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

Oppenheimer, 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 Oppenheimer surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Oppenheimer in America

Oppenheimer is the 13850th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Oppenheimer surname appeared 2,182 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 Oppenheimer.

We can also compare 2010 data for Oppenheimer 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 Oppenheimer

The surname Oppenheimer is of German origin, derived from the German words "Oppen" meaning "meadow" and "heim" meaning "home" or "place of origin." This name was initially used to describe someone who lived near or worked on a meadow.

The earliest recorded instances of the Oppenheimer surname can be traced back to the 14th century in various regions of Germany, including Bavaria and Saxony. In the 15th century, the name appeared in various records and manuscripts, such as the Heidelberg Tax Rolls of 1454, where the name was spelled as "Oppenheimer."

One of the earliest known individuals with the surname Oppenheimer was Hans Oppenheimer, a merchant who lived in Nuremberg, Germany, in the late 15th century. Another notable figure was Johann Oppenheimer, a Protestant reformer and theologian born in Strasbourg in 1525.

In the 17th century, the Oppenheimer family played a significant role in the banking and finance industry. Samuel Oppenheimer (1630-1703) was a prominent German-Jewish banker and court factor to the Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I. His son, Emanuel Oppenheimer (1670-1736), continued the family's banking legacy and became one of the wealthiest individuals in Europe at the time.

The surname Oppenheimer also gained recognition in the scientific community. J. Robert Oppenheimer (1904-1967) was an American theoretical physicist and the director of the Manhattan Project, which developed the first nuclear weapons during World War II. His contributions to the field of physics and his role in the development of the atomic bomb have made him one of the most famous individuals with this surname.

Another notable Oppenheimer was Sir Ernest Oppenheimer (1880-1957), a German-born British businessman and philanthropist. He was a successful diamond and gold mining entrepreneur in South Africa and played a significant role in the development of the modern diamond industry.

While the Oppenheimer surname has its roots in Germany, it has since spread worldwide, with notable individuals bearing this name in various fields, including science, business, and academia.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Oppenheimer

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

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

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

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