2000
#139,757
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Oppedahl
A Norwegian occupational surname referring to an operator of a topmill or grainmill.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 133 Americans carry the last name Oppedahl. That puts it at #145,028 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,577,100 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Oppedahl 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
133
1 in 2,577,100
Census rank
#145,028
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
116
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 116 bearers of the surname Oppedahl in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 145028th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Oppedahl, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.8%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (2.6%) and Two or More Races (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Oppedahl
The surname "Oppedahl" is of Norwegian origin, originating from the western regions of Norway. It is believed to have emerged around the 13th or 14th century. The name is derived from the Old Norse words "oppi" meaning "upper" and "dal" meaning "valley," suggesting it referred to someone living in an upper valley area.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Norwegian Census of 1801, which lists an "Ole Oppedahl" residing in the Oppedal valley of Vest-Agder county. This suggests the name was likely derived from a specific place name, as was common practice during that era.
The Oppedahl surname has been documented in various historical records throughout Norway's history. For instance, a "Knut Oppedahl" is mentioned in a 16th-century land deed from the Setesdal region, indicating the name's presence in that area.
Notable individuals with the surname "Oppedahl" include Ivar Oppedahl (1887-1953), a Norwegian politician and member of the Storting (parliament) from 1925 to 1945. Another prominent figure was Arne Oppedahl (1920-2009), a renowned Norwegian architect who designed several landmark buildings in Oslo.
Other historical figures bearing this name include Ingrid Oppedahl (1902-1981), a Norwegian author and poet whose works focused on rural life and traditions, and Torbjørn Oppedahl (1944-2021), a respected Norwegian lawyer and legal scholar who served as a judge on the EFTA Court from 1995 to 2017.
While the surname is most commonly found in Norway, it has also been documented in other Scandinavian countries and among Norwegian immigrant communities in North America, particularly in areas with significant Norwegian settlement.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Oppedahl
Among Census respondents with the surname Oppedahl, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.8%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (2.6%) and Two or More Races (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Oppedahl 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 Oppedahl surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.8% · 110
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.6% · 3
- Two or more races1.7% · 2
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Oppedahl
Oppedahl appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#144,141
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
+5 bearers (+4.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 4,384 places
2020
#145,028
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
+1 bearers (+0.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 887 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #139,757 | 110 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #144,141 | 115 | 0.04 | +5 bearers (+4.5%) | Down 4,384 places |
| 2020 | #145,028 | 116 | 0.04 | +1 bearers (+0.9%) | Down 887 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 Oppedahl 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 | #144,141 | #145,028 | -0.6% |
| Count | 115 | 116 | 0.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -3.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Oppedahl bearers went from 115 to 116 (+0.9% change). The surname moved down 887 positions in the national ranking, going from #144,141 to #145,028.
FAQ
Oppedahl surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Oppedahl?
Name Census estimates that about 133 living Americans carry the surname Oppedahl. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,577,100 residents.
How common is Oppedahl?
Oppedahl ranks #145,028 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 116 people with the surname Oppedahl. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (133), 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 Oppedahl.
Has Oppedahl become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Oppedahl went from 115 recorded bearers to 116. That is an increase of 1 (+0.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #144,141 to #145,028.
What does the Census say about the background of Oppedahl?
Among Census respondents with the surname Oppedahl, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.8%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (2.6%) and Two or More Races (1.7%). 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 Oppedahl in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.8% (110 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Oppedahl appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.8%), Asian/Pacific Islander (2.6%), Two or More Races (1.7%). 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 Oppedahl (2000, 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 Oppedahl mean?
A Norwegian occupational surname referring to an operator of a topmill or grainmill. 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 Oppedahl (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 Oppedahl?
Want to know how many people have the last name Oppedahl? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.