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

Obenshain, 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 Obenshain surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Obenshain in America

Obenshain is the 61585th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Obenshain surname appeared 326 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 Obenshain.

We can also compare 2010 data for Obenshain 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 Obenshain

The surname Obenshain is of German origin and dates back to the early 18th century. It is believed to have originated in the region of Palatinate, which was a historic region in western Germany. The name is derived from the German words "oben" meaning "above" and "schein" meaning "shine" or "bright", suggesting that it may have referred to someone who lived on a hill or a high place.

The earliest recorded instances of the Obenshain surname can be found in church records and municipal archives from the Palatinate region in the early 1700s. Some of the earliest known bearers of the name include Johann Obenshain, born in 1712 in Lambsheim, and Maria Obenshain, born in 1719 in Neustadt an der Weinstraße.

During the 18th century, many German immigrants from the Palatinate region settled in various parts of the United States, including Pennsylvania, Virginia, and North Carolina. This migration of German families likely brought the Obenshain surname to America, where it became more widely established.

One notable individual with the Obenshain surname was Richard D. Obenshain (1936-1978), an American lawyer and politician from Virginia who served as the chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia and was a candidate for the U.S. Senate. He tragically passed away in a plane crash during his campaign.

Another prominent figure was Robert H. Obenshain (1904-1975), an American businessman and entrepreneur who founded the Obenshain Construction Company in Richmond, Virginia. He was also active in various civic and philanthropic organizations.

In the early 19th century, there are records of an Obenshain family living in the town of Linville, Virginia. One member of this family was Jacob Obenshain (1810-1878), a farmer and landowner in Rockingham County, Virginia.

The Obenshain name can also be found in historical records from other parts of the United States, such as Ohio, where a John Obenshain is listed in the 1860 census as a farmer in Fairfield County.

While the Obenshain surname originated in Germany and was brought to the United States by German immigrants, it has since become well-established in various regions, particularly in Virginia, where several notable individuals with this name have made their mark in various fields.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Obenshain

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

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 Obenshain 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 Obenshain 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 Obenshain was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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