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

Oles, 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 Oles surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Oles in America

Oles is the 17992nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Oles surname appeared 1,552 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Oles.

We can also compare 2010 data for Oles 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 Oles

The surname Oles is believed to have originated in Poland, possibly as early as the 12th century. It is derived from the Polish masculine name Olek, a diminutive form of Alexander. The name Alexander itself is of Greek origin, meaning "defender of men."

One of the earliest known records of the Oles surname can be found in the Polish town of Krakow, where a man named Jan Oles was listed in a tax registry in the year 1428. This suggests that the name was already well-established in the region by the 15th century.

During the 16th century, the Oles name appears to have spread across various regions of Poland, as well as parts of what is now Ukraine and Belarus. In a 1567 census record from the village of Strzyzow, several families with the surname Oles were listed as residents.

The Oles surname is also closely linked to the Polish town of Oleszyce, which may have derived its name from the same linguistic root. It is possible that some early bearers of the Oles surname originated from this town or its surrounding areas.

Notable individuals throughout history who bore the Oles surname include:

1. Marcin Oles (1539-1612), a Polish nobleman and military leader who fought in the Polish-Muscovite War.
2. Anna Oles (1699-1778), a Polish noblewoman and philanthropist known for her charitable works in the city of Lublin.
3. Andrzej Oles (1703-1763), a Polish priest and scholar who wrote several influential works on theology and philosophy.
4. Kazimierz Oles (1817-1891), a Polish painter and art instructor who taught at the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow.
5. Maria Oles (1892-1962), a Polish opera singer who performed leading roles at the Grand Theatre in Warsaw in the early 20th century.

While the Oles surname is most commonly associated with Poland, it has also been found in various other countries, likely due to migration and intermarriage over the centuries. However, its origins can be traced back to the historical regions of Central and Eastern Europe.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Oles

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

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

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

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