2000
#124,872
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 127
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Oehrle
A German surname possibly derived from an occupational name for an agricultural worker.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 131 Americans carry the last name Oehrle. That puts it at #146,495 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,616,445 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Oehrle 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
131
1 in 2,616,445
Census rank
#146,495
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
114
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 114 bearers of the surname Oehrle in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 146495th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Oehrle, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.4%. The next largest groups are Black (0.9%) and Hispanic (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Oehrle
The surname OEHRLE originated in Germany during the late Middle Ages. It is derived from the German word "Oehr", which means "ear" or "loop", suggesting that the name may have initially referred to someone who had a distinctive ear shape or perhaps worked as a maker of metal loops or rings.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the town records of Rottweil, located in the historical region of Swabia, in southwestern Germany. In 1492, a certain Hans Oehrle was listed as a resident of the town, indicating that the name had already been established by that time.
Throughout the 16th and 17th centuries, the OEHRLE surname appeared in various areas of southern Germany, including the states of Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria. In 1621, a Johann Oehrle was born in the village of Oberstenfeld, near the city of Stuttgart, and later served as a soldier during the Thirty Years' War.
As the centuries progressed, members of the OEHRLE family dispersed to other regions of Germany and beyond. In the early 19th century, a notable figure named Friedrich Oehrle (1783-1859) was a respected Lutheran pastor and theologian who served as a professor at the University of Tübingen.
Another individual of note was the writer and playwright Otto Oehrle (1859-1932), who was born in Pforzheim and gained recognition for his works depicting life in the Black Forest region of southwestern Germany.
During the 19th and 20th centuries, the OEHRLE surname also found its way to other parts of Europe and the Americas through emigration. For instance, a man named Johann Georg Oehrle (1828-1906) left Germany and settled in the United States, where he worked as a farmer in the state of Ohio.
While not an exhaustive list, these examples illustrate the rich history and geographical spread of the OEHRLE surname, which has its roots in the German-speaking regions of Europe and has been carried by individuals from various walks of life over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Oehrle
Among Census respondents with the surname Oehrle, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.4%. The next largest groups are Black (0.9%) and Hispanic (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Oehrle 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 Oehrle surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White97.4% · 111
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
- Hispanic or Latino0.9% · 1
- Two or more races0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Oehrle
Oehrle appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#126,018
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 136
+9 bearers (+7.1%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Down 1,146 places
2020
#146,495
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114
-22 bearers (-16.2%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 20,477 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #124,872 | 127 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #126,018 | 136 | 0.05 | +9 bearers (+7.1%) | Down 1,146 places |
| 2020 | #146,495 | 114 | 0.04 | -22 bearers (-16.2%) | Down 20,477 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 Oehrle 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 | #126,018 | #146,495 | -16.2% |
| Count | 136 | 114 | -16.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.04 | -23.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Oehrle bearers went from 136 to 114 (-16.2% change). The surname moved down 20,477 positions in the national ranking, going from #126,018 to #146,495.
FAQ
Oehrle surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Oehrle?
Name Census estimates that about 131 living Americans carry the surname Oehrle. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,616,445 residents.
How common is Oehrle?
Oehrle ranks #146,495 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 114 people with the surname Oehrle. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (131), 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 Oehrle.
Has Oehrle become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Oehrle went from 136 recorded bearers to 114. That is a decrease of 22 (-16.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #126,018 to #146,495.
What does the Census say about the background of Oehrle?
Among Census respondents with the surname Oehrle, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.4%. The next largest groups are Black (0.9%) and Hispanic (0.9%). 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 Oehrle in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.4% (111 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Oehrle appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (97.4%), Black (0.9%), Hispanic (0.9%). 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 Oehrle (2000, 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 Oehrle mean?
A German surname possibly derived from an occupational name for an agricultural worker. 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 Oehrle (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 are called Oehrle?
You can see how many people have the last name Oehrle on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.