2000
#130,443
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 120
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Offenbach
A German locational surname derived from the town of Offenbach.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 138 Americans carry the last name Offenbach. That puts it at #142,049 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,483,727 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Offenbach 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
138
1 in 2,483,727
Census rank
#142,049
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
120
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 120 bearers of the surname Offenbach in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 142049th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Offenbach, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (13.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Offenbach
The surname Offenbach originated in Germany and dates back to the 13th century. It is a locational name derived from the town of Offenbach am Main, located in the German state of Hesse. The name Offenbach is thought to come from the Old High German words "offan" meaning "open" and "bach" meaning "brook" or "stream," suggesting that the town was located near an open or exposed stream.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Offenbach can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Anhaltinus, a collection of historical documents from the principality of Anhalt, which mentions a person named "Conradus de Offenbach" in 1273.
The Offenbach surname is closely tied to the town of Offenbach am Main, which was granted town rights in 1487 and became an important center for trade and industry. In the 16th century, a notable family bearing the Offenbach name was the Offenbach-Schönborn family, who were influential landowners and officials in the region.
One of the most famous individuals to bear the Offenbach surname was Jacques Offenbach (1819-1880), a German-born French composer and cellist who is considered one of the pioneers of the operetta genre. His works, such as "Orpheus in the Underworld" and "The Tales of Hoffmann," were highly popular and influential in the world of music and theater.
Another notable bearer of the Offenbach name was Robert Offenbach (1808-1876), a German violinist and conductor who co-founded the Offenbach String Quartet and served as the music director of the Frankfurt Opera.
In the 19th century, the Offenbach family also played a significant role in the banking industry. Jacob Offenbach (1799-1880) was a prominent German banker and philanthropist who founded the banking house J. Offenbach & Co. in Cologne.
Other historical figures with the Offenbach surname include Johann Offenbach (1603-1665), a German theologian and author, and Friedrich Offenbach (1801-1864), a German architect and urban planner who designed many notable buildings in Frankfurt.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Offenbach
Among Census respondents with the surname Offenbach, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (13.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Offenbach 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 Offenbach surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.0% · 96
- Hispanic or Latino13.3% · 16
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.3% · 4
- Two or more races2.5% · 3
- Black or African American0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Offenbach
Offenbach 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
#148,347
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
-9 bearers (-7.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 17,904 places
2020
#142,049
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 120
+9 bearers (+8.1%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 6,298 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #130,443 | 120 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #148,347 | 111 | 0.04 | -9 bearers (-7.5%) | Down 17,904 places |
| 2020 | #142,049 | 120 | 0.04 | +9 bearers (+8.1%) | Up 6,298 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 Offenbach 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 | #148,347 | #142,049 | 4.2% |
| Count | 111 | 120 | 8.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | 0.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Offenbach bearers went from 111 to 120 (+8.1% change). The surname moved up 6,298 positions in the national ranking, going from #148,347 to #142,049.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Offenbach
FAQ
Offenbach surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Offenbach?
Name Census estimates that about 138 living Americans carry the surname Offenbach. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,483,727 residents.
How common is Offenbach?
Offenbach ranks #142,049 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 120 people with the surname Offenbach. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (138), 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 Offenbach.
Has Offenbach become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Offenbach went from 111 recorded bearers to 120. That is an increase of 9 (+8.1%). In the national ranking it rose from #148,347 to #142,049.
What does the Census say about the background of Offenbach?
Among Census respondents with the surname Offenbach, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (13.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.3%). 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 Offenbach in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.0% (96 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Offenbach appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (80.0%), Hispanic (13.3%), Asian/Pacific Islander (3.3%). 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 Offenbach (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 Offenbach mean?
A German locational surname derived from the town of Offenbach. 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 Offenbach (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 have the surname Offenbach?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.