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

Osbeck, 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 Osbeck surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Osbeck in America

Osbeck is the 79598th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Osbeck surname appeared 239 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 Osbeck.

We can also compare 2010 data for Osbeck 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 Osbeck

The surname Osbeck is of Swedish origin, with its roots traced back to the late medieval period in the region of Småland, located in southern Sweden. This name is derived from the Old Norse personal name Ásbjakn, which itself is a combination of the elements "áss" (god) and "bjakn" (beacon or signal fire).

In its earliest recorded forms, the name appeared as Osbiak and Osbiörn in various regional records and parish registers from the 14th and 15th centuries. It is believed that the name may have originated as a descriptive surname, referring to an individual who lived near a prominent signal fire or beacon used for communication or navigation purposes.

One of the earliest documented instances of the name Osbeck can be found in the Swedish census records from the late 16th century, with the listing of a farmer named Lars Osbeck, born in 1567 in the village of Torsås, Småland. Another notable early bearer of this surname was Jonas Osbeck, a Swedish naturalist and explorer who lived from 1723 to 1805.

Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, the Osbeck surname continued to be prevalent in the southern regions of Sweden, particularly in the provinces of Småland, Blekinge, and Skåne. During this period, several individuals bearing this name achieved recognition, including Pehr Osbeck (1723-1805), a botanist and explorer who accompanied Carl Linnaeus on his expedition to China, and Johan August Osbeck (1811-1884), a Swedish landscape painter renowned for his depictions of the Swedish countryside.

In the 19th century, the Osbeck surname began to spread more widely across Sweden and beyond, with several notable individuals contributing to various fields. One such individual was Erik Osbeck (1825-1894), a Swedish engineer who played a significant role in the construction of the Göta Canal, a major waterway connecting the Baltic Sea with the North Sea.

As the Osbeck family dispersed throughout Scandinavia and beyond, the surname underwent minor spelling variations, such as Osbäck and Osbäcken, but the core meaning and origin remained unchanged. Even today, the name Osbeck continues to be a prominent surname in Sweden, carrying with it a rich history and cultural significance rooted in the country's ancient past.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Osbeck

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

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

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

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