Redell
A gender-neutral name derived from the word "red," possibly related to hair color.
Name Census estimates that about 180 living Americans carry the first name Redell. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 77.3% of registrations being male. The average person named Redell today is around 65 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Redell births was 1929 (16 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Redell. 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
180
~ 1 in 1,904,191 Americans
Peak year
1929
16 babies that year
Average age
65
years old
1992 SSA rank
#6,424
Tracked since 1915
Census
Redell in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 253 people with the first name Redell, which placed it at #32,947 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
#32,947
National first-name rank
People counted
253
253 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
81.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Redell
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Redell is Black at 81.0%. The next largest groups are White (8.3%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (5.9%). 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 Redell 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 Redell at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American81.0% · 205
- White8.3% · 21
- American Indian and Alaska Native5.9% · 15
- Two or more races4.0% · 10
- Hispanic or Latino0.8% · 2
Gender
Gender distribution for Redell
Redell is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 321 total registrations, 248 (77.3%) were male and 73 (22.7%) were female.
Redell as a male name
- Ranked #9,507 in 1992
- 5 male births in 1992
- Peak: 1929 (10 births)
Redell as a female name
- Ranked #6,424 in 1963
- 6 female births in 1963
- Peak: 1922 (7 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Redell on both sides of the split. Of the 249 people counted with this name, 177 were male (71.1%) and 72 were female (28.9%).
Popularity
Redell: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Redell from the 1910s through to the 1990s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 81 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Redell 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 Redell during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Redells live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas recorded the most babies named Redell, while Texas, South Carolina, North Carolina recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 5 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Redell
The name Redell has its roots in the Germanic languages, with origins dating back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Old German words "reed" and "ell," which together mean "red meadow" or "red clearing."
In the early medieval period, Redell was a common name among Germanic tribes in central and northern Europe. It was often given to children born in areas with vibrant red landscapes or near meadows with abundant wildflowers.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Redell can be found in the Hildebrandslied, an Old High German heroic song from the 8th century. The poem mentions a character named Redell, though little is known about their historical significance.
During the Middle Ages, the name Redell gained popularity among the nobility and landed gentry in parts of modern-day Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Several minor nobles and landowners bore the name, though few left a lasting mark on history.
The first notable figure with the name Redell was Redell von Arnsberg, a 12th-century German knight and crusader. He participated in the Third Crusade under the command of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa and is mentioned in various chronicles from the era.
Another historical figure named Redell was Redell von Weissenburg, a 14th-century German abbess and author. She wrote several treatises on religious life and is remembered for her efforts in promoting education and literacy among nuns.
In the 15th century, Redell Fröhlich was a German artist and painter known for his religious artwork and frescoes adorning churches in southern Germany. His most famous work is the altarpiece in the Basilica of St. Leodegar in Lucerne, Switzerland.
During the Reformation, Redell Zwingli was a Swiss Protestant reformer and close associate of Huldrych Zwingli. Born in 1498, he played a crucial role in the spread of the Reformation in Switzerland and is remembered for his fiery sermons and writings.
In the 18th century, Redell von Goethe, a distant relative of the famous German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, was a notable philosopher and academic. He taught at several universities in Germany and wrote extensively on ethics and moral philosophy.
While the name Redell was once relatively common in parts of central Europe, it has become less widespread in modern times. However, its rich history and linguistic origins reflect the cultural diversity and traditions of the Germanic peoples.
People
Redell + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Redell as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with R
Other first names starting with R with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Redell: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Redell?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 180 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Redell 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 1,904,191 US residents.
Is Redell a common name?
We classify Redell as "Very Rare". It ranks above 72.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 321 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Redell most popular?
The single biggest year for Redell was 1929, when 16 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Redell is about 65 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Redell in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 253 people with the name Redell, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #32,947 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 Redell 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 Redell?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Redell on both sides of the split. Of the 249 people counted with this name, 177 were male (71.1%) and 72 were female (28.9%). 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 Redell?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Redell is Black at 81.0%. The next largest groups are White (8.3%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (5.9%). 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 Redell most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Redell in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.0% (205 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 Redell in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Redell a male name?
Yes, 77.3% of people registered as Redell 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 Redell still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Redell 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 Redell 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 share the name Redell?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.