Explore the Family Name Ours
The meaning of Ours
1. Americanized form of German Auer. 2. French: from (Old) French ours ‘bear’ (from Latin ursus), used as a nickname for someone thought to resemble a bear in some way or as a topographic or habitational name referring to a house distinguished with the sign of a bear. 3. French: from the old personal name Ours, derived from Latin Ursus ‘bear’ (compare 2 above), which was the name of some early Christian saints in Gaul. History: The first American bearers of the surname Ours were Johann Elias Auer from Germany (he arrived in Philadelphia, PA, in 1753 and later settled in VA), his wife, and sons John Godfrey and Sigmon. Their German surname Auer was first changed to Our (also documented as Ower) and only later to Ours.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Ours in the United States?
Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the surname Ours has seen a slight decrease in popularity from 2000 to 2010. Ranked as the 17,073rd most popular surname in 2000, it fell to 17,699th place in 2010, marking a drop of 3.67 percent. However, the actual count of people with the Ours surname increased by 3.39 percent during the same time period, with 1,533 individuals bearing the name in 2000 and 1,585 in 2010. The proportion of the surname Ours per 100,000 people also saw a small decline of 5.26 percent.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #17,073 | #17,699 | -3.67% |
| Count | 1,533 | 1,585 | 3.39% |
| Proportion per 100k | 0.57 | 0.54 | -5.26% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Ours
In terms of ethnicity, the Decennial U.S. Census data shows that the overwhelming majority of individuals with the Ours surname identify as White, with a 0.5 percent increase from 96.87 percent in 2000 to 97.35 percent in 2010. The number of those identifying as Hispanic saw a significant increase of 78.21 percent, albeit still representing a small proportion of the total, increasing from 0.78 percent in 2000 to 1.39 percent in 2010. Notably, those identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander and American Indian and Alaskan Native in 2000 were no longer present in the 2010 data, while the proportion of those identifying as Black or two or more races decreased by 26.92 percent and 48.65 percent respectively.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 96.87% | 97.35% | 0.5% |
| Hispanic | 0.78% | 1.39% | 78.21% |
| Two or More Races | 1.11% | 0.57% | -48.65% |
| Black | 0.52% | 0.38% | -26.92% |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 0.39% | 0% | 0% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0.33% | 0% | 0% |