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

Omer, 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 Omer surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Omer in America

Omer is the 14474th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Omer surname appeared 2,063 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 Omer.

We can also compare 2010 data for Omer 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 Omer

The surname OMER has its origins in the Arabic language, derived from the personal name Omar, which means "life" or "long-lived." The name traces its roots back to the 7th century, during the time of the Islamic expansion across the Middle East and North Africa.

The earliest recorded instances of the OMER surname can be found in records from the medieval Islamic world, particularly in regions like the Levant, Egypt, and parts of North Africa. It is believed that the surname was initially adopted by families or individuals who were descendants or followers of the second caliph, Omar ibn al-Khattab, one of the most influential figures in early Islamic history.

In the 11th century, the name OMER appeared in the "Book of Good Deeds" (Kitab al-Wulah), a historic text documenting the biographies of notable individuals from the region. One prominent bearer of the name mentioned in this text was Omar ibn Abi Rabia, a celebrated poet and scholar who lived in the early 8th century.

As the Islamic empires expanded and trade routes flourished, the OMER surname spread to other parts of the world, including Europe and Asia. In the 13th century, a prominent Sufi mystic and philosopher named Omar Khayyam, born in Nishapur, Persia (modern-day Iran), gained widespread recognition for his influential works, including the Rubaiyat.

During the Ottoman Empire's rule in the Balkans, the OMER surname became more prevalent in regions like Bosnia and Herzegovina, where it was often spelled as "Omer" or "Omerović." One notable figure from this region was Omer Pasha Latas, a military leader and statesman who played a significant role in the Ottoman-Russian wars of the 19th century (1807-1871).

In the Indian subcontinent, the OMER surname can be traced back to the Mughal Empire, where it was adopted by families of Arab or Persian descent. One prominent bearer of the name was Sir Omar Saeed Hayat Khan, a distinguished Indian politician and statesman who served as the Minister of Supply in the interim government of India in 1946 (1891-1958).

Other notable individuals with the OMER surname include Omar Torrijos, a former leader of Panama who played a pivotal role in the negotiation of the Panama Canal treaties (1929-1981), and Omar Khayyam Ravenhurst, a British author and translator best known for his English translations of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam (1864-1944).

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Omer

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

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

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