Find out how popular the last name Obar is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Obar.

Obar, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Obar surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Obar in America

Obar is the 37955th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Obar surname appeared 585 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Obar.

We can also compare 2010 data for Obar to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Obar

The surname OBAR is of English origin, dating back to the medieval period. It is believed to have originated in the county of Gloucestershire, derived from the Old English words "ofer" meaning "ridge" and "bær" meaning "grove" or "wood". This suggests that the name may have referred to someone who lived near a ridge covered with trees or a wooded ridge.

The earliest recorded instances of the surname OBAR can be traced back to the 13th century. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was John Obar, who was mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1275. The name also appears in various medieval records and manuscripts, including the Hundred Rolls of 1273, where it is spelled as "Obbare".

During the 14th century, the OBAR surname began to spread beyond Gloucestershire to other parts of England. In the Subsidy Rolls of 1327, a Richard Obar is listed in Oxfordshire, while a John Obar is recorded in Somerset in the same year.

One notable historical figure with the OBAR surname was Sir William Obar (born c. 1490 - died 1558), a prominent English landowner and Member of Parliament for Gloucestershire during the reign of Henry VIII. He was knighted by the king in 1544 for his services to the Crown.

Another individual of note was Thomas Obar (c. 1620 - 1695), an English clergyman and author who served as the Rector of St. Mary's Church in Warwick. He is best known for his work "A Treatise on the Sacraments", published in 1678.

In the 18th century, the OBAR surname was also found in Scotland, possibly due to migration from England. One such bearer was James Obar (1725 - 1801), a Scottish merchant and landowner who was involved in the tobacco trade with the American colonies.

The name has also been associated with several place names in England, such as Obar Hill in Gloucestershire and Obar Farm in Oxfordshire, both of which may have derived their names from the OBAR surname or vice versa.

Other notable individuals with the OBAR surname include:

• Robert Obar (c. 1560 - 1620), an English explorer and navigator who accompanied Sir Walter Raleigh on his voyages to the Americas.
• Elizabeth Obar (1674 - 1745), an English author and poet known for her collection of religious poems published in 1725.
• Henry Obar (1802 - 1872), a British architect who designed several notable buildings in London during the Victorian era.
• Margaret Obar (1881 - 1966), a Scottish suffragette and campaigner for women's rights in the early 20th century.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Obar

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Obar.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Obar was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Obar has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Obar was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Obar, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!