Find out how popular the last name Adel is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Adel.

Adel, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Adel surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Adel in America

Adel is the 38691st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Adel surname appeared 571 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Adel.

We can also compare 2010 data for Adel to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Adel

The surname Adel has its origins in Germany, dating back to the Middle Ages. It is believed to have derived from the Old German word "adal," which means "noble" or "aristocratic." This suggests that the name was initially associated with families of noble or privileged status.

Adel is thought to have first emerged in the region of Saxony, one of the ancient duchies of Germany. Records from the 11th century mention individuals bearing variations of the name, such as Adeln, Adeler, and Adelmann, indicating its early presence in the area.

One of the earliest known references to the name Adel can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae, a collection of medieval documents from the Duchy of Saxony. This manuscript, dating back to the 12th century, contains records of individuals with the surname Adel holding positions of importance within the local nobility.

In the 13th century, a knight named Heinrich von Adel is mentioned in the Annales Reinhardsbrunnenses, a chronicle of events from the Reinhardsbrunner Monastery in Thuringia, Germany. This suggests that the Adel family had established a presence in the region and held a respected status within the knightly class.

During the 14th century, the name Adel appears in various records from the cities of Lübeck and Hamburg, indicating its spread across northern Germany. One notable individual from this period was Johann Adel (c. 1310-1380), a wealthy merchant and landowner in the city of Lübeck.

In the 15th century, the Adel family gained prominence in the region of Silesia, now part of Poland. A notable figure was Hans von Adel (c. 1420-1488), a military commander who served under the Prussian Duke Friedrich I and played a pivotal role in the Thirteen Years' War against the Teutonic Knights.

Other notable individuals bearing the surname Adel include Kaspar Adel (1559-1635), a German jurist and legal scholar who served as a councillor to the Prince-Electors of Saxony, and Johann Christian Adel (1670-1742), a German theologian and philosopher who authored several works on ethics and natural law.

Throughout its history, the surname Adel has been associated with various place names and localities in Germany, including Adelsdorf, Adelshausen, and Adelsheim, further reflecting its noble origins and connections to landed estates and fiefdoms.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Adel

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Adel.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Adel was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Adel has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Adel was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Adel, please contact us.

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