2000
#1,265
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 25,492
First available Census row
Per 100,000 9.45
Uncommon Last name
Ott
Derived from the German surname "Otto," meaning "wealthy" or "fortunate," or referring to someone from Ottingen, Germany.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 28,720 Americans carry the last name Ott. That puts it at #1,390 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 8.38 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 11,934 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Ott 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Ott with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
29K
1 in 11,934
Census rank
#1,390
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
8.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
25K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 25,045 bearers of the surname Ott in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 8.38 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1390th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Ott, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.5%) and Two or More Races (3.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Ott
The surname Ott originated in Germany, where it was first recorded in the 13th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old German word "ot" or "od," meaning "fortune" or "prosperity." The name was likely given to someone who was prosperous or fortunate.
In the Middle Ages, the Ott surname was particularly prevalent in the regions of Bavaria and Saxony. Early variations of the spelling included Otte, Othe, and Otte. The name can also be traced back to the Low German word "ot," meaning "ancestor" or "forefather."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Ott surname can be found in a 14th-century manuscript from the town of Augsburg, which mentions a certain "Heinrich Ott." Another notable early bearer of the name was Konrad Ott, a German soldier who fought in the Hussite Wars in the early 15th century.
The Ott surname has a long history in various parts of Germany. In the 16th century, a prominent figure named Johann Ott (1507-1573) was a Lutheran theologian and reformer who worked alongside Martin Luther. Another notable Ott was Johann Baptist Ott (1661-1736), a German Baroque painter and architect active in Bavaria.
In the 19th century, the Ott name gained prominence in the field of science. Karl Ott (1836-1900) was a German chemist and inventor who developed a process for manufacturing artificial indigo dye. His contemporary, Johann Ott (1844-1924), was a German-American botanist who made significant contributions to the study of plant morphology and anatomy.
One of the most famous bearers of the Ott surname was the German philosopher and sociologist Georg Ott (1908-1994), who was best known for his work on the Frankfurt School of critical theory. Another notable figure was the German-American physicist Hermann Ott (1928-2021), who made important contributions to the field of nuclear physics and worked on the Manhattan Project.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ott
Among Census respondents with the surname Ott, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.5%) and Two or More Races (3.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Ott 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 Ott surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.6% · 22,429
- Hispanic or Latino4.5% · 1,135
- Two or more races3.2% · 800
- Black or African American1.3% · 335
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 224
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 122
Timeline
Historical Census data for Ott
Ott 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
#1,373
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 25,738
+246 bearers (+1.0%)
Per 100,000 8.73
Rank movement Down 108 places
2020
#1,390
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 25,045
-693 bearers (-2.7%)
Per 100,000 8.38
Rank movement Down 17 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,265 | 25,492 | 9.45 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,373 | 25,738 | 8.73 | +246 bearers (+1.0%) | Down 108 places |
| 2020 | #1,390 | 25,045 | 8.38 | -693 bearers (-2.7%) | Down 17 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 Ott 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 | #1,373 | #1,390 | -1.2% |
| Count | 25,738 | 25,045 | -2.7% |
| Per 100K | 8.73 | 8.38 | -4.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Ott bearers went from 25,738 to 25,045 (-2.7% change). The surname moved down 17 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,373 to #1,390.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Ott
FAQ
Ott surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Ott?
Name Census estimates that about 28,720 living Americans carry the surname Ott. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 11,934 residents.
How common is Ott?
Ott ranks #1,390 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 8.38 per 100,000 residents, which is about 8 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 25,045 people with the surname Ott. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (28,720), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 8.38 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 8.38 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 8 of them to have the surname Ott.
Has Ott become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Ott went from 25,738 recorded bearers to 25,045. That is a decrease of 693 (-2.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,373 to #1,390.
What does the Census say about the background of Ott?
Among Census respondents with the surname Ott, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.5%) and Two or More Races (3.2%). 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 Ott in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.6% (22,429 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Ott appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.6%), Hispanic (4.5%), Two or More Races (3.2%). 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 Ott (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 Ott mean?
Derived from the German surname "Otto," meaning "wealthy" or "fortunate," or referring to someone from Ottingen, Germany. 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 Ott (8.38 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 common is the surname Ott?
Find out how many people have the surname Ott on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.