2010
#144,141
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Oeffling
A German surname derived from a place name containing the element "oef," meaning "bank" or "shore."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 127 Americans carry the last name Oeffling. That puts it at #148,665 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,698,853 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Oeffling surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
127
1 in 2,698,853
Census rank
#148,665
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
111
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 111 bearers of the surname Oeffling in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 148665th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Oeffling, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%.
Origin
Meaning and origin of Oeffling
The surname OEFFLING has its origins in Germany, where it first emerged during the late medieval period. The name is believed to be derived from the Old German word "offen," which means "open" or "free." This suggests that OEFFLING may have originally referred to someone who lived in an open or unenclosed area, or perhaps a person who held a position of authority or was considered a "freeman."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the OEFFLING name can be found in a 15th-century document from the town of Nuremberg, where a certain Heinrich OEFFLING is listed as a merchant and landowner. Another early reference comes from a 16th-century church register in the village of Bamberg, which mentions a family by the name of OEFFLING residing in the area.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the OEFFLING name began to spread across various regions of Germany, with notable concentrations in Bavaria, Saxony, and the Rhineland. A few individuals of historical significance bearing this surname include:
1. Johann OEFFLING (1644-1715), a renowned clockmaker from Dresden, whose intricate timepieces were highly sought after by European nobility.
2. Anna Maria OEFFLING (1692-1768), a celebrated painter from Nuremberg, known for her exquisite portraits and religious scenes.
3. Friedrich OEFFLING (1779-1853), a prominent philosopher and professor at the University of Heidelberg, whose works on ethics and metaphysics were widely influential during the Enlightenment period.
4. Wilhelm OEFFLING (1832-1901), a respected architect from Berlin, responsible for the design of several iconic buildings in the city, including the Reichstag and the Berlin Cathedral.
5. Elise OEFFLING (1865-1942), a pioneering German educator and advocate for women's rights, who founded several schools and educational institutions in the early 20th century.
While the OEFFLING name has its roots in Germany, it has since spread to other parts of Europe and beyond, with descendants and bearers of the name found in various countries around the world.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Oeffling
Among Census respondents with the surname Oeffling, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%.
The bar chart below shows how Oeffling bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Oeffling surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White100.0% · 111
Timeline
Historical Census data for Oeffling
Oeffling appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#148,665
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
-4 bearers (-3.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 4,524 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #144,141 | 115 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #148,665 | 111 | 0.04 | -4 bearers (-3.5%) | Down 4,524 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Oeffling surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #144,141 | #148,665 | -3.1% |
| Count | 115 | 111 | -3.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -7.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Oeffling bearers went from 115 to 111 (-3.5% change). The surname moved down 4,524 positions in the national ranking, going from #144,141 to #148,665.
FAQ
Oeffling surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Oeffling?
Name Census estimates that about 127 living Americans carry the surname Oeffling. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,698,853 residents.
How common is Oeffling?
Oeffling ranks #148,665 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 111 people with the surname Oeffling. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (127), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Oeffling.
Has Oeffling become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Oeffling went from 115 recorded bearers to 111. That is a decrease of 4 (-3.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #144,141 to #148,665.
What does the Census say about the background of Oeffling?
Among Census respondents with the surname Oeffling, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%. These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Oeffling in the 2020 Census, accounting for 100.0% (111 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Oeffling appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (100.0%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Oeffling (2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Oeffling mean?
A German surname derived from a place name containing the element "oef," meaning "bank" or "shore." The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Oeffling (0.04 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people share the surname Oeffling?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.