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

Orbeck, 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 Orbeck surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Orbeck in America

Orbeck is the 71265th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Orbeck surname appeared 274 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 Orbeck.

We can also compare 2010 data for Orbeck 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 Orbeck

The surname Orbeck is believed to have originated in Sweden during the medieval period, deriving from the Old Swedish words "orr" meaning "grouse" and "beck" meaning "stream." This suggests the name may have initially referred to someone who lived near a stream where grouse were found.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name dates back to the late 13th century, appearing in the Västgötalagen, an important medieval legal code from the Swedish province of Västergötland. The name is spelled "Orabek" in this document.

By the 15th century, the name had evolved to its more recognizable modern spelling of Orbeck. It can be found in various Swedish church records and tax registers from this time period, indicating the surname's widespread use across parts of central and southern Sweden.

Notable historical figures bearing the Orbeck name include Johan Orbeck (1627-1699), a Swedish theologian and bishop who served as the Bishop of Linköping from 1677 until his death. Another prominent individual was Carl Orbeck (1822-1889), a Swedish-born American businessman and politician who served as the 14th Governor of South Dakota.

In the 17th century, the Orbeck surname also made its way to parts of Germany, likely due to Swedish migration and settlement in northern German territories. One example is Johann Friedrich Orbeck (1687-1751), a German jurist and legal scholar who served as a professor at the University of Greifswald.

The name appears to have spread to other parts of Europe as well, with records showing individuals named Orbeck in places like the Netherlands and Denmark by the 18th and 19th centuries. One such figure was Frederik Orbeck (1810-1891), a Norwegian-born Danish architect who designed several notable buildings in Copenhagen.

Throughout its history, the Orbeck surname has maintained a strong presence in Scandinavia, particularly in Sweden and Norway. However, it has also been carried to various other parts of the world through migration and diaspora over the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Orbeck

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

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

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

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