Hanzel
A diminutive form of the Germanic name Hans, derived from Johannes.
Name Census estimates that about 306 living Americans carry the first name Hanzel. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Hanzel today is around 12 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Hanzel births was 2024 (49 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Hanzel. 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
306
~ 1 in 1,120,112 Americans
Peak year
2024
49 babies that year
Average age
12
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,675
Tracked since 1987
Census
Hanzel in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 293 people with the first name Hanzel, which placed it at #29,959 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
#29,959
National first-name rank
People counted
293
293 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
73.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hanzel
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hanzel is Hispanic at 73.0%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (17.1%) and White (5.5%). 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 Hanzel 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 Hanzel at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino73.0% · 214
- Asian and Pacific Islander17.1% · 50
- White5.5% · 16
- Black or African American4.1% · 12
- Two or more races0.3% · 1
Popularity
Hanzel: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Hanzel from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 130 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
Hanzel 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 Hanzel during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Hanzels live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Hanzel, while Tennessee, New York, Florida recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 9 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Hanzel
The given name Hanzel originates from the Germanic languages, with its roots traced back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Old High German name "Hanzo," which means "home ruler" or "ruler of the estate." This name is a compound of the words "haimoz" (home) and "waltan" (to rule).
In the early medieval period, the name Hanzel was popular among the nobility and landowners in various Germanic regions, including modern-day Germany, Austria, and parts of Switzerland. It was often bestowed upon sons who were expected to inherit and manage their family's lands and estates.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Hanzel can be found in the 9th century Fulda Codex, a manuscript containing a list of names from the Carolingian period. This suggests that the name was in use among the Germanic people during that time.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Hanzel. One of the most famous was Hanzel von Eberstein (1180-1245), a German nobleman and military commander who fought in the Crusades and played a significant role in the siege of Damietta during the Fifth Crusade.
Another prominent figure was Hanzel Schmid (1493-1548), a German Renaissance painter and woodcarver known for his altarpieces and religious artwork. His works can be found in various churches and museums across Germany and Austria.
In the 16th century, Hanzel Holbein (1497-1543) was a renowned German artist and printmaker, celebrated for his portrait paintings of the English royal family and other European nobles. His works, such as "The Ambassadors" and "Lady with a Squirrel and a Starling," are considered masterpieces of the Northern Renaissance.
During the 17th century, Hanzel Glaser (1629-1675) was a German composer and organist who contributed significantly to the development of the North German organ school and the stylus fantasticus genre of organ music.
Lastly, Hanzel Kretschmer (1918-2009) was a German fashion designer and costume designer who gained international recognition for his elegant and timeless designs. He worked with various film productions and theatrical companies throughout his career.
While the name Hanzel has its roots in the Germanic languages, it has been adopted and used in various cultures and regions over the centuries, reflecting the widespread influence of Germanic naming traditions.
People
Hanzel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Hanzel as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with H
Other first names starting with H with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Hanzel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Hanzel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 306 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Hanzel 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 1,120,112 US residents.
Is Hanzel a common name?
We classify Hanzel as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 309 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Hanzel most popular?
The single biggest year for Hanzel was 2024, when 49 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Hanzel is about 12 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Hanzel in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 293 people with the name Hanzel, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #29,959 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 Hanzel 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 Hanzel?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Hanzel leans strongly male. 276 people counted with this name were male (96.2%), compared with 11 female bearers (3.8%). 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 Hanzel?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hanzel is Hispanic at 73.0%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (17.1%) and White (5.5%). 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 Hanzel most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Hanzel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 73.0% (214 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 Hanzel in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Hanzel a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Hanzel 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 Hanzel still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Hanzel 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 Hanzel 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 the name Hanzel?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.