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

Olds, 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 Olds surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Olds in America

Olds is the 4627th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Olds surname appeared 7,670 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 people would have the surname Olds.

We can also compare 2010 data for Olds 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 Olds

The surname Olds is of English origin, derived from the Old English word "eald" or "ald," meaning "old" or "aged." It likely originated as a nickname or descriptive name for an elderly person or someone perceived as wise or experienced beyond their years.

The earliest recorded instances of the name Olds can be traced back to the 13th century in various regions of England, including Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, and Nottinghamshire. Records from the Hundred Rolls of 1273 mention individuals with the surname Olds or similar spellings such as Olde and Oldes.

In the Middle Ages, the name Olds appeared in various historical documents, including the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire from 1327, which listed a Robert Olde among the taxpayers. The Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from 1379 also mentioned a John Olde.

One of the earliest known bearers of the name was John Olds, born around 1450 in Lincolnshire, England. He was a landowner and farmer who passed his estate down to his descendants.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Olds family began to spread across different parts of England, with some members settling in the county of Cheshire. One notable individual from this period was Thomas Olds, born in 1590 in Cheshire, who served as a member of the Parliament during the English Civil War.

In the late 17th century, the Olds surname was also found in the neighboring regions of Wales and Scotland, possibly due to migration or intermarriage. One such individual was David Olds, born in 1678 in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, who was a respected merchant and trader.

As the centuries progressed, the Olds surname continued to spread across the British Isles and eventually to other parts of the world through emigration. Notable bearers of the name include:

1. Ransom Olds (1864-1950), an American automobile pioneer and founder of the Oldsmobile brand.
2. Sir Alfred Olds (1891-1978), a British civil engineer and industrialist.
3. Moyna Olds (1923-2002), an American artist and painter known for her abstract expressionist works.
4. Sharon Olds (born 1942), an American poet and recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry.
5. Robin Olds (1922-2007), a highly decorated American fighter pilot and ace during World War II and the Vietnam War.

While the surname Olds may have evolved from a simple descriptive nickname, it has become a lasting legacy carried by individuals across various fields and professions throughout history.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Olds

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

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

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Olds, 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!