The Magnus surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 2,291 people carried this name — #13,316 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 128,200 people counted. That is up 5% from 2,177 in 2000.
In Belgium’s population register
At least 291 people named Magnus live in Belgium.
Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Flemish Brabant.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 145 people named Magnus.
6 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 24 départements, most often Bas-Rhin.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Poland’s population register
130 people named Magnus have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 180 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 6 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Greater Poland.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
20 people named Magnus live in Switzerland.
They live in 4 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Fribourg.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In the Nordic population registers
399 people named Magnus are counted in Norway and Sweden.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published. Norway publishes only surnames with 200 or more bearers.
Counted, by country
Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown) · Statistics Norway (SSB, ssb.no), table 12891, 2025 — CC BY 4.0.
In print
Magnus in American newspapers,
1885–1911.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 68,425 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Magnus,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Johannes Magnus 1488–1544 · historian -
Lazarus Elias Magnus 1770–1851 · wholesaler -
Eduard Magnus 1799–1872 · university teacher -
Eduard Magnus 1800–1879 · businessperson -
Arne Magnus d. 1991 · mathematician
-
Lucy Amy Magnus d. 1964
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Magnus.
- Magner 2,911 · U.S. census
- Magnes 198 · U.S. census
- Magni 357 · U.S. census
- Magnin 333 · U.S. census
- Magno 2,642 · U.S. census
- Magnon 265 · U.S. census
- Magny 158 · U.S. census
- Magon 170 · U.S. census
- Magras 252 · U.S. census
- Magri 704 · U.S. census
- Magrini 416 · U.S. census
- Magro 1,102 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Magnus is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.