Udell
An Anglicized form of the French surname Oudelle, itself derived from a Germanic given name.
Name Census estimates that about 142 living Americans carry the first name Udell. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 78.5% of registrations being male. The average person named Udell today is around 76 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Udell births was 1917 (30 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Udell. 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 Udell is about 76 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Udells were born before 1960.
People living today
142
~ 1 in 2,413,763 Americans
Peak year
1917
30 babies that year
Average age
76
years old
1986 SSA rank
#4,520
Tracked since 1912
Census
Udell in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 226 people with the first name Udell, which placed it at #35,529 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
#35,529
National first-name rank
People counted
226
226 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
46.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Udell
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Udell is Black at 46.0%. The next largest groups are White (44.2%) and Hispanic (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 Udell 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 Udell at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American46.0% · 104
- White44.2% · 100
- Hispanic or Latino5.3% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.7% · 6
- Two or more races1.8% · 4
Gender
Gender distribution for Udell
Udell is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 623 total registrations, 489 (78.5%) were male and 134 (21.5%) were female.
Udell as a male name
- Ranked #7,765 in 1986
- 5 male births in 1986
- Peak: 1917 (19 births)
Udell as a female name
- Ranked #4,520 in 1945
- 6 female births in 1945
- Peak: 1916 (11 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Udell on both sides of the split. Of the 230 people counted with this name, 176 were male (76.5%) and 54 were female (23.5%).
Popularity
Udell: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Udell from the 1910s through to the 1980s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 185 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
Udell 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 Udell during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Udells live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma recorded the most babies named Udell, while Utah, Oklahoma, Louisiana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 5 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Udell
The given name Udell has its origins in the Old English language, dating back to the 5th century AD. It is derived from the Old English words "ud" meaning "wealth" and "el" meaning "age" or "source." The name was initially used to describe someone who was wealthy or prosperous.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Udell can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive record of landowners in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The name appeared as "Udel," referring to a landowner in the county of Shropshire.
In the 12th century, the name Udell gained popularity among the nobility and gentry in England. It was often associated with individuals of high social standing and wealth. One notable figure from this period was Udell de Beaumont, a Norman knight who fought alongside King Richard I in the Third Crusade (1189–1192).
During the Middle Ages, the name Udell was also found in religious texts and documents. In the 14th century, a monk named Udell of Canterbury was known for his illuminated manuscripts and calligraphy work at the Canterbury Cathedral.
As the name spread across Europe, it underwent various spelling variations, including Udall, Udel, and Uddell. In the 16th century, a prominent figure named Udell Smythe was a merchant and member of the Worshipful Company of Mercers in London.
In the 17th century, Udell Phillipps (1595–1672) was an English clergyman and author who wrote several religious treatises. His works were widely read and influential during the English Civil War period.
Fast-forwarding to the 19th century, Udell Moor (1801–1879) was a renowned American businessman and philanthropist. He founded the Moor Shipping Company and was known for his charitable contributions to educational institutions in his hometown of Philadelphia.
Throughout history, the name Udell has been associated with individuals from diverse backgrounds and professions, reflecting its roots in wealth, prosperity, and social standing.
People
Udell + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Udell as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with U
Other first names starting with U with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Udell: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Udell?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 142 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Udell 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 2,413,763 US residents.
Is Udell a common name?
We classify Udell as "Very Rare". It ranks above 69.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 623 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Udell most popular?
The single biggest year for Udell was 1917, when 30 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Udell is about 76 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Udell in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 226 people with the name Udell, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #35,529 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 Udell 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 Udell?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Udell on both sides of the split. Of the 230 people counted with this name, 176 were male (76.5%) and 54 were female (23.5%). 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 Udell?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Udell is Black at 46.0%. The next largest groups are White (44.2%) and Hispanic (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 Udell most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Udell in the 2020 Census, accounting for 46.0% (104 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 Udell in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Udell a male name?
Yes, 78.5% of people registered as Udell 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 Udell still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Udell 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 Udell 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 Udell?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.