Oliger last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Oliger

An occupational surname derived from a maker or seller of olive oil.

Oliger, 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 Oliger surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Oliger in America

Oliger is the 54864th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Oliger surname appeared 375 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Oliger.

We can also compare 2010 data for Oliger 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 54864 46426 16.66%
Count 375 432 -14.13%
Proportion per 100k 0.13 0.16 -20.69%

The history of the last name Oliger

The surname OLIGER is believed to have originated in the region that is now modern-day Germany, with records dating back to the 16th century. The name is thought to be derived from the Old German word "olinger," meaning "a resident of the holm (a low-lying meadow or pasture land)."

One of the earliest recorded instances of the OLIGER surname can be found in the parish records of the town of Bornheim, near Bonn, in the year 1562. The name is mentioned in connection with a certain Hans Oliger, who was a landowner and farmer in the area.

As the OLIGER family spread across Germany and other parts of Europe, various spelling variations emerged, including Ohliger, Oeliger, and Öliger. Some of these variations may have been influenced by local dialects or pronunciation differences.

In the 17th century, the OLIGER name appeared in several historical documents related to the town of Münster, in the region of Westphalia. A notable figure from this time was Johann Oliger (1618-1691), a Catholic priest and theologian who served as a professor at the University of Münster.

Another prominent individual bearing the OLIGER surname was Friedrich Oliger (1830-1910), a German-American politician and businessman who served as the mayor of Fort Wayne, Indiana, in the late 19th century.

In the realm of literature, one can find references to the name OLIGER in the works of the German novelist and poet Johann Peter Hebel (1760-1826), who mentioned an Oliger family in his writings about the Black Forest region.

Other notable individuals with the OLIGER surname include:

  1. Livio Oliger (1879-1951), an Italian Jesuit priest and historian who specialized in the study of medieval manuscripts.
  2. Theodor Oliger (1863-1928), a German painter and illustrator known for his landscape paintings and etchings.
  3. Johannes Oliger (1800-1868), a German Catholic priest and author who wrote extensively on theology and philosophy.
  4. Maximilian Oliger (1874-1944), an Austrian-born Catholic priest and scholar who worked at the Vatican Library.
  5. Aloysius Oliger (1892-1963), an Italian Jesuit priest and paleographer who made significant contributions to the study of ancient manuscripts.

While the OLIGER surname has its roots in Germany, it has since spread to various parts of the world, carried by generations of families and individuals who have contributed to the rich tapestry of history and culture.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Oliger

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

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 Oliger was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 95.47% 358
Non-Hispanic Black Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races (S)% (S)
Hispanic Origin 2.93% 11

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

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 95.47% 96.06% -0.62%
Black (S)% 0.00% (S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander (S)% (S)% (S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
Two or More Races (S)% (S)% (S)%
Hispanic 2.93% 2.78% 5.25%

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

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

Reference this page

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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!

"Oliger last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on December 22, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/oliger-surname-popularity/.

"Oliger last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/oliger-surname-popularity/. Accessed 22 December, 2024

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

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