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

Oberholzer, 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 Oberholzer surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Oberholzer in America

Oberholzer is the 42094th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Oberholzer surname appeared 516 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 Oberholzer.

We can also compare 2010 data for Oberholzer 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 Oberholzer

The surname Oberholzer originated in Germany, with the earliest known records dating back to the 16th century. It is believed to have derived from the German words "ober" meaning "upper" and "holz" meaning "wood," suggesting that the name may have referred to someone who lived or worked in an area near or above a forest or wooded area.

One of the earliest known references to the Oberholzer name can be found in the records of the city of Cologne, where a Johann Oberholzer was mentioned in a document dated 1547. This suggests that the name was already well-established in the region by the mid-16th century.

By the 17th century, the Oberholzer name had spread to other parts of Germany, as evidenced by the birth of Hans Oberholzer in Nuremberg in 1623. This Hans Oberholzer went on to become a respected merchant and trader, establishing the family's presence in the city.

As the centuries progressed, the Oberholzer name continued to be documented in various German records and manuscripts. One notable example is the birth of Katharina Oberholzer in 1701 in the town of Esslingen, which was recorded in the local church registry.

While the name is primarily associated with Germany, there are also records of individuals with the Oberholzer surname in other parts of Europe. For instance, a Swiss banker named Jakob Oberholzer, born in 1765, made a significant contribution to the development of the financial sector in his country.

Among the more famous individuals with the Oberholzer surname was the German author and poet, Wilhelm Oberholzer, who lived from 1824 to 1892. He was renowned for his passionate works that celebrated the beauty of nature and the German countryside.

Another notable figure was the Swiss architect and urban planner, Emil Oberholzer, who was born in 1878 and played a pivotal role in shaping the modern landscape of several Swiss cities, including Zurich and Basel, through his innovative designs and urban planning initiatives.

In the realm of academia, the name Oberholzer is associated with the Swiss mathematician and physicist, Hans Oberholzer, born in 1901. His groundbreaking contributions to the field of theoretical physics and his collaborations with renowned scientists like Albert Einstein garnered him international recognition.

It is worth mentioning that while the Oberholzer name has its roots in Germany, it has since been adopted and embraced by families in various parts of the world, including Switzerland, Austria, and even as far as Australia and North America, where descendants of German and Swiss immigrants have carried on the name through generations.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Oberholzer

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

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

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

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