Atzel
A diminutive form of the Hebrew name Isadore, meaning "gift of God".
Name Census estimates that about 207 living Americans carry the first name Atzel. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Atzel today is around 13 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Atzel births was 2011 (26 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Atzel. 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.
People living today
207
~ 1 in 1,655,818 Americans
Peak year
2011
26 babies that year
Average age
13
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,357
Tracked since 2001
Popularity
Atzel: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Atzel from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 106 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Atzel remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Atzel 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 Atzel during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Atzels live
Origin
Meaning and history of Atzel
The name Atzel is thought to have originated from the ancient Germanic languages, with roots dating back to the 5th century AD. It is believed to be derived from the Old High German word "atz" or "azzi," meaning "noble" or "distinguished." This name was prevalent among the Germanic tribes that inhabited the regions of modern-day Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Atzel can be found in the Nibelungenlied, a famous epic poem from around the 13th century. In this work, Atzel (or Etzel) was the name given to the legendary king of the Huns, who is often associated with the historical figure of Attila the Hun.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the name Atzel remained relatively uncommon but was occasionally used by noble families in the Germanic regions. One notable figure bearing this name was Atzel von Stein (1430-1489), a German knight and military commander who served under the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III.
During the Renaissance period, the name Atzel gained some popularity among the intellectual classes. Atzel Schäfer (1492-1564) was a German humanist scholar and translator who was known for his Latin translations of works by Aristotle and Cicero.
In the 17th century, Atzel Bühl (1615-1679) was a German painter and engraver who specialized in portraiture and religious subjects. His works can be found in various churches and museums throughout Germany.
Fast-forwarding to the 19th century, Atzel Kornitzer (1825-1892) was an Austrian-born entrepreneur and philanthropist. He made his fortune in the tobacco industry and was a prominent figure in the Jewish community of Vienna.
While the name Atzel has faded in modern times, it remains a unique and intriguing name with a rich historical background rooted in the Germanic cultural heritage.
People
Atzel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Atzel 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
Atzel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Atzel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 207 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Atzel 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 1,655,818 US residents.
Is Atzel a common name?
We classify Atzel as "Very Rare". It ranks above 74.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 209 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Atzel most popular?
The single biggest year for Atzel was 2011, when 26 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Atzel is about 13 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 Atzel in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Atzel a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Atzel 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 Atzel still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Atzel 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 Atzel 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 people share the name Atzel?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.