2000
#11,154
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,609
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.97
Rare Last name
Obannon
Derived from the Irish surname Ó Banáin, meaning "descendant of Banán," a personal name of unknown meaning.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,923 Americans carry the last name Obannon. That puts it at #11,755 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.85 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 117,261 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Obannon 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
2.9K
1 in 117,261
Census rank
#11,755
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,549 bearers of the surname Obannon in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.85 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11755th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Obannon, the largest self-reported group is White at 59.6%. The next largest groups are Black (29.4%) and Two or More Races (5.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Obannon
The surname OBANNON is of Irish origin, tracing its roots back to the medieval period. It is believed to have derived from the Gaelic name "O'Banain," which translates to "descendant of Banan." The prefix "O'" was a common Gaelic naming convention, indicating a patronymic or ancestral lineage.
The earliest records of the OBANNON name can be found in historical documents from County Cork, Ireland, where the family is thought to have originated. Some of the earliest known bearers of the name include Diarmaid OBANNON, born around 1325, who was mentioned in the Annals of Inisfallen, a chronicle of medieval Irish history.
The OBANNON name was also present in the Fiants of the Tudor conquest of Ireland, which were legal records compiled during the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI, and Mary I. In these documents, dated around the 16th century, several individuals with the surname OBANNON are listed as receiving land grants or pardons.
During the 17th century, the OBANNON family played a role in the Irish Rebellion of 1641 and the subsequent Cromwellian conquest of Ireland. Seán OBANNON, born around 1605, was a prominent figure in the rebellion, leading forces against the English forces in County Cork.
As the Irish diaspora spread across the globe in the 18th and 19th centuries, the OBANNON name traveled with it. In the United States, one notable bearer of the name was Michael OBANNON, born in 1789, who fought in the War of 1812 and later settled in Pennsylvania.
Another prominent figure was Bridget OBANNON, born in 1837 in County Cork, Ireland. She emigrated to Australia in the late 1850s and became a respected community leader and philanthropist in Melbourne, establishing several charitable organizations and advocating for the rights of Irish immigrants.
In the literary realm, the Irish writer and poet Seamus OBANNON, born in 1901, gained recognition for his works that explored themes of Irish identity, history, and culture. His collection of poems, "The Harp of Banba," published in 1935, is considered a significant contribution to Irish literature.
The OBANNON surname has also been associated with various place names in Ireland, such as Ballyobannon and Killobannon, which may have influenced the spelling variations of the name over time. While the exact origins and meanings of these place names are unclear, they likely reflect the presence of OBANNON families in those areas.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Obannon
Among Census respondents with the surname Obannon, the largest self-reported group is White at 59.6%. The next largest groups are Black (29.4%) and Two or More Races (5.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Obannon 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 Obannon surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White59.6% · 1,520
- Black or African American29.4% · 749
- Two or more races5.2% · 132
- Hispanic or Latino4.7% · 119
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 18
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 11
Timeline
Historical Census data for Obannon
Obannon 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
#11,716
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,675
+66 bearers (+2.5%)
Per 100,000 0.91
Rank movement Down 562 places
2020
#11,755
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,549
-126 bearers (-4.7%)
Per 100,000 0.85
Rank movement Down 39 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,154 | 2,609 | 0.97 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,716 | 2,675 | 0.91 | +66 bearers (+2.5%) | Down 562 places |
| 2020 | #11,755 | 2,549 | 0.85 | -126 bearers (-4.7%) | Down 39 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 Obannon 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 | #11,716 | #11,755 | -0.3% |
| Count | 2,675 | 2,549 | -4.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.91 | 0.85 | -6.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Obannon bearers went from 2,675 to 2,549 (-4.7% change). The surname moved down 39 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,716 to #11,755.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Obannon
FAQ
Obannon surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Obannon?
Name Census estimates that about 2,923 living Americans carry the surname Obannon. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 117,261 residents.
How common is Obannon?
Obannon ranks #11,755 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.85 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 2,549 people with the surname Obannon. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,923), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.85 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.85 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 Obannon.
Has Obannon become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Obannon went from 2,675 recorded bearers to 2,549. That is a decrease of 126 (-4.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,716 to #11,755.
What does the Census say about the background of Obannon?
Among Census respondents with the surname Obannon, the largest self-reported group is White at 59.6%. The next largest groups are Black (29.4%) and Two or More Races (5.2%). 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 Obannon in the 2020 Census, accounting for 59.6% (1,520 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Obannon appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (59.6%), Black (29.4%), Two or More Races (5.2%). 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 Obannon (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 Obannon mean?
Derived from the Irish surname Ó Banáin, meaning "descendant of Banán," a personal name of unknown meaning. 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 Obannon (0.85 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 people have the last name Obannon?
You can see how many people have the last name Obannon on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.