2000
#146,011
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 104
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Oberloh
A German surname derived from a place name meaning "upper meadow".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 119 Americans carry the last name Oberloh. That puts it at #153,590 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,880,289 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Oberloh 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
119
1 in 2,880,289
Census rank
#153,590
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
104
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 104 bearers of the surname Oberloh in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 153590th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Oberloh, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (9.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Oberloh
The surname Oberloh has its origins in Germany, with records dating back to the 16th century. It is thought to be derived from the German words "ober" meaning "upper" and "loh" meaning "brushwood" or "thicket." This suggests that the name may have originated as a descriptive term for someone who lived near or in an area of dense brushwood or forest.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Oberloh surname can be found in the Kirchenbücher (church records) of Paderborn, a city in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, where an individual named Johann Oberloh was documented in 1586. This provides evidence that the name was in use during the 16th century.
Another early mention of the Oberloh name appears in the records of the town of Korbach, located in the state of Hesse, Germany, where a man named Henrich Oberloh was documented in 1612. This suggests that the name had spread to different regions of Germany by the early 17th century.
In the 18th century, a notable bearer of the Oberloh surname was Johann Christoph Oberloh (1736-1798), a German theologian and author who served as a pastor in the town of Hoya, located in Lower Saxony. His works included several religious texts and sermons.
Moving into the 19th century, there are records of an individual named Friedrich Wilhelm Oberloh (1809-1871) who was a German jurist and politician. He served as a member of the Prussian House of Representatives and was involved in legal reforms during his career.
Another significant figure with the Oberloh surname was Wilhelm Oberloh (1856-1932), a German architect and urban planner who was influential in the development of modern city planning concepts. He was particularly known for his work in designing and planning residential areas in cities like Dresden and Berlin.
It is worth noting that while the Oberloh surname has its roots in Germany, it has also been recorded in other parts of Europe and beyond, likely due to migration and the spread of German communities over time.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Oberloh
Among Census respondents with the surname Oberloh, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (9.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Oberloh 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 Oberloh surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White85.6% · 89
- Two or more races9.6% · 10
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.9% · 3
- Hispanic or Latino1.9% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Oberloh
Oberloh 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
#140,157
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119
+15 bearers (+14.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 5,854 places
2020
#153,590
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 104
-15 bearers (-12.6%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 13,433 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #146,011 | 104 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #140,157 | 119 | 0.04 | +15 bearers (+14.4%) | Up 5,854 places |
| 2020 | #153,590 | 104 | 0.03 | -15 bearers (-12.6%) | Down 13,433 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 Oberloh 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 | #140,157 | #153,590 | -9.6% |
| Count | 119 | 104 | -12.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -13.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Oberloh bearers went from 119 to 104 (-12.6% change). The surname moved down 13,433 positions in the national ranking, going from #140,157 to #153,590.
FAQ
Oberloh surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Oberloh?
Name Census estimates that about 119 living Americans carry the surname Oberloh. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,880,289 residents.
How common is Oberloh?
Oberloh ranks #153,590 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 104 people with the surname Oberloh. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (119), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Oberloh.
Has Oberloh become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Oberloh went from 119 recorded bearers to 104. That is a decrease of 15 (-12.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #140,157 to #153,590.
What does the Census say about the background of Oberloh?
Among Census respondents with the surname Oberloh, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (9.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.9%). 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 Oberloh in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.6% (89 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Oberloh appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (85.6%), Two or More Races (9.6%), Asian/Pacific Islander (2.9%). 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 Oberloh (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 Oberloh mean?
A German surname derived from a place name meaning "upper meadow". 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 Oberloh (0.03 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 Oberloh?
See how many Americans have the surname Oberloh on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.