The Oswalt surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 5,198 people carried this name — #6,524 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 56,800 people counted. That is up 2% from 5,114 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Oswalt surname

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a baptismal name, from a given name: ‘the son of Oswald’.

An early record he cites: Simon Aswald, Oxfordshire, 1273 — Hundred Rolls.

His entry covers Oswald, Oswell, Oswill and Oswalt.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 575 · public domain.

In France’s civil register

France’s register of deaths holds 44 people named Oswalt.

Those born in France came from 12 départements, most often Meuse.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born

Meuse 11
Paris 8
Bas-Rhin 7
Rhône 4
Val-de-Marne 4
Yvelines 3
Côte-d’Or 2
Pas-de-Calais 1

Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.

In print

Oswalt in American newspapers,
1911–1919.

Newspaper page from Bisbee Daily Review carrying the name Oswalt
Bisbee Daily Review 1919-05-13
Newspaper page from Bisbee Daily Review carrying the name Oswalt
Bisbee Daily Review 1919-05-27
Newspaper page from Camas Prairie Chronicle carrying the name Oswalt
Camas Prairie Chronicle 1911-12-29

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 7,311 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Oswalt in Australian newspapers,
1880s–1940s.

74 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Oswalt. The most, 14, date from the 1930s. New South Wales has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in Victoria, at 1.5 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 22
Victoria 22
Queensland 11
South Australia 9
ACT (Canberra) 1
Tasmania 1
Western Australia 1

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Oswalt.

Who carried it

People named Oswalt,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Heinrich Oswalt 1830–1891 · children's writer
  • Henry Oswalt 1849–1934 · economist
  • Wilhelm Ernst Oswalt 1877–1942 · publisher
  • August Oswalt 1892–1983 · politician
  • Wendell H. Oswalt 1927–2020 · university teacher

Wikidata (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Oswalt,
in the records of 4 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States265 records

265 records of the Oswalt name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 187
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 53
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 9
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 7
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 5
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 2
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 1
  • Sacramento County historic burials 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record William H. Oswalt

    Born 1921 in Mississippi. Enlisted 1943 at Camp Shelby; farm hand from Choctaw County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1994, buried at Chattanooga National Cemetery, Tennessee.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Genofeva Oswalt

    Arrived at Baltimore in 1881 aboard the Hermann from Bremen, aged 23; farmer. From Germany.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. A U.S. Army record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864
    Example: U.S. burial record, 1864
    Burial record Gale D. Oswalt

    U.S. Navy veteran of the Korean War. Born 1933, died 1998; buried at Quinault Cemetery, Washington.

    U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)

Showing 3 of 265 records for Oswalt in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864, U.S. National Archives (public domain).

Netherlands25 records

25 records of the Oswalt name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 19
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 5
  • Dutch population registers 1
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Jacobus Oswalt

    Born 1800 in Stoppeldijk. Married in 1837 in Biervliet; workman.

    Open Archives, Zeeuws Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record Maria Oswalt

    Baptised in 1726 in Breda.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Breda (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Maria Oswalt

    Buried in 1790 in Nijmegen.

    Open Archives, Regionaal Archief Nijmegen (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 25 records for Oswalt in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

France21 records

21 records of the Oswalt name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Jean Pol Marie Oswalt

    Born 1937 in Saudrupt; died 1999 in Bar-le-Duc (Meuse).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  2. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Andree Emilie Ernestine Oswalt

    Born 1912 in Dijon; died 1995 in Talant (Côte-d'Or).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  3. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Charles Jacques Oswalt

    Born 1928 in Vitry-sur-Seine (Val-de-Marne); died 1996 in Sens (Yonne).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 3 of 21 records for Oswalt in France.

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Germany4 records

4 records of the Oswalt name in Germany Germany's First World War casualty lists, 1914–1919
  1. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Hermann Oswalt

    From London. Reported wounded in the Prussian casualty list of 8 February 1916 (Field Artillery Regiment No. 111).

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)
  2. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Henry Oswalt

    From London, Middlesex. Reported wounded in the Prussian casualty list of 4 November 1918.

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)
  3. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list August Oswalt

    From Frankfurt a. M. Reported wounded in the Prussian casualty list of 28 October 1914.

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)

Showing 3 of 4 records for Oswalt in Germany.

Counts: Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Deutsche Verlustlisten, Prussian list 1116, 18 April 1918 (scan via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Oswalt.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Oswalt is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

See the Oswalt volume
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