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

Oberley, 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 Oberley surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Oberley in America

Oberley is the 59171st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Oberley surname appeared 342 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 Oberley.

We can also compare 2010 data for Oberley 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 Oberley

The surname Oberley is of German origin, specifically from the state of Bavaria. It is believed to have first emerged during the Middle Ages, around the 12th or 13th century. The name is derived from the German words "ober" meaning "upper" and "ley" meaning "clearing" or "meadow", suggesting that the name may have referred to someone who lived in an upper meadow or clearing.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Oberley can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae, a collection of historical documents from the region of Saxony, dating back to the 13th century. The name is mentioned in reference to a landowner or nobleman named Henricus Oberley.

In the 15th century, a notable figure named Johannes Oberley was a prominent scholar and theologian at the University of Heidelberg. He authored several treatises on religious philosophy and was a influential figure during the Renaissance period.

During the 16th century, a family by the name of Oberley was documented as residing in the town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, a well-preserved medieval town in Bavaria. This family may have been among the early bearers of the surname in that region.

In the late 17th century, a man named Friedrich Oberley was a renowned clockmaker and watchmaker in the city of Nuremberg, which was a center of the clockmaking industry at the time. His intricate timepieces were highly prized and sought after by noblemen and wealthy patrons.

Another individual of note was Wilhelm Oberley, a German military officer who served under Napoleon Bonaparte during the Napoleonic Wars in the early 19th century. He was born in 1785 and rose to the rank of General, distinguishing himself in several battles before his death in 1856.

Throughout history, the surname Oberley has been found in various spellings such as Oberle, Oberly, and Oberli, reflecting regional variations and linguistic changes over time. While the name originated in Germany, it has since spread to other parts of Europe and beyond, carried by individuals and families who emigrated from their ancestral homelands.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Oberley

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

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

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

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