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

Obst, 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 Obst surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Obst in America

Obst is the 36099th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Obst surname appeared 621 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 Obst.

We can also compare 2010 data for Obst 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 Obst

The surname OBST is of German origin, derived from the Middle High German word "obez" meaning "fruit." The name likely originated in the southern regions of Germany during the late medieval period, around the 13th or 14th century.

OBST was originally an occupational surname, given to individuals who cultivated or sold fruit, particularly in orchards or vineyards. It may have also been used as a nickname for someone associated with the fruit trade or living near an orchard.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname OBST can be found in the Würzburg Diocesan Records from the year 1362, which mentions a "Conradus Obst" from the town of Ochsenfurt, located in present-day Bavaria.

In the 15th century, the name OBST appeared in various records from the Palatinate region of southwestern Germany, such as the Heidelberg Codex from 1487, which lists a "Hans Obst" among the residents of Heidelberg.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the surname OBST spread across different parts of Germany, as well as into neighboring regions like Austria and Switzerland. Notable individuals bearing this name include Johann Obst (1536-1591), a German theologian and Protestant reformer from Saxony, and Anna Obst (1612-1658), a renowned Baroque painter from Nuremberg.

In the 18th century, the OBST surname gained prominence in the Kingdom of Prussia, with individuals like Johann Christian Obst (1722-1785), a Prussian military officer and writer, and Christian Friedrich Obst (1760-1831), a German-born American pastor and pioneer in Pennsylvania.

Other notable figures with the surname OBST include Johann Obst (1806-1885), a German author and educator from Silesia, and Emil Obst (1892-1986), a German journalist and political activist who played a role in the resistance against the Nazi regime during World War II.

While the surname OBST is still prevalent in Germany and other parts of Central Europe, it has also been carried by immigrants to various regions around the world, including North America, South America, and Australia.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Obst

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

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

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

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