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

Oberbeck, 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 Oberbeck surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Oberbeck in America

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

The Oberbeck 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 Oberbeck.

We can also compare 2010 data for Oberbeck 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 Oberbeck

The surname Oberbeck has its origins in Germany, dating back to the 16th century. It is a locational name, derived from the place name "Oberbeck" or "Obernbeck," which means "upper brook" or "upper stream" in German. This name likely originated from a settlement or village located near a higher-elevation stream or brook.

The earliest recorded instances of the surname Oberbeck can be found in various German records and documents from the 16th and 17th centuries. For example, the name appears in the church records of the town of Werne in Westphalia, Germany, in the year 1592. Additionally, the name is mentioned in the tax records of the city of Cologne in 1618.

One notable individual with the surname Oberbeck was Johann Friedrich Oberbeck (1739-1808), a German jurist and legal scholar who served as a professor of law at the University of Göttingen. Another prominent figure was Wilhelm Oberbeck (1819-1896), a German merchant and businessman who played a significant role in the industrialization of the Ruhr region.

In the field of science, the name Oberbeck is associated with Arnold Oberbeck (1846-1900), a German physicist and mathematician known for his contributions to the study of fluid dynamics. He is particularly renowned for the Oberbeck-Boussinesq approximation, a widely used simplification in the Navier-Stokes equations.

The Oberbeck surname can also be found in historical records from other parts of Germany, such as the city of Hamburg. Here, the name is mentioned in the city's church records as early as the 17th century. One notable individual from this region was Johann Oberbeck (1694-1768), a merchant and ship owner who played a significant role in the city's maritime trade.

Another individual of note is Max Oberbeck (1846-1900), a German lawyer and politician who served as a member of the Reichstag (German parliament) in the late 19th century, representing the city of Duisburg.

While the surname Oberbeck has its roots in Germany, it has since spread to other parts of the world through migration and immigration. However, the historical records and individuals mentioned above provide valuable insights into the origins and early development of this surname within the German context.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Oberbeck

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

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

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

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