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

Oesch, 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 Oesch surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Oesch in America

Oesch is the 40313th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Oesch surname appeared 543 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 Oesch.

We can also compare 2010 data for Oesch 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 Oesch

The surname Oesch has its origins in Switzerland, dating back to the early Middle Ages. It is believed to have derived from a Swiss-German word meaning "a low-lying meadow" or "water meadow," indicating that the name's original bearers likely lived near such a geographical feature.

The earliest known records of the name Oesch can be traced back to the 13th century in the region of Bern, Switzerland. One of the earliest documented individuals with this surname was Hans Oesch, a landowner mentioned in the town records of Biel/Bienne in 1325.

Over the centuries, the name has appeared in various spellings, such as Ösch, Oesch, Oeschger, and Öscher, reflecting regional dialects and scribal variations. Some of these variants may have originated from place names like Öschingen or Oeschgen.

Notably, the Oesch family played a role in the Swiss Reformation. Hans Oesch, born in 1486 in Biel/Bienne, was a Protestant reformer and close associate of Ulrich Zwingli, a leading figure of the Reformation in Switzerland. He actively participated in the religious debates of the time and helped spread the Reformation teachings in the region.

Another prominent figure with this surname was Johann Rudolf Oesch, born in 1762 in Bern. He was a Swiss politician and served as the Mayor of Bern from 1813 to 1815, during the tumultuous period following the Napoleonic Wars.

In the 19th century, Jakob Oesch (1818-1889) was a Swiss industrialist and entrepreneur. He founded the Oesch Brewery in Frauenfeld, which became one of the largest breweries in Switzerland at the time.

Moving into the 20th century, Hans Oesch (1909-1999) was a renowned Swiss film director and screenwriter. He is best known for his films "Polizischt Wäckerli" (1955) and "Hinterlassenschaft" (1986), which explored themes of Swiss rural life and social issues.

Another notable bearer of the Oesch surname was Erich Oesch (1906-1987), a Swiss artist and painter. His works, primarily landscapes and still lifes, were exhibited in various galleries across Switzerland and are held in several museum collections.

While the Oesch name is most commonly associated with Switzerland, it has also been found in other regions, likely due to migration and settlement patterns over the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Oesch

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

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

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

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