2000
#143,847
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 106
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Obendorfer
A surname denoting a person from Obendorf, a place in southern Germany.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 119 Americans carry the last name Obendorfer. That puts it at #153,590 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,880,289 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Obendorfer 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
119
1 in 2,880,289
Census rank
#153,590
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
104
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 104 bearers of the surname Obendorfer in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 153590th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Obendorfer, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.8%) and Hispanic (4.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Obendorfer
The surname Obendorfer is believed to have originated in the German-speaking regions of Europe, particularly in Austria and Southern Germany, during the late Middle Ages or early Renaissance period, around the 15th to 16th centuries.
The name is thought to be derived from a combination of the German words "oben" meaning "above" or "upper" and "dorf" meaning "village" or "hamlet." This suggests that the name may have originally referred to a person or family residing in an elevated or upper village or settlement.
One of the earliest known records of the name Obendorfer can be found in the parish registers of the town of Ried im Innkreis, located in Upper Austria, dating back to the late 16th century. Here, the name appears spelled as "Obendorffer" or "Obendorfer."
While the name does not appear in notable historical documents like the Domesday Book, which focused primarily on England, it is possible that variations or similar spellings may have existed in other regional records or chronicles from that period.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the surname Obendorfer, including:
1. Johannes Obendorfer (1554-1618), a German-born Catholic priest and theologian who served as the rector of the University of Vienna in the early 17th century.
2. Georg Obendorfer (1760-1842), an Austrian painter and engraver known for his landscape and religious works, active during the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
3. Alois Obendorfer (1845-1912), an Austrian politician and lawyer who served as the mayor of the city of Linz from 1891 to 1909.
4. Franz Obendorfer (1876-1942), an Austrian mathematician and physicist who made contributions to the study of electromagnetism and thermodynamics in the early 20th century.
5. Karl Obendorfer (1888-1976), an Austrian architect and urban planner who designed several notable buildings and urban projects in Vienna and other Austrian cities in the mid-20th century.
While the name Obendorfer may have evolved or been influenced by various place names or local dialects over time, its origins can be traced back to the German-speaking regions of Central Europe, where it likely emerged as a descriptive surname referring to a person's place of residence or origin.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Obendorfer
Among Census respondents with the surname Obendorfer, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.8%) and Hispanic (4.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Obendorfer 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 Obendorfer surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.5% · 90
- Two or more races5.8% · 6
- Hispanic or Latino4.8% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.9% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Obendorfer
Obendorfer 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
#145,220
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114
+8 bearers (+7.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 1,373 places
2020
#153,590
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 104
-10 bearers (-8.8%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 8,370 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #143,847 | 106 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #145,220 | 114 | 0.04 | +8 bearers (+7.5%) | Down 1,373 places |
| 2020 | #153,590 | 104 | 0.03 | -10 bearers (-8.8%) | Down 8,370 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 Obendorfer 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 | #145,220 | #153,590 | -5.8% |
| Count | 114 | 104 | -8.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -13.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Obendorfer bearers went from 114 to 104 (-8.8% change). The surname moved down 8,370 positions in the national ranking, going from #145,220 to #153,590.
FAQ
Obendorfer surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Obendorfer?
Name Census estimates that about 119 living Americans carry the surname Obendorfer. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,880,289 residents.
How common is Obendorfer?
Obendorfer ranks #153,590 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 104 people with the surname Obendorfer. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (119), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Obendorfer.
Has Obendorfer become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Obendorfer went from 114 recorded bearers to 104. That is a decrease of 10 (-8.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #145,220 to #153,590.
What does the Census say about the background of Obendorfer?
Among Census respondents with the surname Obendorfer, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.8%) and Hispanic (4.8%). 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 Obendorfer in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.5% (90 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Obendorfer appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.5%), Two or More Races (5.8%), Hispanic (4.8%). 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 Obendorfer (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 Obendorfer mean?
A surname denoting a person from Obendorf, a place in southern Germany. 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 Obendorfer (0.03 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 Obendorfer?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.