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

Oppegard, 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 Oppegard surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Oppegard in America

Oppegard is the 70208th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Oppegard surname appeared 279 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 Oppegard.

We can also compare 2010 data for Oppegard 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 Oppegard

The surname Oppegard has its origins in Norway, dating back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Old Norse words "oppr" meaning "high" or "above" and "gardr" meaning "enclosure" or "farm". This suggests that the name likely originated from a specific farm or settlement located on higher ground or elevated terrain.

One of the earliest known references to the name Oppegard can be found in the Diplomatarium Norvegicum, a collection of medieval Norwegian documents, where it appears as "Oppegardhr" in a charter from 1295. This indicates that the name was already well-established in Norway by the late 13th century.

The Oppegard surname is also linked to various place names in Norway, such as Oppegård in Akershus, which was formerly known as Oppegarden. This connection to geographical locations further reinforces the name's origins as a descriptive term for a specific farm or settlement.

Notable individuals bearing the Oppegard surname include:

1. Niels Oppegard (1834-1911), a Norwegian-American farmer and pioneer who settled in Wisconsin.
2. Kristian Oppegard (1909-1987), a Norwegian politician and member of the Storting (Norwegian parliament).
3. Bjørn Oppegard (born 1938), a Norwegian writer and journalist known for his works on Norwegian culture and history.
4. Hans Oppegard (1870-1945), a Norwegian-American businessman and philanthropist who co-founded the Oppegard-Hartmann Seed Company in Wisconsin.
5. Esther Oppegard (1910-2001), an American author and researcher who wrote extensively on Norwegian-American history and genealogy.

While the Oppegard surname has its roots in Norway, it has since spread to other parts of the world, particularly through emigration to North America in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Oppegard

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

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

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

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