2000
#12,642
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,246
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.83
Rare Last name
Oberle
A toponymic surname derived from places named Oberle or Oberlin, likely referring to someone from those locations.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,487 Americans carry the last name Oberle. That puts it at #13,421 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.73 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 137,818 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Oberle 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
2.5K
1 in 137,818
Census rank
#13,421
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,169 bearers of the surname Oberle in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.73 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13421st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Oberle, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.6%) and Hispanic (2.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Oberle
The surname Oberle is of German origin and dates back to the medieval period. It is derived from the German word "Ober," which means "upper" or "higher," and was likely initially used as a descriptive surname to refer to someone who lived in an elevated location or a higher part of a town or village.
The earliest recorded instances of the surname Oberle can be found in various medieval German records and documents. For example, the name appears in the Würzburg City Records from the 13th century, where a certain "Conradus Oberle" is mentioned.
In the 14th century, the Oberle surname was also present in the town of Freiburg im Breisgau, located in the modern-day state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Records from this period include references to individuals such as "Heinricus Oberle" and "Johannes Oberle."
Over the centuries, the surname Oberle has been subject to various spelling variations, including Oberlin, Oberle, Oberly, and Oberlie, among others. These variations often resulted from regional dialects and transcription errors by scribes and record-keepers.
One notable individual with the surname Oberle was Johann Friedrich Oberlin (1740-1826), a German-born French Protestant pastor and philanthropist who dedicated his life to improving the living conditions of the residents of the Ban de la Roche valley in the Vosges Mountains of Alsace, France.
Another notable figure was Carl Oberle (1892-1977), a German architect and urban planner who was instrumental in the reconstruction and redesign of several German cities after World War II, including Stuttgart and Hanover.
In the field of literature, the Swiss-born writer and poet Max Oberle (1901-1970) gained recognition for his works exploring themes of rural life and the natural world.
Additionally, the name Oberle has been associated with various locations and place names throughout Germany and other German-speaking regions. For instance, the village of Oberle in the Rhineland-Palatinate state of Germany likely derived its name from the surname.
Throughout history, the Oberle surname has also been found in various other European countries, such as Switzerland, Austria, and France, likely due to migration and intermarriage among German-speaking populations in these regions.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Oberle
Among Census respondents with the surname Oberle, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.6%) and Hispanic (2.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Oberle 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 Oberle surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.1% · 2,040
- Two or more races2.6% · 57
- Hispanic or Latino2.0% · 44
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 20
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 7
- Black or African American0.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Oberle
Oberle 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
#12,953
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,371
+125 bearers (+5.6%)
Per 100,000 0.80
Rank movement Down 311 places
2020
#13,421
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,169
-202 bearers (-8.5%)
Per 100,000 0.73
Rank movement Down 468 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,642 | 2,246 | 0.83 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,953 | 2,371 | 0.80 | +125 bearers (+5.6%) | Down 311 places |
| 2020 | #13,421 | 2,169 | 0.73 | -202 bearers (-8.5%) | Down 468 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 Oberle 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 | #12,953 | #13,421 | -3.6% |
| Count | 2,371 | 2,169 | -8.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.80 | 0.73 | -9.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Oberle bearers went from 2,371 to 2,169 (-8.5% change). The surname moved down 468 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,953 to #13,421.
FAQ
Oberle surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Oberle?
Name Census estimates that about 2,487 living Americans carry the surname Oberle. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 137,818 residents.
How common is Oberle?
Oberle ranks #13,421 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.73 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,169 people with the surname Oberle. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,487), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.73 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.73 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Oberle.
Has Oberle become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Oberle went from 2,371 recorded bearers to 2,169. That is a decrease of 202 (-8.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #12,953 to #13,421.
What does the Census say about the background of Oberle?
Among Census respondents with the surname Oberle, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.6%) and Hispanic (2.0%). 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 Oberle in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.1% (2,040 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Oberle appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.1%), Two or More Races (2.6%), Hispanic (2.0%). 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 Oberle (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 Oberle mean?
A toponymic surname derived from places named Oberle or Oberlin, likely referring to someone from those locations. 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 Oberle (0.73 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 are called Oberle?
See how common the surname Oberle is on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.