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
1,554,476
Historical Documents & Family Trees with Olsen
Click on a place to view Olsen immigration records
The information for this chart came from the U.S. Immigration Collection at Ancestry.com.
You can find out where the majority of the Olsen families were living before
they immigrated to the U.S and learn where to focus your search for foreign records.
Immigration records can tell you an ancestor's name, ship name, port of departure,
port of arrival, and destination.
Click on a circle in the chart to view Olsen immigration records
You can find out when most of the Olsen families immigrated
to the United States.
You can focus your search to immigration records dating from that era.
Immigration records can tell you an ancestor's name, ship name, port of departure,
port of arrival and destination.
Click on a circle in the chart to view Olsen birth and death records
An unusually short lifespan might indicate that your ancestors lived in harsh conditions.
A short lifespan might also indicate health problems that were once prevalent in
your family.
The SSDI is a searchable database of more than 70 million names. You can find birthdates,
death dates, addresses and more.