Anshel
A masculine name of Hebrew origin meaning "God's gracious gift".
Name Census estimates that about 10 living Americans carry the first name Anshel. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Anshel today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Anshel births was 2008 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Anshel. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Anshel. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
10
~ 1 in 34,275,434 Americans
Peak year
2008
5 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2013 SSA rank
#12,269
Tracked since 2008
Popularity
Anshel: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Anshel from the 2000s through to the 2010s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 5 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Anshel by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Anshel during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Anshel
The name Anshel is of Hebrew origin, derived from the biblical name Anshel, which means "God is gracious." It is a masculine given name that has been used for centuries, particularly among Jewish communities.
The earliest recorded use of the name Anshel dates back to ancient times, appearing in various Jewish texts and scriptures. One notable example is the Book of Judges, where Anshel is mentioned as the name of a judge who ruled over the Israelites.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Anshel. One of the most famous was Anshel Feuerbach (1775-1833), a German philosopher and anthropologist known for his contributions to the study of ethics and morality.
Another prominent figure was Anshel Grynszpan (1921-1942), a Polish-Jewish youth whose assassination of a German diplomat in Paris in 1938 is widely regarded as a pivotal event that precipitated the Kristallnacht pogrom against Jews in Nazi Germany.
In the world of literature, Anshel Politzer (1835-1920) was a notable Yiddish writer and poet who played a significant role in the development of modern Yiddish literature.
Anshel Pfeffer (1911-1970) was a renowned Israeli author and journalist who wrote extensively on the history and culture of the Jewish people.
Lastly, Anshel Schorr (1886-1942) was a prominent Lithuanian-born rabbi and scholar who made significant contributions to the study of Jewish law and tradition.
While the name Anshel has its roots in Hebrew and Jewish culture, it has also gained popularity among various ethnic and religious groups around the world, transcending its original linguistic and cultural boundaries.
People
Anshel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Anshel as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with A
Other first names starting with A with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Anshel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Anshel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 10 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Anshel going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 34,275,434 US residents.
Is Anshel a common name?
We classify Anshel as "Very Rare". It ranks above 28.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 10 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Anshel most popular?
The single biggest year for Anshel was 2008, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Anshel is about 15 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Anshel in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Anshel a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Anshel in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Anshel still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Anshel in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Anshel can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many Americans are named Anshel?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people share the name Anshel at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.