2000
#118,954
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 135
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Obenland
An old German surname denoting someone from an upper or higher land.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 130 Americans carry the last name Obenland. That puts it at #147,221 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,636,572 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Obenland 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
130
1 in 2,636,572
Census rank
#147,221
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
113
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 113 bearers of the surname Obenland in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 147221st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Obenland, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.2%) and Black (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Obenland
The surname Obenland is of German origin, originating in the Germanic language family. It likely emerged during the medieval period, possibly as early as the 11th or 12th century. The name is believed to have derived from the Old German words "oben" meaning "above" or "upper" and "land" meaning "land" or "region." This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who lived in an elevated or upland area.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Obenland can be found in the "Bairisches Wörterbuch" (Bavarian Dictionary) from the 16th century, where it is mentioned as a place name referring to an area near the town of Augsburg in Bavaria. This indicates that the surname may have originated from a specific geographic location or settlement called Obenland.
In the 17th century, the name Obenland appeared in various church records and manuscripts across German-speaking regions, such as Bavaria and Saxony. One notable mention is in the "Kirchenbücher" (Church Books) of the city of Leipzig, where a family by the name of Obenland is recorded as residing in the area during the 1600s.
During the 18th century, the surname Obenland gained recognition with the birth of Johann Friedrich Obenland (1718-1796), a German philosopher and theologian from Saxony. He authored several influential works on ethics and moral philosophy, contributing to the intellectual discourse of the Enlightenment era.
Another prominent figure bearing the name Obenland was Karl Obenland (1838-1915), a German architect and engineer from Bavaria. He was renowned for his work on various public buildings and infrastructure projects, including the construction of the Nuremberg-Bamberg railway line in the late 19th century.
In the 20th century, the name Obenland gained further recognition with the birth of Heinz Obenland (1910-1988), a German artist and painter known for his distinctive expressionist style. His works are featured in several prestigious art collections and galleries across Europe.
While the surname Obenland may have originated in specific regions of Germany, it has since spread to various parts of the world due to migration and diaspora. However, its roots can be traced back to the Germanic linguistic heritage and the medieval period, when it likely emerged as a descriptive name referring to geographical features or settlements.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Obenland
Among Census respondents with the surname Obenland, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.2%) and Black (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Obenland 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 Obenland surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.2% · 103
- Hispanic or Latino6.2% · 7
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
- Two or more races0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Obenland
Obenland 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
#133,048
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 127
-8 bearers (-5.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 14,094 places
2020
#147,221
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
-14 bearers (-11.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 14,173 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #118,954 | 135 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #133,048 | 127 | 0.04 | -8 bearers (-5.9%) | Down 14,094 places |
| 2020 | #147,221 | 113 | 0.04 | -14 bearers (-11.0%) | Down 14,173 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 Obenland 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 | #133,048 | #147,221 | -10.7% |
| Count | 127 | 113 | -11.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -5.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Obenland bearers went from 127 to 113 (-11.0% change). The surname moved down 14,173 positions in the national ranking, going from #133,048 to #147,221.
FAQ
Obenland surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Obenland?
Name Census estimates that about 130 living Americans carry the surname Obenland. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,636,572 residents.
How common is Obenland?
Obenland ranks #147,221 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 113 people with the surname Obenland. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (130), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Obenland.
Has Obenland become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Obenland went from 127 recorded bearers to 113. That is a decrease of 14 (-11.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #133,048 to #147,221.
What does the Census say about the background of Obenland?
Among Census respondents with the surname Obenland, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.2%) and Black (0.9%). 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 Obenland in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.2% (103 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Obenland appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.2%), Hispanic (6.2%), Black (0.9%). 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 Obenland (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 Obenland mean?
An old German surname denoting someone from an upper or higher land. 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 Obenland (0.04 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 Obenland?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the surname Obenland at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.