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

Ostermiller, 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 Ostermiller surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Ostermiller in America

Ostermiller is the 42640th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Ostermiller surname appeared 508 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 Ostermiller.

We can also compare 2010 data for Ostermiller 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 Ostermiller

The surname Ostermiller is of German origin, derived from the medieval German words "Oster" meaning "Easter" and "Müller" meaning "miller." It is believed to have originated in the 14th or 15th century as an occupational surname, referring to a person who operated a mill during the Easter season.

The earliest known record of the name Ostermiller can be found in the historic records of the city of Nuremberg, Germany, dating back to the late 15th century. The name is also mentioned in several 16th-century church records from various regions of southern Germany.

In the 17th century, as the Ostermiller family migrated to other parts of Europe, variations of the spelling emerged, such as Ostermüller, Ostermyller, and Ostermuller. One notable bearer of the name during this period was Hans Ostermiller (1597-1669), a influential merchant and landowner in the town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany.

As the Ostermiller family continued to spread across Europe, some members eventually made their way to the Americas in the 18th and 19th centuries, settling in various regions of the United States and Canada. One of the earliest recorded Ostermillers in North America was Johann Ostermiller (1720-1792), a German immigrant who settled in Pennsylvania in the mid-18th century.

Other notable individuals with the surname Ostermiller include:

1. Friedrich Ostermiller (1837-1914), a German-born American artist and painter known for his landscapes and portraits.
2. Otto Ostermiller (1885-1960), an American businessman and philanthropist who founded the Ostermiller Foundation.
3. Edith Ostermiller (1903-1987), an American author and playwright who wrote several plays and children's books.
4. Joseph Ostermiller (1916-2001), an American soldier who served in World War II and received the Medal of Honor for his bravery.
5. Hans Ostermiller (1949-present), a German-born American architect and urban planner who has worked on numerous projects in major cities across the United States.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Ostermiller

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

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

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

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