Explore the Family Name Onsager

The meaning of Onsager

Norwegian: habitational name from a farmstead named with Ons- (from Odin, the name of a god) + ager ‘cultivated field’. Some characteristic forenames: Scandinavian Lars, Nils, Erik. German Frieda, Hans.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Onsager in the United States?

The surname Onsager, as per the data from the Decennial U.S. Census, shows a slight dip in popularity between 2000 and 2010. In the year 2000, it ranked 78,035 and dropped to 79,338 by 2010, constituting a change of -1.67%. Nevertheless, the count of individuals with this surname increased from 228 in 2000 to 240 in 2010, indicating a growth rate of 5.26%. The proportion per 100,000 people remained stable at 0.08 over the decade.

20002010Change
Rank#78,035#79,338-1.67%
Count2282405.26%
Proportion per 100k0.080.080%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Onsager

Regarding ethnic identity, the Decennial U.S. Census data reveals that the vast majority of individuals bearing the Onsager surname identify as White, making up 95.18% in 2000 and slightly reducing to 94.17% by 2010. The proportion identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander and those identifying with two or more races both appeared on the report in 2010, with 2.50% and 2.08% respectively, despite not being recorded in 2000. Ethnic identities such as Hispanic, Black, and American Indian and Alaskan Native were not recorded within the Onsager surname population in either census years.

20002010Change
White95.18%94.17%-1.06%
Asian/Pacific Islander0%2.5%0%
Two or More Races0%2.08%0%
Hispanic0%0%0%
Black0%0%0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0%0%0%