From your Johnsons, to your Olsens, and even your Svenssens, Minnesota would seem to have a run on Scandinavian-sounding last names. So, just what are the most common Scandinavian last names in Minnesota? And how do they rank among all last names in the state? The answer may not come as much of a surprise...

According to forebears.com, Johnson is the most common last name in Minnesota. That would make total sense, as the Land of 10,000 Lakes is filled with Scandinavian heritage. When I think about it, I've known many people with the last name Johnson!

TSM Rochester
TSM Rochester
loading...

Some of you may be thinking, "Wait a minute. Isn't Johnson an English last name?" Well, in theory, it is. However, when people of Scandinavian origin came to America as immigrants, they would often change the spelling of their last name for a wide variety of reasons.

Throughout the Scandinavian countries, it was common practice for a family to give their child a surname consisting of the father's first name, followed by the particular letter pattern involving each country's word for "son." In some countries, that would mean simply adding "son" to the father's name to create the new surname. In other countries that addition could consist of endings such as "sen," "ssen," or "sson."

Interestingly, according to the website, Johnson is actually the second most-common last name in the United States, with 1 in 163 people having it as a last name. In Minnesota, however, the rate drops to 1 in 72 people having the surname Johnson.

In total, 10 of the top 12 last names in our state are Scandinavian-sounding names. Here's that top 12, with the last name, followed by the number of people in the state who have it:

  1. Johnson – 76,137
  2. Anderson – 51,304
  3. Nelson – 35,304
  4. Olson – 33,167
  5. Peterson – 31,343
  6. Smith – 26,710
  7. Larson – 23,161
  8. Miller – 22,958
  9. Carlson – 19,366
  10. Hanson – 18,441
  11. Erickson – 16,272
  12. Thompson – 14,685

Is that the most Scandinavian-sounding list of names you've ever seen? Are there any surprises on the list? What do you think?

More From 106.9 KROC-FM