Explore the Family Name Salonen

The meaning of Salonen

Finnish: ornamental name from salo ‘forested wilderness’ (compare Salo) + the surname suffix -nen, adopted in the late 19th century by Finns without surnames in southwestern and central Finland (compare Virtanen). Some characteristic forenames: Finnish Arvi, Jukka, Olavi, Reino, Riitta.

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

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

Based on data from the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname Salonen saw a slight shift between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, it ranked 64,750 in terms of prevalence, but by 2010, it had slipped slightly to 65,244, a decrease of 0.76%. However, the actual count of people with the surname increased over this period from 287 to 304, marking an increase of 5.92%. The proportion per 100k people showed a minor decline of 9.09%, moving from 0.11 to 0.1.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#64,750	#65,244	-0.76%
Count	287	304	5.92%
Proportion per 100k	0.11	0.1	-9.09%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Salonen

The ethnic identity associated with the surname Salonen also experienced some changes during the same timeframe. As per the Decennial U.S. Census data, the white population carrying the surname dropped marginally from 95.82% in 2000 to 94.41% in 2010, a change of -1.47%. The Asian/Pacific Islander community with this surname grew from 2.09% to 2.30%, indicating a 10.05% rise. Interestingly, the Hispanic community started to adopt this surname as well, going from zero presence in 2000 to a 2.3% representation in 2010. The data for those identifying as two or more races, Black, and American Indian and Alaskan Native was either unchanged or suppressed for privacy.

	2000	2010	Change
White	95.82%	94.41%	-1.47%
Asian/Pacific Islander	2.09%	2.3%	10.05%
Hispanic	0%	2.3%	0%
Two or More Races	0%	0%	0%
Black	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%