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

Opdahl, 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 Opdahl surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Opdahl in America

Opdahl is the 33941st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Opdahl surname appeared 670 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 Opdahl.

We can also compare 2010 data for Opdahl 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 Opdahl

The surname Opdahl originated in Norway, where it first appeared in the late 16th century. It is believed to have derived from a combination of the Old Norse words "op" meaning "up" and "dal" meaning "valley," referring to a person who lived in an elevated valley or upland area.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the parish records of Vestre Toten, Oppland County, Norway, where a man named Oluf Opdahl was born in 1597. The name also appeared in the Diplomatorium Norvegicum, a collection of medieval Norwegian documents, where a person named Thorstein Opdahl was mentioned in a land transaction from 1618.

In the 17th and 18th centuries, the Opdahl name was primarily concentrated in the eastern regions of Norway, particularly in the counties of Oppland, Hedmark, and Buskerud. During this time, various spelling variations emerged, such as Oppdahl, Opdal, and Obdahl.

One notable bearer of the Opdahl name was Hans Opdahl (1658-1732), a prominent farmer and landowner from Vestre Toten, who played a significant role in the local community affairs of his time. Another historically significant individual was Nils Opdahl (1785-1867), a Norwegian businessman and shipowner from Kristiansand, who contributed to the city's maritime trade and economic growth.

In the 19th century, as Norwegian immigration to the United States increased, the Opdahl surname began to appear in American records. One of the earliest known individuals with this surname to arrive in the United States was Knud Opdahl, who was born in Norway in 1826 and settled in Wisconsin in the 1850s.

Other notable bearers of the Opdahl name include Lars Opdahl (1838-1912), a Norwegian-American farmer and community leader in Winneshiek County, Iowa, and Olav Opdahl (1878-1954), a Norwegian-American Lutheran minister and author who served several congregations in Minnesota and North Dakota.

While the Opdahl surname has its roots in Norway, it has since spread to other parts of the world, particularly through Norwegian emigration. However, the name remains most prevalent in its country of origin and among Norwegian-American communities in the United States.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Opdahl

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

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

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

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