
10,608 Mexico184
423 Luxembourg180
29,524 Saudi Arabia159
2,662 Ireland156
3,346 Dominican Republic146
49,062 Italy130
5,880 Finland114
4,328 Scotland107
7,095 Ecuador106
18,447 Greece101
Countries with low frequency i.e., 50 - 100:
42,551 Poland97
5,627 Portugal85
2,491 Panama76
103,651 Philippines69
27,402 Japan66
25,042 Malaysia59
16,892 Israel52
Countries with very low frequency i.e., 10 - 50:
30,783 Zimbabwe50
551 Malta48
23,261 Austria47
1,606 China45
460 United States Virgin Islands41
36,495 Czechia38
213,487 Russia31
14,967 Kuwait29
9,043 Qatar28
9,008 Wales26
4,957 Paraguay23
353 Gibraltar22
2,745 Costa Rica21
3,169 Hong Kong20
18,229 Botswana17
1,065 Isle of Man17
492,263 India16
16,699 Uruguay16
690 Bermuda15
24,061 United Arab Emirates14
2,518 Vietnam14
18,211 Singapore13
28,211 Venezuela12
Countries with very very low frequency i.e., 6 - 10:
434,432 Indonesia10
49,203 Hungary9
64,129 Slovakia9
99,715 Uganda9
652 Northern Mariana Islands8
134,647 Turkey8
25,178 Afghanistan6
4,247 Mozambique6
36,458 Peru6
18,975 Slovenia6
1,433 South Korea6
72,091 Tanzania6
Show Full Last Name Distribution

Immigrants to US

From Germany

Lorenz Nielsen worked as farmer and hailed from Germany. 20 years old embarked for USA from Hamburg on Thone and arrived on September 2, 1852. C. Nielsen, aged 29, Swen Nielsen, aged 23, Farmer J.C. Nielsen, Sailor Guenther Nielsen, Hans Nielsen, aged 31, 40 years old E. Nielsen, T.M. Nielsen, aged 14, Andres Nielsen, aged 36, Seaman M.Peter Nielsen, and 1235 other Nielsen around 40.83% of whom were farmer while others worked as merchant and sailor, seaman, inn keeper, shoemaker, butcher, laborer, smith, joiner, mechanic, servant, tailor, spinster, painter, daughter, clerk, mason, matron, baker, miller, carpenter, tourist, waiter migrated to US.

Nielsen Namesakes

  • Sandro Nielsen, Danish metalexicographer
  • Ebbe Nielsen, Danish entomologist
  • Holger Nielsen, Danish fencer, shooter, and athlete
  • Holger Bech Nielsen, Danish theoretical physicist
  • Jóanes Nielsen, Faroese author and poet of the 1980s generation
  • Carsten Tank Nielsen, Norwegian civil servant and government official
  • Sven Nielsen, Norwegian politician for the Conservative Party
  • Marie-Sophie Nielsen, Danish communist leader
  • Eva M. Nielsen, Norwegian politician for the Labour Party
  • Petra Nielsen, Swedish singer and actress
  • Kjeld Nielsen, Danish athlete
  • Hans Jacob Nielsen, Danish featherweight and lightweight boxer
  • Benny Nielsen, former butterfly swimmer from Denmark,
  • Alice Nielsen, Broadway performer and operatic soprano
  • Axel Nielsen, Danish astronomer at the Ole Rømer Observatory
  • Vilhelm Munk Nielsen, Danish former football player
  • Holger Marius Nielsen, official of the Danish Ministry of Education
  • Jørgen Erik Nielsen, Dr
  • Henrik Frystyk Nielsen, Danish engineer and computer scientist
  • Lukas Nielsen, Danish gymnast
  • Niels Turin Nielsen, Danish gymnast
  • Niels Erik Nielsen, Danish gymnast
  • Niels Kristian Nielsen, Danish gymnast
  • Ingar Nielsen, Norwegian sailor
  • Jørgen S. Nielsen, is Professor of Islamic Studies at the University of Copenhagen
  • Vagn Nielsen, former Danish handball player
  • Keld Nielsen, former Danish handball player
  • Harald Herborg Nielsen, American physicist
  • Jakob Axel Nielsen, Danish lawyer and politician representing the Conservative People's Party
  • Renata Nielsen, Polish-born former Danish long jumper
  • Michael Nielsen, quantum physicist, science writer
  • Leslie Nielsen, Canadian actor, comedian, and producer
  • Carl Nielsen, Danish musician, conductor and violinist
  • Rick Nielsen, lead guitarist, backing vocalist
  • Erik Nielsen, Canadian politician
  • Asta Nielsen, Danish silent film actress
  • Arthur Nielsen, Arthur Charles Nielsen Sr
  • Jerri Nielsen, American physician with extensive emergency room experience
  • Dorise Nielsen, Canadian communist politician
  • Brigitte Nielsen, Danish actress, model
  • Connie Nielsen, supporting role in 'The Devil's Advocate'
  • Poul Nielsen, Danish football player,
  • Sophus Nielsen, Danish amateur football player and manager
  • Kay Nielsen, Danish illustrator
  • Joachim Nielsen, Norwegian rock musician and poet
  • Christopher Nielsen, Norwegian comics artist
  • Holger K. Nielsen, Danish politician
  • Juanita Nielsen, Australian publisher
  • Kim Milton Nielsen, Danish former international football referee
  • Peter Heine Nielsen, Danish chess grandmaster
  • Per Nielsen, retired Danish professional football player

