2010
#154,907
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 105
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Oberheide
Germanic surname meaning "upper clearing" or "clearing on a hill".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 123 Americans carry the last name Oberheide. That puts it at #151,639 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,786,621 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Oberheide 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
123
1 in 2,786,621
Census rank
#151,639
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
107
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 107 bearers of the surname Oberheide in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 151639th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Oberheide, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.5%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Oberheide
The surname Oberheide originates from Germany and likely dates back to the Middle Ages. Derived from the German words "ober" meaning "upper" and "heide" referring to a heath or upland area, it was likely a topographic name given to someone who lived in an elevated heathland region.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Oberheide can be found in the 16th century Kirchenbücher (church records) of Westphalia, where it appears spelled variously as Oberheyde, Oberheide, and Oberheiden. These records suggest the name was particularly concentrated in the regions around the cities of Münster and Osnabrück.
A branch of the Oberheide family can be traced back to the village of Neuenkirchen near Osnabrück in the early 1600s. Johannes Oberheide, born around 1620, is listed as a farmer and landowner in local records from that era. His descendants went on to establish themselves throughout northwestern Germany over subsequent generations.
The name Oberheide also appears in 17th century tax records from the Electorate of Cologne, indicating a presence in the Rhineland region as well. One notable bearer was Matthias Oberheide, a master baker in Cologne who was documented in guild records from the 1670s.
As the Oberheide family spread, variants of the spelling emerged such as Oberheit and Oberheiden. In the 19th century, Johann Oberheide (1823-1887) was a prosperous merchant and civic leader in the town of Burgsteinfurt. His cousin Friedrich Oberheide (1819-1895) became a renowned linguist who published influential works on Low German dialects.
While not of nobility, the Oberheide name does appear to have been respectable among burgher families and urban tradespeople from an early period based on the available records. Its geographic origins and etymology suggest it initially identified people from upland areas before becoming a hereditary surname over time.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Oberheide
Among Census respondents with the surname Oberheide, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.5%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Oberheide 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 Oberheide surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.8% · 95
- Hispanic or Latino6.5% · 7
- Two or more races2.8% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.9% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Oberheide
Oberheide appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#151,639
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 107
+2 bearers (+1.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 3,268 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #154,907 | 105 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #151,639 | 107 | 0.04 | +2 bearers (+1.9%) | Up 3,268 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 Oberheide 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 | #154,907 | #151,639 | 2.1% |
| Count | 105 | 107 | 1.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -10.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Oberheide bearers went from 105 to 107 (+1.9% change). The surname moved up 3,268 positions in the national ranking, going from #154,907 to #151,639.
FAQ
Oberheide surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Oberheide?
Name Census estimates that about 123 living Americans carry the surname Oberheide. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,786,621 residents.
How common is Oberheide?
Oberheide ranks #151,639 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 107 people with the surname Oberheide. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (123), 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 Oberheide.
Has Oberheide become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Oberheide went from 105 recorded bearers to 107. That is an increase of 2 (+1.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #154,907 to #151,639.
What does the Census say about the background of Oberheide?
Among Census respondents with the surname Oberheide, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.5%) and Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Oberheide in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.8% (95 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Oberheide appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.8%), Hispanic (6.5%), Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Oberheide (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 Oberheide mean?
Germanic surname meaning "upper clearing" or "clearing on a hill". 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 Oberheide (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 Oberheide?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans have the surname Oberheide on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.