2000
#134,929
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Offret
A surname derived from a Swedish word meaning "sacrifice" or "victim".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 130 Americans carry the last name Offret. That puts it at #147,221 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,636,572 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Offret 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
130
1 in 2,636,572
Census rank
#147,221
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
113
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 113 bearers of the surname Offret in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 147221st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Offret, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Offret
The surname OFFRET has its origins in the Scandinavian countries, particularly Norway and Sweden. It is believed to have emerged during the medieval period, between the 11th and 13th centuries. The name is derived from the Old Norse word "offra," which means "to offer" or "to sacrifice," suggesting a possible connection to religious or ceremonial practices of the time.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name OFFRET can be found in the Diplomatarium Norvegicum, a collection of Norwegian historical documents dating back to the 13th century. In this collection, there is a reference to a person named "Offret Olafsson," who lived in the region of Trondheim around the year 1270.
During the 14th century, the name OFFRET appeared in several Swedish parish records, particularly in the regions of Västergötland and Småland. One notable individual was Johan Offret, born in 1312 in the village of Eksjö, who was a prominent landowner and local official.
As the name spread across Scandinavia, variations in spelling began to emerge. In Denmark, for instance, the name was often spelled as "Offret" or "Offred," while in Finland, it took the form of "Offretti" or "Offretius."
One of the most prominent figures in history bearing the surname OFFRET was the Norwegian explorer and navigator, Erik Offret, who lived between 1460 and 1525. He is known for his expeditions to Greenland and the Arctic regions, where he made significant contributions to mapping and navigation.
In the 17th century, the OFFRET name gained prominence in the Netherlands, where a family of merchants and bankers from Leiden carried the name. One notable member was Willem Offret, born in 1632, who served as a financial advisor to the Dutch East India Company.
Another individual of note was the Swedish poet and philosopher, Anna Offret, born in 1725 in Stockholm. Her collection of poetry, titled "Reflections on the Human Condition," was widely acclaimed and inspired many literary circles of the time.
As the centuries progressed, the OFFRET surname spread across Europe and beyond, with individuals bearing the name making their mark in various fields, including academia, politics, and the arts. One such figure was the British historian and author, Edward Offret (1879-1952), known for his seminal works on the medieval period in Europe.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Offret
Among Census respondents with the surname Offret, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Offret 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 Offret surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.8% · 106
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 3
- Two or more races2.7% · 3
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Offret
Offret 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
#143,149
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
+1 bearers (+0.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 8,220 places
2020
#147,221
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
-3 bearers (-2.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 4,072 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #134,929 | 115 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #143,149 | 116 | 0.04 | +1 bearers (+0.9%) | Down 8,220 places |
| 2020 | #147,221 | 113 | 0.04 | -3 bearers (-2.6%) | Down 4,072 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 Offret 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 | #143,149 | #147,221 | -2.8% |
| Count | 116 | 113 | -2.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -5.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Offret bearers went from 116 to 113 (-2.6% change). The surname moved down 4,072 positions in the national ranking, going from #143,149 to #147,221.
FAQ
Offret surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Offret?
Name Census estimates that about 130 living Americans carry the surname Offret. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,636,572 residents.
How common is Offret?
Offret ranks #147,221 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 113 people with the surname Offret. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (130), 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 Offret.
Has Offret become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Offret went from 116 recorded bearers to 113. That is a decrease of 3 (-2.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #143,149 to #147,221.
What does the Census say about the background of Offret?
Among Census respondents with the surname Offret, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Two or More Races (2.7%). 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 Offret in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.8% (106 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Offret appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.8%), Hispanic (2.7%), Two or More Races (2.7%). 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 Offret (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 Offret mean?
A surname derived from a Swedish word meaning "sacrifice" or "victim". 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 Offret (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 share the surname Offret?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.