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

Offen, 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 Offen surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Offen in America

Offen is the 54530th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Offen surname appeared 378 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 Offen.

We can also compare 2010 data for Offen 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 Offen

The surname Offen is of German origin, and it first appeared in the 13th century in the region of Bavaria. The name is derived from the Old German word "offen," which means "open" or "exposed." It is believed that the name was originally given to someone who lived in an open or exposed area, such as a clearing in a forest.

One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Offen can be found in the Bavarian town records from the year 1285, where a person named Hans Offen is listed as a landowner. The name also appears in the Nuremberg Chronicle, a historical manuscript published in 1493, which mentions a knight named Dietrich Offen who fought in the Crusades.

In the 16th century, the Offen family had established themselves as a prominent family in the city of Augsburg, Bavaria. Johann Offen (1498-1572) was a successful merchant and a respected member of the city council. His son, Hans Offen (1520-1588), followed in his footsteps and became a wealthy banker and patron of the arts.

During the 17th century, the Offen family spread to other parts of Germany, and some members of the family settled in the Rhineland region. One notable figure from this period was Georg Offen (1631-1701), a renowned theologian and professor at the University of Heidelberg.

In the 19th century, several members of the Offen family emigrated to the United States and other parts of the world. One of the most famous Offens from this era was the explorer and naturalist Wilhelm Offen (1820-1892), who traveled extensively in South America and made significant contributions to the study of plant and animal life in the Amazon rainforest.

Another notable figure with the surname Offen was the German painter and printmaker Otto Offen (1857-1931), who was part of the Impressionist movement and known for his landscapes and cityscapes. His works can be found in several prestigious art museums around the world.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Offen

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!