2010
#150,452
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 109
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Oppe
A toponymic surname derived from a place name in Germany or the Netherlands.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 116 Americans carry the last name Oppe. 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 Oppe 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 Oppe 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 Oppe, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Oppe
The surname Oppe is believed to have originated in Germany, specifically in the northern regions of the country. It likely emerged during the Middle Ages, around the 12th or 13th century. The name is thought to be derived from the German word "oppe," which means "uncle" or "ancestor," suggesting that it may have initially been a descriptive nickname or a patronymic surname.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Oppe can be found in the Bremisches Urkundenbuch, a collection of documents from the city of Bremen, dating back to the 14th century. In this record, a person named Johannes Oppe is mentioned in a legal document from the year 1362.
In the 15th century, there are records of the Oppe family residing in the town of Lübeck, a prominent Hanseatic city in northern Germany. A notable member of this family was Hinrich Oppe, who was a respected merchant and member of the city council in the late 1400s.
As the name spread throughout Germany, it also took on various spellings and regional variations, such as Oppel, Oppelt, and Oppermann. These variations often reflected the local dialects and pronunciation patterns in different regions.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name outside of Germany was Laurentius Oppe, a Dutch scholar and theologian who lived from 1520 to 1585. He was born in the city of Groningen and later became a professor at the University of Heidelberg in Germany.
Another notable figure with the surname Oppe was Johann Adam Oppe, a German artist and engraver who lived from 1728 to 1803. He was born in the city of Nuremberg and is known for his intricate etchings and engravings, many of which depicted scenes from the Bible and classical mythology.
In the 19th century, the Oppe surname gained prominence in the field of medicine with the German physician and surgeon Johann Friedrich Oppe, who lived from 1805 to 1875. He made significant contributions to the study of orthopedics and was one of the pioneers in the treatment of scoliosis and other spinal deformities.
The name Oppe has also been associated with various place names and locations throughout Germany, such as the village of Oppendorf in Saxony-Anhalt and the town of Oppeln (now Opole) in the historical region of Silesia, which was once part of Prussia and is now located in Poland.
While the surname Oppe is not as common as some other German surnames, it has a rich history and has been carried by notable individuals in various fields throughout the centuries, reflecting the diverse backgrounds and contributions of those who bear this name.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Oppe
Among Census respondents with the surname Oppe, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Oppe 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 Oppe surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White96.0% · 97
- Hispanic or Latino4.0% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Oppe
Oppe 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
-8 bearers (-7.3%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 4,818 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #150,452 | 109 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #155,270 | 101 | 0.03 | -8 bearers (-7.3%) | Down 4,818 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 Oppe 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 | #150,452 | #155,270 | -3.2% |
| Count | 109 | 101 | -7.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -15.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Oppe bearers went from 109 to 101 (-7.3% change). The surname moved down 4,818 positions in the national ranking, going from #150,452 to #155,270.
FAQ
Oppe surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Oppe?
Name Census estimates that about 116 living Americans carry the surname Oppe. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,954,779 residents.
How common is Oppe?
Oppe 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 Oppe. 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 Oppe.
Has Oppe become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Oppe went from 109 recorded bearers to 101. That is a decrease of 8 (-7.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #150,452 to #155,270.
What does the Census say about the background of Oppe?
Among Census respondents with the surname Oppe, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.0%). 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 Oppe in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.0% (97 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Oppe appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (96.0%), Hispanic (4.0%). 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 Oppe (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 Oppe mean?
A toponymic surname derived from a place name in Germany or the Netherlands. 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 Oppe (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 Americans have the surname Oppe?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.