2000
#12,841
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,197
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.81
Rare Last name
Oppenheimer
A German occupational surname referring to someone who lives or works near the open home of a lord.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,424 Americans carry the last name Oppenheimer. That puts it at #13,724 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.71 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 141,400 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Oppenheimer 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Oppenheimer with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.4K
1 in 141,400
Census rank
#13,724
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,114 bearers of the surname Oppenheimer in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.71 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13724th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Oppenheimer, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.8%) and Two or More Races (3.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Oppenheimer
Among Census respondents with the surname Oppenheimer, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.8%) and Two or More Races (3.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Oppenheimer 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 Oppenheimer surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White83.8% · 1,772
- Hispanic or Latino10.8% · 229
- Two or more races3.0% · 64
- Black or African American1.6% · 33
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Oppenheimer
Oppenheimer 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
#13,850
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,182
-15 bearers (-0.7%)
Per 100,000 0.74
Rank movement Down 1,009 places
2020
#13,724
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,114
-68 bearers (-3.1%)
Per 100,000 0.71
Rank movement Up 126 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,841 | 2,197 | 0.81 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,850 | 2,182 | 0.74 | -15 bearers (-0.7%) | Down 1,009 places |
| 2020 | #13,724 | 2,114 | 0.71 | -68 bearers (-3.1%) | Up 126 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 Oppenheimer 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 | #13,850 | #13,724 | 0.9% |
| Count | 2,182 | 2,114 | -3.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.74 | 0.71 | -4.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Oppenheimer bearers went from 2,182 to 2,114 (-3.1% change). The surname moved up 126 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,850 to #13,724.
FAQ
Oppenheimer surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Oppenheimer?
Name Census estimates that about 2,424 living Americans carry the surname Oppenheimer. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 141,400 residents.
How common is Oppenheimer?
Oppenheimer ranks #13,724 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.71 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,114 people with the surname Oppenheimer. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,424), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.71 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.71 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Oppenheimer.
Has Oppenheimer become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Oppenheimer went from 2,182 recorded bearers to 2,114. That is a decrease of 68 (-3.1%). In the national ranking it rose from #13,850 to #13,724.
What does the Census say about the background of Oppenheimer?
Among Census respondents with the surname Oppenheimer, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.8%) and Two or More Races (3.0%). 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 Oppenheimer in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.8% (1,772 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Oppenheimer appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (83.8%), Hispanic (10.8%), Two or More Races (3.0%). 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 Oppenheimer (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 Oppenheimer mean?
A German occupational surname referring to someone who lives or works near the open home of a lord. 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 Oppenheimer (0.71 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 share the surname Oppenheimer?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.