2000
#11,232
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,587
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.96
Rare Last name
Opperman
An occupational surname for a fruit farmer or a person who tended or harvested fruit.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,543 Americans carry the last name Opperman. That puts it at #13,196 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.74 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 134,783 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Opperman 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 Opperman with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.5K
1 in 134,783
Census rank
#13,196
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,218 bearers of the surname Opperman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.74 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13196th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Opperman, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.3%) and Hispanic (3.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Opperman
The surname Opperman originates from Germany and can be traced back to the 16th century. It is derived from the German word "Opfermann," which means "sacrificial man" or "one who makes sacrifices." The name likely had religious connotations, possibly referring to someone who worked as a sacristan or performed duties related to religious rituals and sacrifices.
In the early 1600s, the surname Opperman began appearing in various records and documents across German-speaking regions. One of the earliest known references is found in a parish register from the town of Mühlhausen, dated 1612, which mentions a Johann Opperman.
Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, the Opperman name spread across different parts of Germany, particularly in regions such as Saxony, Bavaria, and Westphalia. Several variations in spelling also emerged, including Oppermann, Opfermann, and Opferman.
One notable figure with the Opperman surname was Johann Opperman (1689-1759), a German theologian and author who served as a pastor in the city of Ulm. His works included commentaries on biblical texts and sermons on various religious topics.
In the 19th century, the Opperman name began appearing in records outside of Germany, as families immigrated to other parts of Europe and the Americas. For instance, Charles Opperman (1828-1907) was a French-born American businessman who co-founded the National Biscuit Company, later known as Nabisco.
Another significant figure was Wilhelm Opperman (1855-1933), a German-born architect who emigrated to the United States and was responsible for designing several notable buildings in New York City, including the former Emigrant Industrial Savings Bank building on Chambers Street.
In the Netherlands, the Opperman family can be traced back to the early 1700s, with records showing a Hans Opperman living in the town of Zwolle in 1712.
Other notable individuals with the Opperman surname include Ernst Opperman (1861-1929), a German politician and member of the Reichstag, and Dolf Opperman (1910-1985), a South African cyclist who won several prestigious events, including the Tour de France in 1928.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Opperman
Among Census respondents with the surname Opperman, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.3%) and Hispanic (3.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Opperman 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 Opperman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.7% · 2,012
- Two or more races4.3% · 96
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 84
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 10
- Black or African American0.4% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Opperman
Opperman 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
#11,899
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,631
+44 bearers (+1.7%)
Per 100,000 0.89
Rank movement Down 667 places
2020
#13,196
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,218
-413 bearers (-15.7%)
Per 100,000 0.74
Rank movement Down 1,297 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,232 | 2,587 | 0.96 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,899 | 2,631 | 0.89 | +44 bearers (+1.7%) | Down 667 places |
| 2020 | #13,196 | 2,218 | 0.74 | -413 bearers (-15.7%) | Down 1,297 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 Opperman 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 | #11,899 | #13,196 | -10.9% |
| Count | 2,631 | 2,218 | -15.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.89 | 0.74 | -16.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Opperman bearers went from 2,631 to 2,218 (-15.7% change). The surname moved down 1,297 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,899 to #13,196.
FAQ
Opperman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Opperman?
Name Census estimates that about 2,543 living Americans carry the surname Opperman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 134,783 residents.
How common is Opperman?
Opperman ranks #13,196 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.74 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 2,218 people with the surname Opperman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,543), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.74 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.74 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 Opperman.
Has Opperman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Opperman went from 2,631 recorded bearers to 2,218. That is a decrease of 413 (-15.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,899 to #13,196.
What does the Census say about the background of Opperman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Opperman, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.3%) and Hispanic (3.8%). 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 Opperman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.7% (2,012 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Opperman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.7%), Two or More Races (4.3%), Hispanic (3.8%). 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 Opperman (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 Opperman mean?
An occupational surname for a fruit farmer or a person who tended or harvested fruit. 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 Opperman (0.74 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 surname Opperman?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.