2000
#116,835
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 138
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Oberson
A habitational surname derived from a place name, possibly related to the German words "ober" meaning "upper" and "son".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 163 Americans carry the last name Oberson. That puts it at #126,357 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.05 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,102,787 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Oberson 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
163
1 in 2,102,787
Census rank
#126,357
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
142
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 142 bearers of the surname Oberson in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.05 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 126357th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Oberson, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.2%) and Black (6.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Oberson
The surname OBERSON originated in Switzerland and is believed to have first appeared in the early 13th century. It is derived from the Swiss-German word "Ober," meaning "upper" or "higher," and likely referred to someone who lived in an elevated or upland area.
One of the earliest known references to the name can be found in the Swiss cantonal records of Vaud, where an individual named Johannes Oberson is mentioned in a document dated 1276. This suggests that the name was already well-established in the region by that time.
In the 14th century, the name appears in various Swiss municipal records and tax rolls, including those of Bern and Zurich. For example, a Petrus Oberson is listed as a landowner in the village of Interlaken in 1342.
As the OBERSON family spread throughout Switzerland and neighboring regions, the name underwent some slight variations in spelling, such as Obermann, Obermann, and Oberhausen. These variations often reflected local dialects and scribal preferences.
One notable bearer of the OBERSON name was Hans Oberson, a Swiss mercenary who fought in the Burgundian Wars of the late 15th century. He is believed to have been born in the village of Grindelwald around 1450.
Another prominent figure was the Swiss theologian and reformer Ulrich Oberson (1487-1551), who played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation in Switzerland. He was a contemporary and colleague of Martin Luther and Huldrych Zwingli.
In the 17th century, the OBERSON surname appears in records from the Swiss canton of Neuchâtel, where a family of that name owned a prominent vineyard in the village of Cressier. The vineyard was known as the "Domaine Oberson" and remained in the family's possession for several generations.
One of the earliest documented instances of the OBERSON name in North America can be found in the records of the French and Indian War, where a Swiss soldier named Jacob Oberson is listed as having served in the British colonial forces in the 1750s.
Throughout the centuries, the OBERSON surname has been associated with various notable individuals, including the Swiss writer and poet Emilie Oberson (1835-1894), the French painter and sculptor Gustave Oberson (1878-1941), and the Swiss architect and designer Max Oberson (1905-1985).
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Oberson
Among Census respondents with the surname Oberson, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.2%) and Black (6.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Oberson 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 Oberson surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White79.6% · 113
- Hispanic or Latino9.2% · 13
- Black or African American6.3% · 9
- Two or more races3.5% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Oberson
Oberson 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
#116,829
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 149
+11 bearers (+8.0%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Up 6 places
2020
#126,357
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 142
-7 bearers (-4.7%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Down 9,528 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #116,835 | 138 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #116,829 | 149 | 0.05 | +11 bearers (+8.0%) | Up 6 places |
| 2020 | #126,357 | 142 | 0.05 | -7 bearers (-4.7%) | Down 9,528 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 Oberson 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 | #116,829 | #126,357 | -8.2% |
| Count | 149 | 142 | -4.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.05 | -5.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Oberson bearers went from 149 to 142 (-4.7% change). The surname moved down 9,528 positions in the national ranking, going from #116,829 to #126,357.
FAQ
Oberson surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Oberson?
Name Census estimates that about 163 living Americans carry the surname Oberson. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,102,787 residents.
How common is Oberson?
Oberson ranks #126,357 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.05 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 142 people with the surname Oberson. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (163), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.05 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.05 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 Oberson.
Has Oberson become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Oberson went from 149 recorded bearers to 142. That is a decrease of 7 (-4.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #116,829 to #126,357.
What does the Census say about the background of Oberson?
Among Census respondents with the surname Oberson, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.2%) and Black (6.3%). 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 Oberson in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.6% (113 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Oberson appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (79.6%), Hispanic (9.2%), Black (6.3%). 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 Oberson (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 Oberson mean?
A habitational surname derived from a place name, possibly related to the German words "ober" meaning "upper" and "son". 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 Oberson (0.05 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 Americans have the surname Oberson?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.