Hassel
A medieval German name derived from the hazelnut tree or its shrub.
Name Census estimates that about 126 living Americans carry the first name Hassel. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Hassel today is around 78 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Hassel births was 1925 (27 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Hassel. 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
- • The typical person named Hassel is about 78 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Hassels were born before 1958.
People living today
126
~ 1 in 2,720,273 Americans
Peak year
1925
27 babies that year
Average age
78
years old
1974 SSA rank
#5,518
Tracked since 1914
Census
Hassel in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 246 people with the first name Hassel, which placed it at #33,566 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
#33,566
National first-name rank
People counted
246
246 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
56.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hassel
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hassel is White at 56.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (35.0%) and Black (5.3%). 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 Hassel 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 Hassel at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White56.9% · 140
- Hispanic or Latino35.0% · 86
- Black or African American5.3% · 13
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 3
- Two or more races1.2% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 1
Popularity
Hassel: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Hassel from the 1910s through to the 1970s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 174 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Hassel 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 Hassel during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Hassels live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. Virginia, Kentucky, North Carolina recorded the most babies named Hassel, while West Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 15 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Hassel
The given name Hassel has its roots in the Germanic languages, particularly Old High German and Old English. It is believed to have originated as a diminutive form of the name Hasilo or Haslo, which in turn is derived from the Old High German word "hasal," meaning "hazel tree" or "hazelnut bush."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Hassel can be found in the Codex Traditionum Corbeiensium, a medieval manuscript from the 9th century. This manuscript mentions a person named Hassilo, which is likely a variant spelling of Hassel.
The name Hassel gained popularity during the Middle Ages, particularly in regions where Germanic languages were spoken. It was commonly used in areas such as Germany, the Netherlands, and parts of present-day Belgium.
In the 13th century, a German nobleman named Hassel von Schönberg was mentioned in historical records. He was a knight and a member of the illustrious Schönberg family, which held significant influence in the region.
Another notable figure bearing the name Hassel was Johann Hassel, a German mathematician and astronomer who lived from 1737 to 1805. He made significant contributions to the field of celestial mechanics and published several works on astronomy.
In the world of literature, Hassel Tine was a Norwegian writer and playwright who lived from 1905 to 1969. He is known for his works that explored themes of rural life and the struggles of the working class.
The name Hassel also appears in religious contexts. In the 16th century, a Catholic priest named Hassel von Aachen was known for his efforts in promoting education and helping the poor in the city of Aachen, Germany.
While the name Hassel has its roots in the Germanic languages, it has been adopted and used in various cultures and regions throughout history. From noblemen and scholars to writers and religious figures, the name Hassel has left its mark across different eras and societies.
People
Hassel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Hassel 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
Hassel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Hassel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 126 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Hassel 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 2,720,273 US residents.
Is Hassel a common name?
We classify Hassel as "Very Rare". It ranks above 67.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 512 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Hassel most popular?
The single biggest year for Hassel was 1925, when 27 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Hassel is about 78 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Hassel in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 246 people with the name Hassel, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #33,566 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 Hassel 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 Hassel?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Hassel on both sides of the split. Of the 248 people counted with this name, 173 were male (69.8%) and 75 were female (30.2%). 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 Hassel?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hassel is White at 56.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (35.0%) and Black (5.3%). 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 Hassel most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Hassel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 56.9% (140 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 Hassel in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Hassel a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Hassel 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 Hassel still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Hassel 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 Hassel 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 Hassel as a first name?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.