Ogden last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Ogden

From a place name meaning "oak valley" in Old English, referring to someone who lived in such a valley.

Ogden, 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 Ogden surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Ogden in America

Ogden is the 1906th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Ogden surname appeared 18,860 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 6 people would have the surname Ogden.

We can also compare 2010 data for Ogden 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 1906 1782 6.72%
Count 18,860 18,461 2.14%
Proportion per 100k 6.39 6.84 -6.80%

The history of the last name Ogden

The surname Ogden has its origins in England, with records dating back to the 12th century. It is believed to be derived from the Old English words "og" and "denu," meaning "ridge" and "valley," respectively, suggesting that it may have referred to a person living near a ridge or valley.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Oggedene." This entry refers to a place name in Lancashire, England, which later evolved into the modern-day town of Ogden.

In the 13th century, the surname appeared in various forms, such as "Oggedene," "Oggeden," and "Ogden." These variations likely resulted from different regional dialects and spelling conventions of the time.

One of the earliest known individuals with the surname Ogden was Roger de Ogden, who lived in the late 13th century and held land in Ogden, Lancashire. Another notable figure was John Ogden, born around 1609 in England, who later became one of the founders of the town of Fairfield, Connecticut, in the American colonies.

Throughout history, there have been several prominent individuals bearing the Ogden surname. One such person was Samuel Ogden (1718-1778), a colonial leader and judge in New Jersey, who played a significant role in the American Revolutionary War. Another was David Ogden (1707-1800), a lawyer and politician who served as the first Attorney General of New Jersey.

In the literary world, John Ogden (1785-1854) was a British poet and essayist known for his works on religious and social topics. Closer to our modern times, Robert Ogden (1792-1865) was a prominent English businessman and philanthropist who founded the Ogden Trust, which supported education and social welfare initiatives.

The surname Ogden has also been associated with notable places, such as Ogden, Utah, a city named after Hudson Ogden, an early settler in the region. Similarly, the Ogden River in Utah bears the same name, reflecting the influence of the Ogden family in the area.

While the surname Ogden has evolved over centuries and spread across different regions, its roots can be traced back to the valleys and ridges of England, where it originated as a descriptive name for individuals living in those geographic locations.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Ogden

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

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 Ogden was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 90.59% 17,085
Non-Hispanic Black Only 3.73% 703
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.54% 102
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.74% 140
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 1.62% 306
Hispanic Origin 2.78% 524

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

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 90.59% 92.06% -1.61%
Black 3.73% 3.57% 4.38%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.54% 0.43% 22.68%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.74% 0.74% 0.00%
Two or More Races 1.62% 1.31% 21.16%
Hispanic 2.78% 1.90% 37.61%

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

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

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"Ogden last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on July 27, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/ogden-surname-popularity/.

"Ogden last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/ogden-surname-popularity/. Accessed 27 July, 2024

Ogden last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/ogden-surname-popularity/.

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