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

Oswalt, 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 Oswalt surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Oswalt in America

Oswalt is the 6524th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Oswalt surname appeared 5,198 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Oswalt.

We can also compare 2010 data for Oswalt 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 Oswalt

The surname Oswalt is of German origin, derived from the Old German personal name "Oswald." This name is composed of the elements "os" meaning "god" and "wald" meaning "rule" or "power." It likely originated in the 8th or 9th century during the Carolingian dynasty in the Frankish Empire, which covered modern-day Germany, France, and parts of Italy.

The earliest recorded spelling of the name Oswalt can be found in the Codex Traditionum Corbeiensium, a 9th-century medieval cartulary from the Benedictine abbey of Corvey in present-day North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. This document mentions an individual named "Osuualdus" who lived in the region during that time.

In the 11th century, the name appears in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of land and property in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The entry "Oswald" is listed as a landholder in Yorkshire, suggesting that individuals with this name had migrated to England by that point.

One of the earliest known bearers of the surname Oswalt was Oswald von Wolkenstein (c. 1376 - 1445), a renowned German Minnesinger and poet from a noble family in South Tyrol, located in modern-day Italy.

Another notable figure with this name was Johann Oswalt (1624 - 1700), a German Baroque composer and organist who was appointed as the court Kapellmeister in the Duchy of Württemberg.

In the 18th century, Johann Philipp Oswalt (1753 - 1804) was a German artist and engraver known for his landscape paintings and etchings depicting scenes from the Rhineland region.

During the 19th century, Friedrich Oswalt (1828 - 1905) was a German architect and urban planner who designed several notable buildings in Berlin, including the former Reichsbank building.

In more recent history, Patton Oswalt (born 1969) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and writer who has appeared in numerous films and television shows, and has received critical acclaim for his comedy specials and roles in projects like "King of Queens" and "Ratatouille."

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Oswalt

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

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

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

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