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

Oz, 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 Oz surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Oz in America

Oz is the 66754th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Oz surname appeared 296 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 Oz.

We can also compare 2010 data for Oz 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 Oz

The surname "Oz" is believed to have originated from the Old French word "oz", which means "bear". This name is thought to have first appeared in France during the Middle Ages, likely as a nickname for someone who was considered strong or brave like a bear.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it is listed as "Osz" in the county of Lincolnshire, England. This suggests that the name may have been brought to England by Norman settlers after the conquest of 1066.

In the 13th century, the name appeared in various spellings such as "Otz", "Oze", and "Ozze" in various records throughout France and England. It is believed that these variations were influenced by regional dialects and the way the name was pronounced.

One notable bearer of the name was Sir John Oz, a French knight who fought alongside William the Conqueror during the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. Another early bearer was Robert Oz, a landowner in Essex, England, who was recorded in the Pipe Rolls of 1166.

During the 14th century, the name "Oz" began to appear in Scotland, possibly brought by French or Norman settlers. One example is William Oz, a merchant from Aberdeen who was mentioned in records from the year 1379.

In the 15th century, the name was found in various parts of Germany, where it was often spelled as "Otz" or "Otze". One notable bearer from this period was Hans Otz, a German Reformer and theologian who lived from 1484 to 1548.

By the 16th century, the name had spread to other parts of Europe, including the Netherlands and Scandinavia. In the Netherlands, the name was sometimes spelled as "Oos" or "Oose", while in Sweden it appeared as "Ås" or "Åse".

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Oz

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!