Leif Erikson Day is held every year on October 9, and has been recognized as a national observance in the United States since 1964. However, its spot right near Columbus Day on the calendar means Leif Erikson Day often is overshadowed — just as Erikson himself often is overshadowed by Christopher Columbus in our historical memory. YouGov surveyed American adult citizens about Erikson and the ways we commemorate him in the U.S. While far more Americans know Columbus than know Erikson, what opinion there is of Erikson is overwhelmingly positive.
While Leif Erikson Day nominally is a day honoring the Norse explorer, it often has served as a day celebrating all Americans of Nordic or Scandinavian descent. In fact, its observance on October 9 isn't based on the day Erikson landed in the Americas — that date, roughly a millennium ago, is unknown — but to commemorate the landing of the first ship that brought immigrants to the U.S. from Norway. To assess whether Leif Erikson has special significance to Scandinavian Americans, we asked respondents whether they had ancestors from Norway, Sweden, Denmark, or Iceland, and compared the responses of Americans with Nordic ancestry to those without.
Views on Leif Erikson
About half of Americans are somewhat or very familiar with Leif Erikson (51%), while a sizable minority have never even heard of him (23%). Familiarity is higher among older adults, as a much larger share of Americans 65 and older are somewhat or very familiar with Erikson (60%) than of adults under 30 (37%). Men also claim a bit more familiarity with Erikson than women do: 54% of men are somewhat or very familiar, compared to 48% of women. This is consistent with men's propensity to claim to spend more time than women thinking about a wide array of historical topics. There also is a slight partisan gap in familiarity: Democrats are more likely to say they’re somewhat or very familiar (58%) with Erikson than Independents (46%) or Republicans (49%) are.
Familiarity with Erikson is higher among Scandinavian Americans than among non-Scandinavian Americans. While a majority (71%) of Americans with Nordic ancestry are very or somewhat familiar with Erikson, only about half (48%) of those without Nordic ancestry are.
Although about half of Americans claim some familiarity with Leif Erikson, about as many are unsure about his greatest supposed achievement: reaching the Americas before Columbus. About half of Americans (52%) say they are not sure if Leif Erikson reached the Americas prior to 1492, although a sizable proportion (39%) say he did. The demographic distribution of views on this question closely mirrors that of familiarity with Erikson. In other words, younger adults' lower likelihood than older Americans' to say that Erikson reached the Americas before Columbus may be a function of younger Americans’ lower familiarity with Erikson. Similarly, Democrats' greater likelihood than Republicans' to say Erikson did reach the Americas earlier than Columbus did may reflect Democrats' higher general familiarity with Erikson.
Scandinavian Americans are more likely to believe that Erikson reached the Americas earlier than 1492 — 59%, compared to 37% of non-Scandinavian Americans. This difference is largely attributable to the greater number of non-Scandinavian Americans who are unsure about Erikson’s explorations — 54%, compared to 31% of Scandinavian Americans. Belief that Erikson definitely did not reach the Americas before Columbus is uncommon in both groups: 10% among Scandinavian Americans and 9% among non-Scandinavian Americans.
We can’t fault Americans for being largely unsure about Erikson’s achievement. Historians are, too. There is archeological evidence that Viking settlement took place in Newfoundland in the year 1021, nearly half a century before Columbus reached the Americas. This settlement seems to match one described in Icelandic sagas about Erikson. However, it’s impossible to definitively say whether Erikson truly led this expedition. There always is a chance that Erikson has been incorrectly identified as the leader of a settlement set up by a different group of Vikings. While it’s justifiable to assume, based on current evidence, that Erikson did reach the Americas, it’s also completely reasonable to say that we can’t be sure.
Another reason for Americans’ uncertainty about Erikson’s achievements relative to Columbus' may be that Americans simply know much more about Columbus’ journey. While just over half of Americans (51%) are somewhat or very familiar with Erikson, 89% say they are somewhat or very familiar with Columbus. This probably means that while most Americans know that “in 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue,” far fewer are aware that “around about 1021, the sailor was Leif Erikson.”
With so many Americans unfamiliar with Erikson, it isn’t surprising that most Americans don’t know how to view him. The majority (53%) say they don’t know what they think of him, rather than having a favorable or an unfavorable opinion. However, among Americans who can pick a side, the overwhelming majority have somewhat or very favorable views (41% of all Americans) rather than unfavorable views (5%).
Favorable opinions of Erikson are more common among older Americans, perhaps because they generally have more familiarity with Erikson. On the other hand, views of Erikson do not appear to be partisan: roughly equal shares of Democrats and Republicans view Erikson favorably.
Scandinavian Americans are more likely to have favorable opinions of Erikson. More than half (55%) of Scandinavian Americans say they have a somewhat or very favorable view of Erikson, compared to a minority (40%) of non-Scandinavian Americans. However, this gap is largely explained by the greater number of non-Scandinavian Americans who don’t know what to think of Erikson (55%, compared to 40% of Scandinavian Americans). Unfavorable views of Erikson are uncommon among both Scandinavian Americans (6%) and non-Scandinavian Americans (5%).
