Arcel
A name possibly derived from the French word "arc", meaning "bow".
Name Census estimates that about 12 living Americans carry the first name Arcel. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Arcel today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Arcel births was 2007 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Arcel. 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 Arcel. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
12
~ 1 in 28,562,862 Americans
Peak year
2007
7 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2010 SSA rank
#12,380
Tracked since 2007
Census
Arcel in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 150 people with the first name Arcel, which placed it at #45,340 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#45,340
National first-name rank
People counted
150
150 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
45.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Arcel
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Arcel is Hispanic at 45.3%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (38.7%) and Black (14.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Arcel described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Arcel at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino45.3% · 68
- Asian and Pacific Islander38.7% · 58
- Black or African American14.7% · 22
- White1.3% · 2
Popularity
Arcel: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Arcel from the 2000s through to the 2010s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 7 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Arcel remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Arcel 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 Arcel 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 Arcel
The name Arcel is a unique and intriguing moniker with a rich history that spans across cultures and time periods. Its origins can be traced back to the ancient Celtic languages, particularly Gaulish, spoken by the Gauls who inhabited modern-day France, Belgium, and parts of Switzerland, Germany, and Italy during the Iron Age and Roman era.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Arcel can be found in the writings of the Roman historian Tacitus, who documented the exploits of a Gallic chieftain named Arcelus during the Batavian Revolt against the Roman Empire in the 1st century AD. This suggests that the name may have derived from the Gaulish word "arx," meaning "citadel" or "fortress," reflecting the strength and resilience of its bearer.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the name Arcel gained popularity among the noble families of various European regions, particularly in France and England. One notable figure was Arcel de Bourgogne, a 12th-century knight and crusader who accompanied King Richard I of England on the Third Crusade to the Holy Land.
In the realm of literature, the name Arcel made an appearance in the medieval French epic poem "The Song of Roland," where a character bearing this moniker was portrayed as a valiant warrior. This literary reference further solidified the name's association with courage and bravery.
During the Renaissance period, the name Arcel found its way into the annals of art history through the works of the Italian painter Arcel Gozzadini, who lived in Bologna during the 15th century and was renowned for his religious frescoes adorning numerous churches and chapels.
In the 19th century, Arcel Calvert, an English botanist and horticulturist, made significant contributions to the study of plant life, particularly in the field of orchid cultivation. His pioneering work led to the discovery of several new species, which bear his name as a testament to his dedication and expertise.
Another notable figure from this era was Arcel Hayman, a British writer and poet who gained recognition for his poignant works that explored themes of love, loss, and the human condition. His poems were widely published in literary journals and anthologies during the late Victorian era.
While the name Arcel may not be as commonly used today as it once was, its rich tapestry of history and cultural significance continue to fascinate those who delve into the fascinating world of onomastics and the origins of names.
People
Arcel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Arcel 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
Arcel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Arcel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 12 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Arcel 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 28,562,862 US residents.
Is Arcel a common name?
We classify Arcel as "Very Rare". It ranks above 32.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 12 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Arcel most popular?
The single biggest year for Arcel was 2007, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Arcel is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Arcel in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 150 people with the name Arcel, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #45,340 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Arcel in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Arcel?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Arcel on both sides of the split. Of the 150 people counted with this name, 117 were male (78.0%) and 33 were female (22.0%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Arcel?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Arcel is Hispanic at 45.3%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (38.7%) and Black (14.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Arcel most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Arcel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 45.3% (68 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Arcel in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Arcel a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Arcel 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 Arcel still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Arcel 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 Arcel 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.
How many people have Arcel as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the name Arcel on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.