The olsen Surname
olsen Name Meaning and History
- Danish and Norwegian: patronymic from the personal name Olaf, Olav (Old Norse Óláfr, Ólafr, variant Óleifr, earlier Anleifr, from proto-Scandinavian elements meaning ‘ancestor’ + ‘heir’, ‘descendant’). Olaf has always been one of the most common Scandinavian names; it continued to be popular in the Middle Ages, in part as a result of the fame of St. Olaf, King of Norway, who brought Christianity to his country c.1030. This surname, the second most common in Norway, is also established in England, notably in the Newcastle upon Tyne area.
- German (Ölsen): habitational name from any of several places so named, in Saxony, Brandenburg, and the Rhineland.
Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4
Learn the meaning and history of your first name
Share this page with friends and family
Search for olsen records
More resources for your olsen family history
Olsen message board
Threads: 719 - Messages: 1327
| Thread | Author | Replies |
| Ole Olsen family- Norway, Ga.& Fl. |
 PamelaBoan
| 0 |
| OLSEN Samuel J 1913-1965 |
| 0 |
| OLSEN..LARSEN>>HELP PLEASE ! |
OlsenKaren
| 2 |
| Looking for Agnes Olsen |
tannehil
| 3 |
| Olsens from North Dakota and Washington state |
steve tatham
| 0 |
| Where is my family | Les | 8 |
| Olsen /Norway to Utah | Barbara | 2 |
| Alma Olsen-St.George IL or IA | Darcy St.George | 1 |
| OLSEN in 1915 shipwreck |
BillCribbs777
| 0 |
| Olsen Family |
joannt10300
| 0 |
Start your FREE family tree. Who will you discover?
A family tree is the easiest way to start discovering your family history. To begin, just enter whatever you know and we'll use that to try and find more information for you.
Begin your family tree with your name:
The olsen name in History
A unique volume of fascinating facts, statistics and commentary following the olsen family name as far back in history as possible.
Member Connections
- Anonymously contact one of the Ancestry members researching the olsen last name.
- Search for Ancestry members researching one of your specific ancestors.
- Create or update your own Ancestry member profile so that other members can anonymously contact you.
More Tools and Resources
- Search Ancestry.com for all of your olsen ancestors.
- Create and publish your own family history book using Ancestry Press.
- Learn more about your family history using DNA Ancestry.
- Learn more about family history in the Ancestry Learning Center.
- Visit the Ancestry.com homepage.