No major demographic group has strong negative feelings about Erikson. This puts him in contrast with Columbus, who is disliked by a sizable share of Americans. (Our article on Columbus polling has more about which Americans view him unfavorably.)
Erikson’s mediocre name recognition but overwhelming appeal among those who have heard of him resemble the profile of an ideal vice presidential candidate, viability and eligibility aside. Presidential candidates might be clamoring for Erikson to be their running mate if he were alive today. But it might not all be smooth sailing for Erikson: like many Norsemen, he could struggle to distance himself from pillaging allegations. But he may be a real asset in locking down Minnesota — I’ve heard there are lots of Viking fans there.
Like with Erikson's favorability, many Americans (43%) aren’t sure about his importance to American history. However, Americans are more likely to say he is important or very important than to say he is not very important or not at all important (35% vs. 22%). Also as with Erikson's favorability, attitudes toward his historical importance don’t particularly divide Americans by age or political party.
Even though Scandinavian Americans hold mostly positive views of Erikson, they are more divided on his historical importance. Scandinavian Americans are less likely to say they are unsure about Erikson’s historical importance — 27%, compared to 45% of non-Scandinavian Americans — but the lower number of unsure responses does not correspond with an overwhelming share of Scandinavian Americans saying Erikson is important. Instead, the higher share of Scandinavian Americans who say that Erikson is important or very important — 45%, compared to 34% of non-Scandinavian Americans — is largely matched by a higher share who say he is not very or not at all important: 28%, compared to 21% of non-Scandinavian Americans.
Perhaps this comes from the greater levels of general knowledge about Erikson’s journey among Americans with Nordic ancestry. While a higher share of Scandinavian Americans believe Erikson successfully reached the Americas, many may have concluded that this journey had little impact on the modern U.S.
Views on Leif Erikson Day
To assess support for Leif Erikson Day, we asked respondents “Do you think the federal government should have a day recognizing Leif Erikson?” We offered four response options: “yes, a federal holiday for which government workers get a day off (similar to Labor Day or Martin Luther King Day),” “yes, a national observance for which government workers do not get a day off (similar to Mother's Day or Flag Day),” “no,” and “not sure.” The second option reflects the current status quo: Leif Erikson Day is an annual national observance. This means officials like the president may make statements about the day’s importance, but government employees aren’t given a day off work.
Nearly half of Americans (44%) are unsure about what Leif Erikson Day’s status should be, although about one-third (34%) think it shouldn’t be recognized at all. If it is to be recognized, more people favor a national observance (14%) than a full blown holiday (8%).
Opinions are more firmly against Leif Erikson Day among older Americans than among younger adults. Half (50%) of Americans 65 and older believe Leif Erikson Day should not be federally recognized, and a similarly large share between 45 and 64 agree (41%). In contrast, only a small share of adults under 45 oppose recognizing Leif Erikson Day — 20% of adults under 30 and 22% between 30 and 44. However, this doesn’t mean younger Americans are on board with Leif Erikson Day. Instead, most Americans under 45 say they’re unsure what Leif Erikson Day’s status should be.
Recognition of Leif Erikson Day isn't a partisan issue. Independents are more likely than Democrats or Republicans to be unsure, but the higher shares of Democrats and Republicans giving a firm response are split between support and opposition to recognition in roughly the same way. There is only a small gap in support for Leif Erikson Day: federal recognition is favored by 26% of Democrats and 22% of Republicans, while it is opposed by 32% of Democrats and 36% of Republicans.
Scandinavian Americans’ views on Leif Erikson Day are split similarly to those of non-Scandinavian Americans. Scandinavian Americans are more likely to support a federal day recognizing Erikson — 27%, compared to 21% of non-Scandinavian Americans — but they also are more likely to oppose one (39%, compared to 34% of non-Scandinavian Americans). Demand for expanding Leif Erikson Day into a federal holiday is just as low among Scandinavian Americans (7%) as among non-Scandinavian Americans (8%).
Related:
- Christopher Columbus and Columbus Day divide Americans
- More Americans support federal observance of Indigenous Peoples’ Day than of Columbus Day
See the results for this YouGov poll
Methodology: This YouGov poll was conducted online on October 4 - 6, 2024 among 1,137 U.S. adult citizens. Respondents were selected from YouGov’s opt-in panel to be representative of adult U.S. citizens. The sample was weighted according to gender, age, race, education, 2020 election turnout and presidential vote, baseline party identification, and current voter registration status. Demographic weighting targets come from the 2019 American Community Survey. Baseline party identification is the respondent’s most recent answer given prior to November 1, 2022, and is weighted to the estimated distribution at that time (33% Democratic, 31% Republican). The margin of error for the overall sample is approximately 4%.
Image: Getty
