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

Obitz, 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 Obitz surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Obitz in America

Obitz is the 134712th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Obitz surname appeared 125 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 Obitz.

We can also compare 2010 data for Obitz 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 Obitz

The surname Obitz is of German origin, tracing its roots back to the 14th century. It is believed to have originated in the region of Bavaria, where it was initially spelled as "Obitz" or "Obbitz". The name is thought to be derived from the German word "Obitz", meaning a small, elevated settlement or a hillock.

During the Middle Ages, surnames often referred to the geographic location or physical characteristics of a place where a person resided. The earliest known recording of the name Obitz dates back to 1376, when it appeared in a municipal record from the town of Nuremberg. This document mentions an individual named "Hans Obitz", who was a local merchant.

In the 16th century, the name Obitz was also found in various records from the city of Munich. One notable individual was Konrad Obitz, a respected scholar and theologian who lived from 1501 to 1567. Konrad was known for his writings on Protestant theology and his association with the Reformation movement.

As the centuries passed, the Obitz name spread across different regions of Germany. In the 18th century, a village named Obitz existed in the state of Saxony, indicating that the name may have originated from or been influenced by this particular place.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Obitz in North America dates back to the 1700s, when Johann Obitz immigrated to Pennsylvania from the Palatinate region of Germany. Johann's descendants went on to establish themselves in various parts of the United States, contributing to the dissemination of the Obitz name across the country.

Among notable individuals with the surname Obitz throughout history are:

1. Wilhelm Obitz (1826-1898), a German painter and illustrator known for his depictions of rural life and landscapes.
2. Karl Obitz (1853-1924), a German architect who designed several prominent buildings in Berlin in the late 19th century.
3. Elise Obitz (1874-1942), a German writer and journalist who wrote extensively about women's rights and social issues.
4. Franz Obitz (1901-1987), an Austrian-born American physicist who made significant contributions to the study of nuclear physics and participated in the Manhattan Project during World War II.
5. Gerhard Obitz (1925-2001), a German-born American engineer and inventor who held numerous patents in the field of aerospace technology and worked for NASA.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Obitz

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

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

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Obitz, 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!