2010
#147,253
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 112
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Olenslager
A Dutch or German surname likely referring to an oil miller or producer.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 135 Americans carry the last name Olenslager. That puts it at #143,511 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,538,921 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Olenslager 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
135
1 in 2,538,921
Census rank
#143,511
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
118
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 118 bearers of the surname Olenslager in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 143511th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Olenslager, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.7%) and Hispanic (0.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Olenslager
The surname OLENSLAGER has its origins in the Netherlands, where it emerged as an occupational surname in the 16th century. It is derived from the Dutch words "olen" meaning "oil" and "slager" meaning "butcher" or "slaughterer". This combination suggests that the name originally referred to someone who worked as a butcher or slaughterer of animals for their fat and oils.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name OLENSLAGER can be found in the Dutch city of Amsterdam, where a certain Jan Olenslager is mentioned in a municipal record from the year 1587. The name also appears in various other Dutch historical documents from the 16th and 17th centuries, often in connection with the butchery trade.
In the late 16th century, a branch of the OLENSLAGER family migrated to the Dutch colony of New Netherland, which encompassed parts of present-day New York, New Jersey, and Delaware. One of the earliest bearers of the name in the New World was Pieter Olenslager, who arrived in New Amsterdam (now New York City) in 1632.
Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, the OLENSLAGER name was relatively widespread in the Netherlands and its former colonies. Notable individuals bearing the surname during this period include Dirk Olenslager (1615-1679), a wealthy merchant and shipowner from Amsterdam, and Johannes Olenslager (1688-1751), a noted painter and engraver from Rotterdam.
As the Dutch colonial empire expanded, the OLENSLAGER name also spread to other parts of the world. In the 19th century, for instance, a family of Olenslagers settled in the Dutch East Indies (modern-day Indonesia), where they became prominent in the coffee trade.
Other notable individuals with the surname OLENSLAGER include:
1. Cornelis Olenslager (1792-1859), a Dutch military officer who served in the Napoleonic Wars.
2. Pieter Olenslager (1837-1912), a Dutch-born Australian architect who designed several notable buildings in Melbourne.
3. Gerrit Olenslager (1870-1941), a Dutch-American painter and illustrator known for his landscapes and portraits.
4. Evert Olenslager (1898-1976), a Dutch writer and journalist who worked as a war correspondent during World War II.
5. Jasper Olenslager (born 1982), a contemporary Dutch artist and sculptor based in Amsterdam.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Olenslager
Among Census respondents with the surname Olenslager, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.7%) and Hispanic (0.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Olenslager 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 Olenslager surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White96.6% · 114
- Two or more races1.7% · 2
- Hispanic or Latino0.8% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Olenslager
Olenslager appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#143,511
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
+6 bearers (+5.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 3,742 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #147,253 | 112 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #143,511 | 118 | 0.04 | +6 bearers (+5.4%) | Up 3,742 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 Olenslager 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 | #147,253 | #143,511 | 2.5% |
| Count | 112 | 118 | 5.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -1.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Olenslager bearers went from 112 to 118 (+5.4% change). The surname moved up 3,742 positions in the national ranking, going from #147,253 to #143,511.
FAQ
Olenslager surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Olenslager?
Name Census estimates that about 135 living Americans carry the surname Olenslager. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,538,921 residents.
How common is Olenslager?
Olenslager ranks #143,511 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 118 people with the surname Olenslager. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (135), 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 Olenslager.
Has Olenslager become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Olenslager went from 112 recorded bearers to 118. That is an increase of 6 (+5.4%). In the national ranking it rose from #147,253 to #143,511.
What does the Census say about the background of Olenslager?
Among Census respondents with the surname Olenslager, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.7%) and Hispanic (0.8%). 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 Olenslager in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.6% (114 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Olenslager appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (96.6%), Two or More Races (1.7%), Hispanic (0.8%). 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 Olenslager (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 Olenslager mean?
A Dutch or German surname likely referring to an oil miller or producer. 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 Olenslager (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 Olenslager?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.