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

Obrigewitch, 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 Obrigewitch surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Obrigewitch in America

Obrigewitch is the 118185th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Obrigewitch surname appeared 147 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 Obrigewitch.

We can also compare 2010 data for Obrigewitch 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 Obrigewitch

The surname OBRIGEWITCH is believed to have originated in the region of East Frisia, located in modern-day Germany and the Netherlands, during the late medieval period. It is thought to derive from the Old Frisian words "obrig" meaning "remaining" or "left over" and "witch" meaning a small settlement or village, suggesting that the name may have referred to someone who lived in a remnant or outlying hamlet.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Frisian Chronicles, a collection of historical accounts dating back to the 13th century, where a certain Obrigewitch von Aurich is mentioned as a local landowner and minor nobleman. The name also appears sporadically in various land records and legal documents from the region throughout the 14th and 15th centuries, with variations in spelling such as "Obrigewytch" and "Obrigwicht".

In the 16th century, the OBRIGEWITCH name seems to have spread beyond East Frisia, with records indicating that a family bearing this surname had settled in the city of Bremen. One notable member was Hans OBRIGEWITCH (1535-1602), a successful merchant and alderman who played a role in the city's governance during the latter part of his life.

As the OBRIGEWITCH family expanded and dispersed over the centuries, several individuals of note bore this surname. Among them was Johann OBRIGEWITCH (1671-1738), a Lutheran theologian and professor at the University of Rostock, who published numerous works on biblical exegesis and church history.

In the 19th century, a branch of the family had established itself in the Netherlands, where Willem OBRIGEWITCH (1812-1887) was a prominent figure in the Dutch East Indies, serving as a colonial administrator and briefly as acting Governor-General.

Another notable bearer of the name was Ida OBRIGEWITCH (1864-1926), a German painter and illustrator who gained recognition for her portraits and scenes of rural life in her native East Frisia.

Finally, in the early 20th century, there was Erwin OBRIGEWITCH (1901-1977), an engineer and inventor who made significant contributions to the development of early television technology while working for companies like Telefunken and Fernseh AG.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Obrigewitch

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

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

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

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