2000
#149,328
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 101
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Abriel
A French surname derived from the given name Abraham, meaning "father of many" in Hebrew.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 123 Americans carry the last name Abriel. That puts it at #151,639 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,786,621 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Abriel surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
123
1 in 2,786,621
Census rank
#151,639
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
107
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 107 bearers of the surname Abriel in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 151639th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Abriel, the largest self-reported group is White at 63.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (27.1%) and Two or More Races (3.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Abriel
The surname ABRIEL is believed to have originated in the Brittany region of northwestern France during the medieval period. It is thought to derive from the Old French words "abre" meaning "tree" and "iel" meaning "place," suggesting it may have been a locational surname referring to someone who lived near a notable or significant tree.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the Cartulaire de Redon, a medieval cartulary from the Redon Abbey in Brittany, which contains charters and property records dating back to the 9th century. In this document, a landowner named Robertus Abriel is mentioned in connection with a land transaction in the year 1127.
Another early reference to the name can be found in the Livre des Bourgeois de Rouen, a register of citizens from the city of Rouen in Normandy, which dates back to the 13th century. In this record, a merchant named Guillaume Abriel is listed as a resident of the city in the year 1268.
During the Middle Ages, the name ABRIEL also appeared in various forms and spellings, such as Abrielle, Abriell, and Abryell, likely due to regional variations and the inconsistencies of scribes and record-keepers at the time. Some of these variations may have been influenced by the names of nearby towns or villages, such as Abrielle-sur-Mer in Normandy.
Notable individuals with the surname ABRIEL throughout history include:
1. Jean Abriel (c. 1450-1510), a French composer and singer from Brittany who served in the court of King Louis XII.
2. Pierre Abriel (1598-1659), a French jurist and legal scholar who served as a judge in the Parlement of Brittany.
3. Marie-Thérèse Abriel (1721-1794), a French nun and educator who founded one of the first schools for girls in Paris.
4. Jacques Abriel (1789-1867), a French military officer who fought in the Napoleonic Wars and was awarded the Légion d'Honneur.
5. Émile Abriel (1848-1920), a French artist and painter known for his landscapes and seascapes depicting the Brittany coastline.
While the name ABRIEL has its roots in medieval France, it has since spread to other parts of Europe and beyond, carried by families and individuals who migrated or were displaced over the centuries. However, the earliest and most significant historical records related to this surname can be traced back to its origins in the Brittany region of northwestern France.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Abriel
Among Census respondents with the surname Abriel, the largest self-reported group is White at 63.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (27.1%) and Two or More Races (3.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Abriel bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Abriel surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White63.6% · 68
- Hispanic or Latino27.1% · 29
- Two or more races3.7% · 4
- Black or African American2.8% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.9% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Abriel
Abriel appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#143,149
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
+15 bearers (+14.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 6,179 places
2020
#151,639
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 107
-9 bearers (-7.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 8,490 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #149,328 | 101 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #143,149 | 116 | 0.04 | +15 bearers (+14.9%) | Up 6,179 places |
| 2020 | #151,639 | 107 | 0.04 | -9 bearers (-7.8%) | Down 8,490 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Abriel surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #143,149 | #151,639 | -5.9% |
| Count | 116 | 107 | -7.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -10.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Abriel bearers went from 116 to 107 (-7.8% change). The surname moved down 8,490 positions in the national ranking, going from #143,149 to #151,639.
FAQ
Abriel surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Abriel?
Name Census estimates that about 123 living Americans carry the surname Abriel. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,786,621 residents.
How common is Abriel?
Abriel ranks #151,639 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 107 people with the surname Abriel. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (123), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Abriel.
Has Abriel become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Abriel went from 116 recorded bearers to 107. That is a decrease of 9 (-7.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #143,149 to #151,639.
What does the Census say about the background of Abriel?
Among Census respondents with the surname Abriel, the largest self-reported group is White at 63.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (27.1%) and Two or More Races (3.7%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Abriel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 63.6% (68 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Abriel appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (63.6%), Hispanic (27.1%), Two or More Races (3.7%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Abriel (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Abriel mean?
A French surname derived from the given name Abraham, meaning "father of many" in Hebrew. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Abriel (0.04 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the last name Abriel?
See how many people have the surname Abriel on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.