2000
#51,809
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 377
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.14
Very Rare Last name
Ooms
A Dutch patronymic surname derived from the given name Thomas.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 518 Americans carry the last name Ooms. That puts it at #50,074 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.15 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 661,688 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Ooms 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
518
1 in 661,688
Census rank
#50,074
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
452
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 452 bearers of the surname Ooms in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.15 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 50074th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Ooms, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.0%) and Two or More Races (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Ooms
The surname OOMS originated in the Netherlands during the medieval period, and is believed to be derived from the Old Dutch word "oom," meaning "uncle." It was likely initially used as a descriptive nickname for someone who was an uncle or who resembled an uncle in some way.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the OOMS surname can be found in the Leiden court records from the 15th century, where a certain Jan Ooms is mentioned as a witness in a legal case. Another early reference is in the archives of the city of Amsterdam, which mention a merchant named Pieter Ooms who lived in the late 16th century.
The OOMS surname was particularly prevalent in the provinces of Noord-Holland and Zuid-Holland, where it was often associated with families from the cities of Leiden, Amsterdam, and Rotterdam. Over time, some variations in spelling emerged, such as Oomens and Oomsse.
In the 17th century, the OOMS name appears in connection with the Dutch East India Company (VOC), as several individuals with this surname served as officers and sailors on the company's ships. One notable example is Willem Ooms, a ship's captain who was born in Rotterdam in 1620 and sailed to the East Indies multiple times.
Another prominent figure with the OOMS surname was Nicolaas Ooms, a Dutch theologian and writer who lived from 1643 to 1709. He was a respected scholar and authored several books on religious subjects.
During the 19th century, the OOMS name gained recognition through the work of the Dutch landscape painter Gijsbertus Craeyvanger Ooms (1804-1873), whose paintings captured the natural beauty of the Netherlands.
In the United States, one of the earliest recorded individuals with the OOMS surname was Jan Ooms, who was born in the Netherlands in 1790 and immigrated to New York City in the early 1800s.
Other notable individuals with the OOMS surname throughout history include Cornelis Ooms (1592-1661), a Dutch Golden Age painter known for his still-life works, and Andries Ooms (1735-1793), a Dutch politician and lawyer who served as the mayor of Leiden.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ooms
Among Census respondents with the surname Ooms, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.0%) and Two or More Races (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Ooms 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 Ooms surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.9% · 420
- Hispanic or Latino4.0% · 18
- Two or more races1.8% · 8
- Black or African American0.7% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.2% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Ooms
Ooms appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#50,771
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 411
+34 bearers (+9.0%)
Per 100,000 0.14
Rank movement Up 1,038 places
2020
#50,074
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 452
+41 bearers (+10.0%)
Per 100,000 0.15
Rank movement Up 697 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #51,809 | 377 | 0.14 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #50,771 | 411 | 0.14 | +34 bearers (+9.0%) | Up 1,038 places |
| 2020 | #50,074 | 452 | 0.15 | +41 bearers (+10.0%) | Up 697 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 Ooms 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 | #50,771 | #50,074 | 1.4% |
| Count | 411 | 452 | 10.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.14 | 0.15 | 8.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Ooms bearers went from 411 to 452 (+10.0% change). The surname moved up 697 positions in the national ranking, going from #50,771 to #50,074.
FAQ
Ooms surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Ooms?
Name Census estimates that about 518 living Americans carry the surname Ooms. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 661,688 residents.
How common is Ooms?
Ooms ranks #50,074 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.15 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 452 people with the surname Ooms. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (518), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.15 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.15 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 Ooms.
Has Ooms become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Ooms went from 411 recorded bearers to 452. That is an increase of 41 (+10.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #50,771 to #50,074.
What does the Census say about the background of Ooms?
Among Census respondents with the surname Ooms, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.0%) and Two or More Races (1.8%). 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 Ooms in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.9% (420 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Ooms appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.9%), Hispanic (4.0%), Two or More Races (1.8%). 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 Ooms (2000, 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 Ooms mean?
A Dutch patronymic surname derived from the given name Thomas. 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 Ooms (0.15 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 have the surname Ooms?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.