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

Obermeyer, 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 Obermeyer surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Obermeyer in America

Obermeyer is the 18098th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Obermeyer surname appeared 1,539 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Obermeyer.

We can also compare 2010 data for Obermeyer 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 Obermeyer

The surname OBERMEYER is of German origin and can be traced back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the German words "ober" meaning "upper" and "meier" meaning "steward" or "bailiff". The name likely originated from an occupational title, referring to the head steward or overseer of an estate or property.

The earliest known records of the OBERMEYER surname date back to the 14th century in various regions of present-day Germany, such as Bavaria and Saxony. It is believed that the name may have first appeared in official documents like tax rolls or land registries, as it was common for people to be identified by their occupation during that time period.

In the 15th century, the OBERMEYER name is mentioned in a manuscript detailing the history of a prominent noble family in Nuremberg. The document refers to an individual named Hans Obermeyer, who served as the head steward for the noble household.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the OBERMEYER surname can be found in the town of Bamberg, where a man named Heinrich Obermeyer is listed as a resident in the local parish records from the year 1492.

Over the centuries, variations in spelling arose, including Obermayer, Obermeier, and Obermayr. Some of these variations were influenced by regional dialects or scribal errors in historical records.

Notable individuals with the OBERMEYER surname include:

1. Johann Obermeyer (1670-1743), a German composer and organist known for his sacred works.
2. Friedrich Obermeyer (1792-1868), a German politician and member of the Frankfurt Parliament during the Revolution of 1848.
3. Katharina Obermeyer (1837-1905), a German educator and advocate for women's rights in higher education.
4. Otto Obermeyer (1889-1964), a German-American engineer and inventor of the first modern ski boot.
5. Hans Obermeyer (1919-2015), an Austrian-American ski apparel designer and founder of the Obermeyer brand.

While the OBERMEYER surname is predominantly found in German-speaking regions, it has also spread to other parts of the world through emigration, particularly to the United States and Canada.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Obermeyer

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

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!