Offman last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Offman

A surname derived from a nickname for someone who lived away from the village.

Offman, 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 Offman surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Offman in America

Offman is the 129825th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Offman surname appeared 131 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 Offman.

We can also compare 2010 data for Offman 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.

20102000Change (%)
Rank1298251196448.16%
Count131134-2.26%
Proportion per 100k0.040.05-22.22%

The history of the last name Offman

The surname Offman has its origins in the German language and can be traced back to the Middle Ages. It is believed to have derived from the Old German word "off," meaning "over" or "above," and the suffix "-man," which denoted a person or an occupation. The name likely referred to someone who lived on a higher elevation or in a place situated above a particular landmark.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Offman can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus, a collection of medieval documents from the Cistercian monastery in Eberbach, Germany, dating back to the 13th century. The name is mentioned in a land transfer document from the year 1287, where a certain "Conradus Offman" is listed as a witness.

In the 14th century, the surname Offman appeared in various records across the German states, including the Bürgermeisterbücher (Burgomasters' Books) of Nuremberg, which documented the names of city officials and residents. One notable entry from 1362 mentions a "Hans Offman," who was a merchant in the city.

During the 15th century, the name Offman spread to other parts of Europe, including the Netherlands and the Baltic regions. In the Dutch province of Friesland, the name was recorded as "Offmann" in the Beneficiary Registers of the Cistercian Abbey of Lidlum, dated 1487.

In the 16th century, the Offman surname can be found in the parish records of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Riga, Latvia, where a "Johann Offman" was born in 1541. Another notable figure from this period was Hans Offman, a German-born painter and engraver who lived in Augsburg, Germany, from 1552 to 1611.

The 17th century saw the migration of Offman families to various parts of Europe and beyond. One prominent individual was Johann Offman, a German composer and organist who was born in Saxony in 1627 and died in Mannheim in 1699.

As the Offman surname spread across Europe and beyond, it also underwent various spelling variations, such as Offmann, Offerman, and Offermann, among others. These variations often reflected regional dialects and linguistic influences.

Throughout history, the Offman surname has been associated with individuals from various professions and backgrounds, including artists, musicians, scholars, and tradesmen. While not an exhaustive list, some notable figures bearing this surname include:

  1. Heinrich Offman (1798-1864), a German chemist and pioneer in the field of organic chemistry.
  2. Arno Offman (1860-1939), a German-American architect and designer known for his work in Chicago.
  3. Theodor Offman (1822-1890), a German philosopher and educator.
  4. Ernst Offman (1901-1980), a German-American physicist and inventor.
  5. Wilhelm Offman (1864-1945), a German writer and poet.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Offman

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

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 Offman was:

Race/EthnicityPercentageTotal Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only93.13%122
Non-Hispanic Black Only(S)%(S)
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only(S)%(S)
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native0.00%0
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races(S)%(S)
Hispanic Origin4.58%6

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 Offman has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

20102000Change (%)
White93.13%94.78%-1.76%
Black(S)%0.00%(S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander(S)%(S)%(S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0.00%(S)%(S)%
Two or More Races(S)%(S)%(S)%
Hispanic4.58%(S)%(S)%

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

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

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