Explore the Family Name Oberley

The meaning of Oberley

1. Possibly an altered form of German and Swiss German Oberle and Oberli. 2. German: topographic name from ober ‘up above’ + Middle Low German leie ‘rock, stone, shale’.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Oberley in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the surname Oberley saw a slight decrease in popularity between 2000 and 2010. The rank of the name fell from 58,999 to 59,171, showing a marginal drop of 0.29%. However, the count of people bearing the surname Oberley increased by 6.54%, growing from 321 to 342. Despite this growth in count, the proportion per 100k remained steady at 0.12 throughout the decade.

20002010Change
Rank#58,999#59,171-0.29%
Count3213426.54%
Proportion per 100k0.120.120%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Oberley

When discussing ethnic identity, the Decennial U.S. Census data reveals that the majority of individuals with the Oberley surname identified as White in both 2000 and 2010, although there was a slight decrease of 2.48% in this group over the ten years. Interestingly, the proportion of those identifying as Hispanic increased by 31.09%, from 3.12% to 4.09%. In 2010, it was also observed that some Oberleys started identifying with two or more races, which was not seen in 2000. The categories of Asian/Pacific Islander, Black, and American Indian and Alaskan Native did not show any representation among the Oberleys during these years.

20002010Change
White95.64%93.27%-2.48%
Hispanic3.12%4.09%31.09%
Two or More Races0%1.46%0%
Asian/Pacific Islander0%0%0%
Black0%0%0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0%0%0%