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

Olthoff, 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 Olthoff surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Olthoff in America

Olthoff is the 45886th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Olthoff surname appeared 465 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 Olthoff.

We can also compare 2010 data for Olthoff 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 Olthoff

The surname Olthoff has its origins in Germany. It is believed to have originated in the northern regions of the country, particularly in the areas around the city of Hamburg. The name is likely derived from the Old German words "olt" or "alt," meaning "old," and "hof," meaning "farmstead" or "estate."

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Olthoff can be found in the Bremisches Urkundenbuch, a collection of historical documents from the city of Bremen, which dates back to the 13th century. In this record, an individual named Hermannus Olthoff is mentioned as a landowner in the year 1282.

Another notable historical reference to the name Olthoff comes from the Hamburgisches Urkundenbuch, a collection of documents related to the city of Hamburg. In this record, a person named Johann Olthoff is listed as a merchant in the year 1492.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Olthoff name appears in various church records and tax registers in the northern German states. For example, in 1587, a farmer named Hans Olthoff is listed in the parish records of the village of Büsum in the Duchy of Holstein.

One of the earliest notable individuals with the surname Olthoff was Johann Olthoff (1537-1615), a German theologian and reformer who played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation in the city of Lübeck.

Another prominent figure with the Olthoff name was Hinrich Olthoff (1625-1693), a German merchant and shipping magnate from Hamburg. He established a successful trading company that operated ships between Germany and the Netherlands.

In the 18th century, the Olthoff surname appears in various records from the Duchy of Oldenburg. One notable individual from this period was Friedrich Olthoff (1738-1815), a respected jurist and legal scholar who served as a judge in the city of Oldenburg.

During the 19th century, the Olthoff name gained prominence in the fields of art and literature. One notable figure was the German painter Carl Olthoff (1823-1889), known for his landscape paintings depicting scenes from the northern German countryside.

Another significant individual with the Olthoff surname was the German writer and poet Hermann Olthoff (1852-1931), whose works explored themes of nature and rural life in northern Germany.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Olthoff

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

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

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

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