2010
#141,140
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Oostveen
A locational surname referring to someone from an eastern fen or marshland.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 122 Americans carry the last name Oostveen. That puts it at #152,339 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,809,462 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Oostveen 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
122
1 in 2,809,462
Census rank
#152,339
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
106
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 106 bearers of the surname Oostveen in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 152339th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Oostveen, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Oostveen
The surname Oostveen originated in the Netherlands, with roots traced back to the 16th century. It is derived from the Dutch words "oost" meaning "east" and "veen" meaning "peat" or "bog". This suggests that the name likely referred to someone who lived in an eastern region known for its peat bogs or marshlands.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Oostveen can be found in the Dutch baptismal records from the city of Rotterdam, where a child named Jan Jansz Oostveen was baptized in 1587. Additionally, the Oostveen name appears in various municipal records and land registries from the provinces of Friesland and Groningen during the 17th and 18th centuries.
In the late 16th century, a prominent figure named Pieter Oostveen was a merchant and alderman in the city of Leiden. He played a significant role in the city's trade and governance during the Dutch Revolt against Spanish rule.
During the 17th century, a notable individual named Dirck Oostveen was a renowned artist known for his landscape paintings depicting the Dutch countryside. His works are featured in several prestigious art collections across Europe.
In the 18th century, a scholar named Jacobus Oostveen made significant contributions to the field of linguistics, publishing influential works on the study of ancient languages and their origins.
Another notable figure bearing the Oostveen surname was Willem Oostveen, a Dutch military officer who served in the Napoleonic Wars during the early 19th century. He rose through the ranks and was awarded several honors for his bravery and leadership on the battlefield.
Throughout the centuries, the Oostveen name has been associated with various locations and place names in the Netherlands, such as Oostveenkanaal (Oostveen Canal) and Oostveenpolder (Oostveen Polder), further reinforcing the name's geographical and topographical origins.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Oostveen
Among Census respondents with the surname Oostveen, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Oostveen 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 Oostveen surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.6% · 95
- Two or more races4.7% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.8% · 3
- Hispanic or Latino1.9% · 2
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Oostveen
Oostveen 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
#152,339
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 106
-12 bearers (-10.2%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 11,199 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #141,140 | 118 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #152,339 | 106 | 0.04 | -12 bearers (-10.2%) | Down 11,199 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 Oostveen 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 | #141,140 | #152,339 | -7.9% |
| Count | 118 | 106 | -10.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -11.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Oostveen bearers went from 118 to 106 (-10.2% change). The surname moved down 11,199 positions in the national ranking, going from #141,140 to #152,339.
FAQ
Oostveen surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Oostveen?
Name Census estimates that about 122 living Americans carry the surname Oostveen. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,809,462 residents.
How common is Oostveen?
Oostveen ranks #152,339 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 106 people with the surname Oostveen. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (122), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Oostveen.
Has Oostveen become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Oostveen went from 118 recorded bearers to 106. That is a decrease of 12 (-10.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #141,140 to #152,339.
What does the Census say about the background of Oostveen?
Among Census respondents with the surname Oostveen, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.8%). 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 Oostveen in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.6% (95 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Oostveen appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.6%), Two or More Races (4.7%), Asian/Pacific Islander (2.8%). 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 Oostveen (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 Oostveen mean?
A locational surname referring to someone from an eastern fen or marshland. 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 Oostveen (0.04 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 last name Oostveen?
Want to know how many people have the surname Oostveen? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.