Show ContentsOppenheimer History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Etymology of Oppenheimer

What does the name Oppenheimer mean?

The Jewish name Oppenheimer is a habitation name derived from the town of Oppenheim in Hesse, on the Rhine between Mainz and Worms. The Old High German word "heim" meant 'homestead,' and so was often part of place names. Some of the most famous of the family were: Samuel Oppenheimer (1630-1703), a Jewish banker, imperial court diplomat, factor, and military supplier for the Holy Roman Emperor; David Oppenheim (1664-1736), the chief rabbi of Prague; and Salomon Oppenheim, Jr. (1772-1828), a German Jewish banker, the scion of an illustrious family of "court Jews" (Hofjuden) who had served as advisers and moneylenders to German princes in the Rhineland area for several generations. His bank is still in business today and still in the hands of the Oppenheim family, and is the world's largest privately-owned bank.

Oppenheimer Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Oppenheim, Oppenheimer, Openheimer, Openheizer, Oppenhaim, Openhaime, Openhajm and many more.

Oppenheimer Ranking

In the United States, the name Oppenheimer is the 16,792nd most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 1


Oppenheimer migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Oppenheimer Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Benjamin Oppenheimer, who landed in America in 1830 2
  • Joel Oppenheimer, aged 22, who landed in New York, NY in 1848 2
  • Simon Oppenheimer, aged 55, who landed in New York, NY in 1848 2
  • Charles Oppenheimer, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1851 2
  • Amalie Oppenheimer, aged 20, who landed in America in 1854 2
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Oppenheimer (post 1700) +

  • Gerald J. Oppenheimer (1922-2016), born Julius Oppenheimer, a German-born, American librarian and scholar, Director of the Health Sciences Library at the University of Washington (1963-1987)
  • Lillian Rose Vorhaus Kruskal Oppenheimer (1898-1992), American origami pioneer
  • Kay Oppenheimer, American politician, Member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives (2006-)
  • Joshua Lincoln Oppenheimer (b. 1974), American film director
  • Joel Lester Oppenheimer (1930-1988), American poet associated with both the Black Mountain poets and the New York School
  • Jessurun James "Jess" Oppenheimer (1913-1988), American radio and television writer, producer, and director, head writer of the CBS sitcom I Love Lucy
  • Daniel M. Oppenheimer, American associate professor of psychology at the UCLA Anderson School of Management
  • Damon T. Oppenheimer (b. 1962), American Vice President and Director of Amateur Scouting for the New York Yankees
  • Ben R. Oppenheimer, American astrophysicist, curator of the Department of Astrophysics at the American Museum of Natural History
  • Alan Oppenheimer (b. 1930), American character actor and voice actor
  • ... (Another 9 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)


  1. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  2. Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)


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