2000
#14,292
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,922
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.71
Rare Last name
Obanion
A surname derived from the variant forms of the Irish Gaelic name Ó Banáin, meaning "descendant of Banán".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,111 Americans carry the last name Obanion. That puts it at #15,346 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.62 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 162,366 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Obanion surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
2.1K
1 in 162,366
Census rank
#15,346
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,841 bearers of the surname Obanion in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.62 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15346th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Obanion, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.5%. The next largest groups are Black (6.8%) and Two or More Races (5.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Obanion
The surname OBANION has its origins in the Basque region of northern Spain and southwestern France. It is believed to have derived from the Basque word 'obaino', which means 'valley' or 'ravine'. This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone who lived in or near a valley or ravine.
The earliest recorded instances of the name date back to the 16th century in the Basque provinces of Spain. One of the earliest known records of the name is found in the baptismal records of the Church of San Sebastian in the town of Oiartzun, where a child named Juan Obanion was baptized in 1578.
In the 17th century, the name appears in various Spanish and French documents, often with variations in spelling such as Obañon, Obanon, and Obannon. This was likely due to the challenges of transcribing the name from its Basque origins into Spanish and French.
One notable individual with the surname OBANION was Pedro Obanion, a Spanish soldier who fought in the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648). He is mentioned in several historical accounts of the time for his bravery in battle.
In the 18th century, the name began to spread beyond the Basque region as families migrated to other parts of Spain and France. One such individual was Juan Obanion (1723-1802), a wine merchant from the Basque town of Hernani who later settled in Bordeaux, France.
As the name continued to spread, it also found its way to other parts of Europe and eventually to the Americas. In the 19th century, there are records of an OBANION family from Ireland, suggesting that the name may have been adopted or adapted by Irish immigrants.
One of the most notable individuals with the surname OBANION was John Obanion (1823-1895), an American outlaw and gunfighter who was active in the American Old West. He was involved in several high-profile incidents, including the murder of a U.S. Marshal, and was eventually killed in a gunfight in Tombstone, Arizona.
Other notable OBANIONS throughout history include Margarita Obanion (1892-1972), a Spanish artist known for her landscape paintings, and Frank Obanion (1914-1998), an American baseball player who played for the Detroit Tigers in the 1940s.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Obanion
Among Census respondents with the surname Obanion, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.5%. The next largest groups are Black (6.8%) and Two or More Races (5.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Obanion bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Obanion surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White83.5% · 1,538
- Black or African American6.8% · 125
- Two or more races5.3% · 97
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 46
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 23
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 12
Timeline
Historical Census data for Obanion
Obanion appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#15,340
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,912
-10 bearers (-0.5%)
Per 100,000 0.65
Rank movement Down 1,048 places
2020
#15,346
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,841
-71 bearers (-3.7%)
Per 100,000 0.62
Rank movement Down 6 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #14,292 | 1,922 | 0.71 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #15,340 | 1,912 | 0.65 | -10 bearers (-0.5%) | Down 1,048 places |
| 2020 | #15,346 | 1,841 | 0.62 | -71 bearers (-3.7%) | Down 6 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Obanion surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #15,340 | #15,346 | -0.0% |
| Count | 1,912 | 1,841 | -3.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.65 | 0.62 | -5.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Obanion bearers went from 1,912 to 1,841 (-3.7% change). The surname moved down 6 positions in the national ranking, going from #15,340 to #15,346.
FAQ
Obanion surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Obanion?
Name Census estimates that about 2,111 living Americans carry the surname Obanion. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 162,366 residents.
How common is Obanion?
Obanion ranks #15,346 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.62 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,841 people with the surname Obanion. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,111), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.62 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.62 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Obanion.
Has Obanion become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Obanion went from 1,912 recorded bearers to 1,841. That is a decrease of 71 (-3.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #15,340 to #15,346.
What does the Census say about the background of Obanion?
Among Census respondents with the surname Obanion, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.5%. The next largest groups are Black (6.8%) and Two or More Races (5.3%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Obanion in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.5% (1,538 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Obanion appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (83.5%), Black (6.8%), Two or More Races (5.3%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Obanion (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Obanion mean?
A surname derived from the variant forms of the Irish Gaelic name Ó Banáin, meaning "descendant of Banán". The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Obanion (0.62 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many Americans have the surname Obanion?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.