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

Obray, 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 Obray surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Obray in America

Obray is the 51610th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Obray surname appeared 403 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 Obray.

We can also compare 2010 data for Obray 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 Obray

The surname OBRAY originated in France during the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Old French word "obre," meaning "shade" or "shadow." This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who lived in a shaded or forested area.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name OBRAY appears in the Cartulaire de l'Abbaye de Saint-Père de Chartres, a medieval manuscript from the 12th century. This document mentions a certain "Robertus de Obrea," indicating that the name was already in use by that time.

During the 13th century, the name OBRAY can be found in several historical records from the region of Normandy in northern France. For instance, a document from 1236 refers to a "Guillelmus Obray" from the village of Bricquebec.

In the 14th century, the spelling of the name evolved to include variations such as "Obraye" and "Obree." This is evidenced by a record from 1374 mentioning a "Johannes Obraye" from the town of Coutances.

One notable person bearing the surname OBRAY was Jean Obray (c. 1450-1512), a French lawyer and diplomat who served as the ambassador to England during the reign of King Henry VIII.

Another historical figure with this name was Nicolas Obray (1565-1643), a French composer and organist who was active in the early 17th century and is known for his contributions to the development of organ music.

In the 17th century, the OBRAY surname also appeared in England, possibly due to migration from France. An example is Richard Obray (1620-1678), an English merchant and landowner who was born in London.

During the 18th century, the name OBRAY continued to be found in various parts of France, particularly in the regions of Normandy and Brittany. One notable individual from this period was Pierre Obray (1725-1789), a French architect who designed several churches and public buildings in the city of Rennes.

In the 19th century, the OBRAY surname spread to other parts of Europe and even to North America. One example is Joseph Obray (1810-1879), a Belgian-born artist who immigrated to the United States and became known for his landscape paintings.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Obray

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

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

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

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