2000
#3,520
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,274
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.44
Uncommon Last name
Ostrander
Someone who comes from the eastern shore or east bank of a river or body of water.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 10,376 Americans carry the last name Ostrander. That puts it at #3,825 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 33,033 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Ostrander 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.
Bearers in the US
10K
1 in 33,033
Census rank
#3,825
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
9.0K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 9,048 bearers of the surname Ostrander in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3825th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Ostrander, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.1%) and Hispanic (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Ostrander
The surname Ostrander is of Dutch origin, derived from the Ostrand region in the Netherlands. It emerged in the late 16th century as a locational surname, indicating someone who hailed from Ostrand. The name likely evolved from the Dutch words "oost" meaning east and "rand" meaning edge or border, suggesting the surname described someone residing on the eastern edge or border of a particular area.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Ostrander surname can be found in the Dutch Reformed Church records of New Amsterdam (present-day New York City) in the 1640s. This suggests that some of the earliest bearers of the name emigrated from the Netherlands to the Dutch colonial settlements in North America.
In the late 17th century, the Ostrander surname appeared in various documents and records throughout the Dutch colonial regions of New York and New Jersey. Pieter Ostrander, born around 1665, is noted as one of the earliest known individuals with this surname in the American colonies.
During the 18th century, the Ostrander family continued to spread across the northeastern United States. Notable individuals from this period include John Ostrander, a Revolutionary War soldier who fought in the Battle of Monmouth in 1778, and Cornelius Ostrander, a farmer and landowner in New York's Hudson Valley in the late 1700s.
In the 19th century, the Ostrander surname gained prominence with individuals such as William W. Ostrander, a lawyer and politician who served as a member of the New York State Assembly in the 1840s, and Henry Ostrander, a Civil War veteran who fought for the Union Army and later became a prominent businessman in Illinois.
Other notable Ostranders throughout history include Gilman Ostrander, an American artist and illustrator active in the early 20th century, and John Ostrander, a renowned comic book writer known for his work on titles like Suicide Squad and The Spectre in the late 20th century.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ostrander
Among Census respondents with the surname Ostrander, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.1%) and Hispanic (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Ostrander 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 Ostrander surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.2% · 8,249
- Two or more races4.1% · 367
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 310
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 55
- Black or African American0.4% · 34
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 33
Timeline
Historical Census data for Ostrander
Ostrander 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
#3,722
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,518
+244 bearers (+2.6%)
Per 100,000 3.23
Rank movement Down 202 places
2020
#3,825
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,048
-470 bearers (-4.9%)
Per 100,000 3.03
Rank movement Down 103 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,520 | 9,274 | 3.44 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,722 | 9,518 | 3.23 | +244 bearers (+2.6%) | Down 202 places |
| 2020 | #3,825 | 9,048 | 3.03 | -470 bearers (-4.9%) | Down 103 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 Ostrander 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 | #3,722 | #3,825 | -2.8% |
| Count | 9,518 | 9,048 | -4.9% |
| Per 100K | 3.23 | 3.03 | -6.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Ostrander bearers went from 9,518 to 9,048 (-4.9% change). The surname moved down 103 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,722 to #3,825.
FAQ
Ostrander surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Ostrander?
Name Census estimates that about 10,376 living Americans carry the surname Ostrander. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 33,033 residents.
How common is Ostrander?
Ostrander ranks #3,825 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.03 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 9,048 people with the surname Ostrander. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (10,376), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.03 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Ostrander.
Has Ostrander become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Ostrander went from 9,518 recorded bearers to 9,048. That is a decrease of 470 (-4.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,722 to #3,825.
What does the Census say about the background of Ostrander?
Among Census respondents with the surname Ostrander, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.1%) and Hispanic (3.4%). 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 Ostrander in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.2% (8,249 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Ostrander appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.2%), Two or More Races (4.1%), Hispanic (3.4%). 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 Ostrander (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 Ostrander mean?
Someone who comes from the eastern shore or east bank of a river or body of water. 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 Ostrander (3.03 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 Ostrander?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.