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

Obias, 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 Obias surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Obias in America

Obias is the 136449th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Obias surname appeared 123 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 Obias.

The history of the last name Obias

The surname Obias has its origins in the Iberian Peninsula, specifically in the region of Spain. It dates back to the medieval period, around the 11th century, when the Reconquista, the Christian reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula from the Moors, was underway.

The name Obias is believed to have derived from the Spanish word "obispo," which translates to "bishop" in English. This suggests that the name may have been associated with individuals who held positions within the ecclesiastical hierarchy or had close ties to the Church during that era.

Early records indicate that the name Obias appeared in various medieval manuscripts and documents, particularly those related to the clergy and religious orders. However, no specific references to the name in notable historical records like the Domesday Book have been found.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Obias can be traced back to Rodrigo Obias, a prominent religious figure who lived in the 12th century and served as the Bishop of Palencia, a city in northern Spain, from 1185 to 1209.

Another notable bearer of the name was Juan Obias, a Spanish explorer and navigator who accompanied Christopher Columbus on his second voyage to the Americas in 1493. Juan Obias is credited with being one of the first Europeans to set foot on the island of Puerto Rico.

In the 16th century, a man named Pedro Obias gained recognition as a skilled architect and was responsible for the design and construction of several churches and religious buildings in the city of Seville, Spain.

During the 17th century, a family by the name of Obias settled in the town of Alcalá de Henares, near Madrid. This family produced several notable individuals, including Ignacio Obias, a celebrated playwright and poet who lived from 1625 to 1690.

Another prominent figure with the surname Obias was María Obias, a Spanish nun and mystic who lived in the 18th century and was known for her visions and spiritual writings. She founded a convent in the city of Granada and was beatified by the Catholic Church in 1834.

While the surname Obias has its roots in Spain, over the centuries, it has spread to other parts of the world, including Latin America and various Spanish-speaking countries, due to migration and colonization.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Obias

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

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 Obias 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.

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

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

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