Nielsen Namesakes

  • Sandro Nielsen, Danish metalexicographer
  • Ebbe Nielsen, Danish entomologist
  • Holger Nielsen, Danish fencer, shooter, and athlete
  • Holger Bech Nielsen, Danish theoretical physicist
  • Jóanes Nielsen, Faroese author and poet of the 1980s generation
  • Carsten Tank Nielsen, Norwegian civil servant and government official
  • Sven Nielsen, Norwegian politician for the Conservative Party
  • Marie-Sophie Nielsen, Danish communist leader
  • Eva M. Nielsen, Norwegian politician for the Labour Party
  • Petra Nielsen, Swedish singer and actress
  • Kjeld Nielsen, Danish athlete
  • Hans Jacob Nielsen, Danish featherweight and lightweight boxer
  • Benny Nielsen, former butterfly swimmer from Denmark,
  • Alice Nielsen, Broadway performer and operatic soprano
  • Axel Nielsen, Danish astronomer at the Ole Rømer Observatory
  • Vilhelm Munk Nielsen, Danish former football player
  • Holger Marius Nielsen, official of the Danish Ministry of Education
  • Jørgen Erik Nielsen, Dr
  • Henrik Frystyk Nielsen, Danish engineer and computer scientist
  • Lukas Nielsen, Danish gymnast
  • Niels Turin Nielsen, Danish gymnast
  • Niels Erik Nielsen, Danish gymnast
  • Niels Kristian Nielsen, Danish gymnast
  • Ingar Nielsen, Norwegian sailor
  • Jørgen S. Nielsen, is Professor of Islamic Studies at the University of Copenhagen
  • Vagn Nielsen, former Danish handball player
  • Keld Nielsen, former Danish handball player
  • Harald Herborg Nielsen, American physicist
  • Jakob Axel Nielsen, Danish lawyer and politician representing the Conservative People's Party
  • Renata Nielsen, Polish-born former Danish long jumper
  • Michael Nielsen, quantum physicist, science writer
  • Leslie Nielsen, Canadian actor, comedian, and producer
  • Carl Nielsen, Danish musician, conductor and violinist
  • Rick Nielsen, lead guitarist, backing vocalist
  • Erik Nielsen, Canadian politician
  • Asta Nielsen, Danish silent film actress
  • Arthur Nielsen, Arthur Charles Nielsen Sr
  • Jerri Nielsen, American physician with extensive emergency room experience
  • Dorise Nielsen, Canadian communist politician
  • Brigitte Nielsen, Danish actress, model
  • Connie Nielsen, supporting role in 'The Devil's Advocate'
  • Poul Nielsen, Danish football player,
  • Sophus Nielsen, Danish amateur football player and manager
  • Kay Nielsen, Danish illustrator
  • Joachim Nielsen, Norwegian rock musician and poet
  • Christopher Nielsen, Norwegian comics artist
  • Holger K. Nielsen, Danish politician
  • Juanita Nielsen, Australian publisher
  • Kim Milton Nielsen, Danish former international football referee
  • Peter Heine Nielsen, Danish chess grandmaster
  • Per Nielsen, retired Danish professional football player

Related Family Names: