2010
#159,712
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 101
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.03
Very Rare Last name
Oord
A surname indicating someone who lived near the shore or riverbank.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 116 Americans carry the last name Oord. That puts it at #155,270 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,954,779 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Oord 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
116
1 in 2,954,779
Census rank
#155,270
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
101
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 101 bearers of the surname Oord in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 155270th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Oord, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.0%) and Black (2.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Oord
The surname OORD is of Dutch origin, emerging in the 16th century from the Low Countries, which today comprise the Netherlands, Belgium, and parts of northern France. The name is believed to derive from the Old Dutch word "oord," meaning a corner, edge, or border, suggesting that the earliest bearers of the name may have lived on the outskirts of a town or village.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the OORD surname can be found in the archives of the city of Leiden in the Netherlands, where a merchant named Jan OORD is mentioned in a guild register from the year 1587. In the 17th century, the name appears in various Dutch church records, including the baptism of Pieter OORD in the city of Delft in 1623.
The OORD name is also linked to several place names in the Netherlands, such as Oordorp, a village in the province of Zuid-Holland, and Oordthuizen, a hamlet in the province of Overijssel. These place names likely contributed to the adoption of the surname by families residing in or originating from those areas.
In the 18th century, the OORD surname gained prominence with the Dutch painter Lambertus Oord (1697-1766), known for his landscape paintings and portraits. Another notable figure from this period was the Dutch philosopher and theologian Gerardus OORD (1718-1792), who served as a professor at the University of Utrecht.
As the Dutch expanded their global influence through trade and colonization, the OORD surname spread to other parts of the world. In the 19th century, a branch of the family established itself in South Africa, where Johannes OORD (1825-1901) became a prominent farmer and landowner in the Cape Colony.
In more recent times, the OORD surname has been carried by several accomplished individuals, including the Dutch physicist and Nobel Laureate Pieter Zernike OORD (1888-1966), known for his contributions to the field of optics and the development of the phase-contrast microscope. Jelle OORD (1904-1963) was a Dutch resistance fighter during World War II and a recipient of the prestigious Resistance Memorial Cross for his bravery in the fight against Nazi occupation.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Oord
Among Census respondents with the surname Oord, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.0%) and Black (2.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Oord 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 Oord surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.1% · 92
- Two or more races3.0% · 3
- Black or African American2.0% · 2
- Hispanic or Latino2.0% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.0% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Oord
Oord appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#155,270
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 101
+0 bearers (+0.0%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Up 4,442 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #159,712 | 101 | 0.03 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #155,270 | 101 | 0.03 | +0 bearers (+0.0%) | Up 4,442 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 Oord 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 | #159,712 | #155,270 | 2.8% |
| Count | 101 | 101 | 0.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.03 | 12.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Oord bearers went from 101 to 101 (+0.0% change). The surname moved up 4,442 positions in the national ranking, going from #159,712 to #155,270.
FAQ
Oord surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Oord?
Name Census estimates that about 116 living Americans carry the surname Oord. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,954,779 residents.
How common is Oord?
Oord ranks #155,270 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 101 people with the surname Oord. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (116), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Oord.
Has Oord become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Oord went from 101 recorded bearers to 101. That is an increase of 0 (+0.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #159,712 to #155,270.
What does the Census say about the background of Oord?
Among Census respondents with the surname Oord, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.0%) and Black (2.0%). 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 Oord in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.1% (92 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Oord appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.1%), Two or More Races (3.0%), Black (2.0%). 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 Oord (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 Oord mean?
A surname indicating someone who lived near the shore or riverbank. 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 Oord (0.03 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 Oord?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.