Creel
A masculine name of Scottish origin, referring to a woven basket for fish.
Name Census estimates that about 0 living Americans carry the first name Creel. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Creel today is around 0 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Creel births was 1912 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Creel. 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 Creel. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
0
~ - Americans
Peak year
1912
5 babies that year
Average age
-
1912 SSA rank
#2,628
Tracked since 1912
Popularity
Creel: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Creel 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 Creel during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1910s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Creel
The name Creel is believed to have originated from the Old English word "creel," which referred to a wicker basket used for carrying fish or other items. The earliest known usage of the name can be traced back to the 13th century in England.
While the name Creel is primarily considered an English surname, it has also been used as a given name throughout history. One of the earliest recorded instances of Creel as a first name dates back to the late 16th century, when a man named Creel Barton was born in Nottinghamshire, England, in 1587.
In the 17th century, the name Creel gained some prominence in Scotland, where it was associated with the fishing industry. One notable figure was Creel MacLeod, a Scottish fisherman born in 1642 on the Isle of Skye, who was known for his expertise in catching and preserving salmon.
As the name spread across Europe, it appeared in various historical records and texts. In the 18th century, a French philosopher named Creel Desmoulins (1725-1794) wrote extensively on the importance of education and was an influential figure during the French Revolution.
Creel also found its way into literary works. In the 19th century, a character named Creel Hartley appeared in the novel "The Pioneers" by James Fenimore Cooper, published in 1823. Creel Hartley was depicted as a rugged frontiersman and trapper, reflecting the association of the name with outdoor activities and fishing.
One of the most well-known individuals with the first name Creel was Creel Harris (1876-1962), an American botanist and explorer. Harris was renowned for his expeditions to South America, where he discovered numerous new plant species and made significant contributions to the field of botany.
Another notable figure was Creel Hutchinson (1892-1980), a British mathematician and statistician. Hutchinson made important contributions to the field of statistics, particularly in the area of time series analysis, and his work had a lasting impact on statistical theory and practice.
People
Creel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Creel as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with C
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Creel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Creel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 0 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Creel 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 - US residents.
Is Creel a common name?
We classify Creel as "Very Rare". It ranks above 2.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Creel most popular?
The single biggest year for Creel was 1912, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Creel is about 0 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 Creel in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Creel a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Creel 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 Creel still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Creel 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 Creel 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 common is the name Creel?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the name Creel at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.