2000
#132,259
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Overhulser
A habitational surname referring to someone from a place called Oberhuls.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 116 Americans carry the last name Overhulser. That puts it at #155,270 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,954,779 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Overhulser 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
116
1 in 2,954,779
Census rank
#155,270
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
101
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 101 bearers of the surname Overhulser in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 155270th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Overhulser, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.0%) and Two or More Races (1.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Overhulser
The surname Overhulser has its origins in the German language and can be traced back to the 16th century. It is believed to have originated in the region of Bavaria, which was known for its numerous small villages and towns. The name itself is likely derived from the German words "über" meaning "over" and "Hülse" meaning "husk" or "sheath," suggesting that it may have been an occupational name given to someone who worked with husks or sheaths.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Overhulser surname dates back to 1567, when a Johannes Overhulser was mentioned in a church registry in the town of Regensburg, Bavaria. This entry provides evidence that the name was already established in the region by that time.
In the 17th century, the Overhulser name appears in various records across southern Germany, indicating that the family had started to spread out from its Bavarian roots. Notable examples include Hans Overhulser, a farmer from the village of Oberammergau, who was born in 1632, and Maria Overhulser, who was recorded as a midwife in the town of Augsburg in 1668.
As the Overhulser family continued to grow and expand throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, some members of the family began to migrate to other parts of Europe and even to the Americas. One such individual was Johann Overhulser, born in 1782 in the town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, who later settled in the United States in the early 1800s.
Among the notable figures in history who bore the Overhulser surname is August Overhulser, a German-American artist known for his landscape paintings, who was born in 1823 in Württemberg, Germany, and later immigrated to the United States, where he lived until his death in 1891.
Another prominent Overhulser was Wilhelm Overhulser, a German philosopher and academic who was born in 1868 in Nuremberg. He taught at various universities throughout Germany and published several influential works on ethics and moral philosophy before his death in 1945.
In the 20th century, the Overhulser name gained further recognition with individuals such as Elise Overhulser, a renowned German opera singer who performed at major venues across Europe in the early 1900s, and Hans Overhulser, a German-American engineer who made significant contributions to the development of rocket technology during the Space Race of the 1950s and 1960s.
While the Overhulser surname may not be among the most common in the world, it has a rich history spanning several centuries and has been carried by individuals from various walks of life, each leaving their mark on the communities and fields in which they lived and worked.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Overhulser
Among Census respondents with the surname Overhulser, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.0%) and Two or More Races (1.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Overhulser 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 Overhulser surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.0% · 96
- Hispanic or Latino4.0% · 4
- Two or more races1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Overhulser
Overhulser 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
#133,048
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 127
+9 bearers (+7.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 789 places
2020
#155,270
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 101
-26 bearers (-20.5%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 22,222 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #132,259 | 118 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #133,048 | 127 | 0.04 | +9 bearers (+7.6%) | Down 789 places |
| 2020 | #155,270 | 101 | 0.03 | -26 bearers (-20.5%) | Down 22,222 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 Overhulser 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 | #133,048 | #155,270 | -16.7% |
| Count | 127 | 101 | -20.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -15.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Overhulser bearers went from 127 to 101 (-20.5% change). The surname moved down 22,222 positions in the national ranking, going from #133,048 to #155,270.
FAQ
Overhulser surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Overhulser?
Name Census estimates that about 116 living Americans carry the surname Overhulser. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,954,779 residents.
How common is Overhulser?
Overhulser ranks #155,270 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 101 people with the surname Overhulser. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (116), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Overhulser.
Has Overhulser become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Overhulser went from 127 recorded bearers to 101. That is a decrease of 26 (-20.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #133,048 to #155,270.
What does the Census say about the background of Overhulser?
Among Census respondents with the surname Overhulser, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.0%) and Two or More Races (1.0%). 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 Overhulser in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.0% (96 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Overhulser appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (95.0%), Hispanic (4.0%), Two or More Races (1.0%). 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 Overhulser (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 Overhulser mean?
A habitational surname referring to someone from a place called Oberhuls. 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 Overhulser (0.03 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 common is the surname Overhulser?
For a quick modern take, check how common the surname Overhulser is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.