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

Opitz, 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 Opitz surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Opitz in America

Opitz is the 17951st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Opitz surname appeared 1,557 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 Opitz.

We can also compare 2010 data for Opitz 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 Opitz

The surname Opitz originates from Germany, with records dating back to the 13th century. It is believed to have derived from the medieval German name "Opizo" or "Opiz," which itself originated from the Old German word "aufo" meaning "wealthy" or "prosperous." The name was particularly prevalent in the regions of Saxony and Silesia.

One of the earliest documented instances of the name Opitz can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Silesiae, a collection of historical documents from Silesia, where a certain "Opiz de Lubenz" is mentioned in a record from 1285. This suggests that the name was already established in the region during that time.

In the 14th century, the name appears in various records from different parts of Germany, such as the Urkundenbuch der Stadt Görlitz, which mentions a "Petrus Opitz" in 1348. Additionally, the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae records a "Nicolaus Opitz" in 1366, indicating the name's presence in Saxony.

During the 16th century, the poet and writer Martin Opitz (1597-1639) gained significant recognition as a leading figure in the literary movement known as the Silesian School. He is considered one of the most influential German poets of his time and played a crucial role in establishing modern German poetic language and form.

Other notable individuals with the surname Opitz include Johann Ferdinand Opitz (1555-1621), a German physician and botanist who contributed to the classification of plants, and Theodor Opitz (1846-1924), a German philologist and academic known for his work on Sanskrit literature.

The name Opitz has also been associated with various place names throughout Germany, such as Opitz in Saxony and Opitz in Silesia, further reinforcing its geographical roots and historical significance in these regions.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Opitz

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

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

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

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