Oberman last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Oberman

An occupational surname derived from the German word "Obermann" meaning an overseer or superintendent.

Oberman, 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 Oberman surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Oberman in America

Oberman is the 22026th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Oberman surname appeared 1,177 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 Oberman.

We can also compare 2010 data for Oberman 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 22026 19071 14.38%
Count 1,177 1,320 -11.45%
Proportion per 100k 0.40 0.49 -20.22%

The history of the last name Oberman

The surname Oberman is of German origin, and it can be traced back to the Middle Ages. The name is derived from the German word "ober," which means "upper" or "higher," and the suffix "-man," which indicates a person or an individual. This suggests that the name may have been given to someone who lived in an elevated or higher area or region.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Oberman can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae, a collection of medieval documents from Saxony, Germany, dating back to the 13th century. In these records, the name appears in various spellings, such as "Obermann" and "Oberман."

Another historical reference to the name Oberman can be found in the Salzburger Gerichtsakten, a collection of legal documents from the city of Salzburg, Austria, dating back to the 15th century. Here, the name is recorded as "Oberman" and is associated with individuals residing in the region.

Oberman was also a prominent name in the town of Worms, Germany, during the 16th century. One notable individual bearing this surname was Johann Oberman (1472-1530), a German theologian and reformer who played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation.

In the 17th century, the name Oberman appeared in the records of the village of Oberndorf, located in the present-day state of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Here, it was associated with families engaged in agriculture and viticulture.

Another notable figure with the surname Oberman was Heinrich Oberman (1598-1673), a German jurist and legal scholar who served as a professor at the University of Jena and authored several influential works on Roman law.

Moving forward to the 18th century, the Oberman name can be found in the parish records of the town of Kirchheimbolanden, also located in Rhineland-Palatinate. During this time, the name was sometimes spelled as "Obermann."

In the 19th century, the Oberman surname gained prominence in the field of literature with the German poet and novelist Karl Oberman (1819-1885), who was born in the city of Cologne and is known for his works depicting life in the Rhineland region.

Throughout history, the surname Oberman has been carried by individuals from various walks of life, including scholars, artists, and professionals. While the name may have originated in specific regions of Germany, it has since spread to other parts of the world through migration and diaspora.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Oberman

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

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 Oberman was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 94.05% 1,107
Non-Hispanic Black Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 1.10% 13
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 1.87% 22
Hispanic Origin 2.55% 30

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 Oberman has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 94.05% 94.92% -0.92%
Black (S)% (S)% (S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander 1.10% 0.61% 57.31%
American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)% (S)%
Two or More Races 1.87% 1.59% 16.18%
Hispanic 2.55% 2.50% 1.98%

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

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

Reference this page

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If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!

"Oberman last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on November 22, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/oberman-surname-popularity/.

"Oberman last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/oberman-surname-popularity/. Accessed 22 November, 2024

Oberman last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/oberman-surname-popularity/.

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